Darbar Sien Mian Mir Sahib

The shrine of Mian Mir in Lahore is a Sufi darbar, and Sikhs visit it for a reason that goes to the heart of how the Gurus worked.

Mian Mir was a Qadiri Sufi saint of Lahore, born in Sindh, who died in 1635. He and Guru Arjan Dev were close, and Sikh tradition holds that it was Mian Mir whom the fifth Guru asked to lay the foundation stone of the Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar in 1588 — a Muslim saint invited to lay the first stone of the holiest Sikh shrine, at the Guru's own request.

That single act is why the site belongs on a Sikh itinerary. The Harmandir Sahib has doors on all four sides so that people may enter from any direction; asking Mian Mir to begin it made the same statement before a single wall went up. Accounts also record that he interceded, without success, when Guru Arjan Dev was imprisoned in Lahore in 1606.

The darbar itself is a working Sufi shrine with a domed tomb chamber and courtyards, busy with its own devotees rather than arranged for visitors. Yatris are guests here and are asked to dress and behave accordingly.

Konnect Yatra groups visit as part of the Lahore programme, travelling together with our own transport and staff.

What a visit involves

This is a working Sufi shrine with its own community of devotees, not a site arranged for visitors, and yatris come as guests. Shoes are removed and heads covered, as at a gurdwara. There is often qawwali, and the atmosphere is quite unlike the shrines elsewhere on the itinerary.

Allow an hour.

Before you go

• Dress modestly and follow our staff's lead on where visitors go and do not go.
• The shrine is busy with its own devotees. Keep the group together and photography discreet.
• Ask our staff to explain the connection with Guru Arjan Dev and the foundation stone at Amritsar before you go in. It is the reason this stop is on a Sikh itinerary at all, and easy to miss if nobody says so.

Getting there from your hotel

Mian Mir is in Lahore, a short drive from the hotels we use, and is fitted into the Lahore programme where the schedule allows. Konnect Yatra groups travel by private coach with our own staff.