haki Shah Jee village is located nearly 12 kilometres northwest of Kot Gulla in Lawa tehsil of Chakwal. I visited this village in 2022 with my friend Tariq Mehmood Malik, a historian and author from the Talagang town. The village is renowned for the shrine of Pir Syed Muhammad Shah Bukhari, also known as Shah Jee, and its historical mosque, built in 1261 AH/ 1845 AD. Prior to the arrival of Shah Jee, from Tarap village in Jand tehsil, the village had been known as Chaki. After his arrival, it came to be known as Chaki Shah Jee.

Shah Jee was a deputy (khalifa) of Khwaja Muhammad Shah Suleman Taunsvi, commonly referred to as Pir Pathan (d. 1850). After receiving his robe of initiation, he established a khanqah and a mosque in Chaki Shah Jee village. The village’s oldest mosque, which he built, was situated on the left bank of the Soan River, a tributary of the Indus River. The mosque has since been rebuilt, and none of the original structure remains.

The second oldest mosque in the village is located to the east of the shrine of Pir Syed Muhammad Shah. The foundation stone for this mosque was laid jointly by Syed Akram Shah and Mian Muhammad, also known as Faqir Sahib. Syed Akram Shah, the son of Pir Syed Muhammad Shah, was the first sajjada nashin (custodian) of the darbar. Mian Muhammad alias Faqir Sahib, a close friend of Pir Syed Muhammad Shah, was a deputy of Maulana Muhammad Ali Makhadi (d. 1837), whose shrine is located in Makhad Sharif, Jand. Maulana Muhammad Ali Makhadi too had been initiated into the Chishtiyya order by Khwaja Taunsvi (Pir Pathan). Mian Muhammad, or Faqir Sahib, is interred in the shrine of Pir Syed Muhammad Shah.

The original mosque had featured three wooden arched entrances that provided access to the main prayer hall. Later, an additional covered verandah with five arched entrances was constructed by Syed Chan Badshah (d. 1988), the son of Syed Miran Badshah and grandson of Pir Syed Muhammad Shah (Shah Jee). This verandah was built using burnt bricks.

The old mosque was constructed from dressed stone slabs extracted from the nearby Soan River. The stones were brought from the river and dressed at the construction site. A renowned mason, Mian Muhammad from Jabbi Shah Dilawar village in Talagang tehsil, was commissioned to build the mosque. His name is inscribed on the southern and northern walls that flank the three wooden arched entrances. Jabbi Shah Dilawar, located 3 kilometres northwest of Multan Khurd, was well known in the Pothohar region for its celebrated masons. Masons from this village not only constructed mosques but also built grand mansions.

A stone-built mosque and two fortified havelis of the Bahi Pathans in Dhoke Musa village, in Lawa, were also built by masons from Jabbi Shah Dilawar. I visited Dhoke Musa with Tariq Mehmood Malik and later wrote an article about its cultural heritage for The Friday Times. One of the notable masons, Muhammad Hussain from Jabbi Shah Dilawar, built a stone mosque in the village that is renowned for its finely dressed and decorated stone slabs.

In addition to the mosque, the most remarkable buildings in Dhoke Musa are the two havelis belonging to the Bahi Pathans. These were constructed by Mian Khuda Bakhsh and Mian Lal for their respective sons. In 1902, Mian Khuda Bakhsh built an impressive fortified haveli for his four sons: Malik Sultan Mahmood, Malik Walidad Khan, Malik Rahimdad Khan and Malik Karimdad Khan. This haveli was later renovated and expanded by Malik Sultan Mahmood. It is believed that Mistri Muhammad Hussain also built this haveli, with assistance from other masons.

The historical mosque of Chaki Shah Jee is also renowned for its exquisite wood carvings, unmatched elsewhere in Lawa tehsil. It is built on a rectangular plan, featuring three wooden arched entrances and a newly constructed covered verandah. Entry to the mosque is through these three wooden arches, which lead into an antechamber. From this vestibule, a finely carved wooden doorway opens into the main prayer hall. Both the triple wooden arched entrances and the wooden door are adorned with intricate carvings.

Triple wooden arched entrances were a prominent architectural feature in mosques built across the Pothohar region during the 19th and 20th Centuries. Many mosques in the area have this design. Two notable examples are found in Ranjha village in Chakwal tehsil and Jasial village in Talagang tehsil – both known for their exceptional wood carvings.

Ranjha village, located about 48 kilometres south of Chakwal town, is home to two historic mosques. One of those, locally known as the Khajoor Wali Masjid, is particularly famous for its triple wooden arched entrances and intricately carved wooden door. Like the mosque at Chaki Shah Jee, it is built on a rectangular plan, with an antechamber leading to the main prayer hall via a beautifully carved wooden door. The quality of craftsmanship in these elements is unparalleled in any other village in the Dhan area of Chakwal.

The arts and crafts of the Dhan region have a distinctive beauty, elegance and cultural identity. The floral and geometric designs seen on doors, balconies and jharokhas of historic buildings reflect the remarkable mastery of Dhani craftsmen in wood carving.

Through interviews with members of the mistri community and their patrons, I learnt that masons often competed for commissions from the wealthiest clients. These artisans would engage in friendly rivalry, striving to create the most elaborate and aesthetically pleasing patterns – both to satisfy their patrons and to impress fellow craftsmen and the wider community. This competitive spirit spurred innovation in both wood carving and stone masonry across Pothohar. Over time, distinctive patterns became associated with individual masons and communities began to identify specific stylistic elements as signatures of particular artisans.

The mosque, the shrine and the bungalow together form key elements of the cultural landscape of Chaki Shah Jee village, bearing testimony to its rich architectural and spiritual heritage.

Jasial village, located 10 kilometres from Talagang town, is home to two historic mosques: the Jamia Masjid and the Madinah Masjid. Both are renowned for their impressive wood carvings. Madinah Masjid, the older mosque, was constructed by Mistri Mian Muhammad from Mirjan village. His name and the date of construction are inscribed on the two decorative pillars flanking the mosque’s entrance. The left pillar bears the inscription “Mistri Mian Muhammad of Mirjan;” the right pillar displays the date as 1358 AH/ 1939 AD.

Originally, the mosque had featured a beautifully painted wooden ceiling, which was unfortunately removed during a renovation. The mosque’s wooden door, however, remains a fine example of craftsmanship and is exquisitely carved. Its design was inspired by the wooden door of the Jamia Masjid in Singwala village, also located in Talagang tehsil. Both the mosque and its door were crafted by Sirajuddin, a renowned mason from Pachnand, a village in Lawa tehsil celebrated for its skilled artisans.

The Jamia Masjid of Jasial was constructed by three masons: Ghulam Muhammad from Talagang town, Noor Muhammad from Jasial village and Muhammad Waris from Targar village. Each contributed at different stages of the mosque’s construction and subsequent renovations. The renovation was overseen by Qazi Ahmad Din, who taught at the mosque and initiated Friday prayers there. Qazi Ahmad Din (d. 1973) was a deputy (khalifa) of Khwaja Ahmed Mairvi (d. 1911), whose shrine is located in Maira Sharif in Pindigheb.

Beyond the Chakwal district, I have visited several villages that feature mosques with triple wooden arched entrances. Two particularly notable examples are the Langar Khana mosque and the Jamia Masjid in Thatta village of Jand tehsil, both renowned for their beautifully crafted triple wooden arches.

The Langar Khana mosque, formerly known as the Dhibbay Wali Masjid, is especially famous for its exquisite woodwork. Although it has undergone several renovations, the mosque has retained much of its original woodwork. The arched entrances and doors are ornately carved, featuring both floral and geometric designs engraved into the wooden surfaces.

The Jamia Masjid of Thatta village, also known as the Bazaar Wali Masjid, is celebrated for its impressive wooden elements – including doors, pillars, ceilings and its distinctive triple wooden arched entrances.

While many mosques in the Pothohar region feature triple wooden arched entrances, the Jamia Masjid of Chaki Shah Jee stands out for the intricacy of its fretted panels, which display finely detailed geometric patterns. Unique architectural features of this mosque include multi-foil or cusped arches with spandrels adorned with floral scroll motifs. Even the wooden door leading to the main prayer hall is designed with a decorative cusped arch and floral scrollwork carved into the door jambs.

A distinctive feature of the Chaki Shah Jee mosque is the use of the beam-and-pillar technique in the construction of its main prayer hall. The roof is supported by eight wooden pillars, each featuring fluted shafts resting on decorative square bases. Two central wooden pillars provide additional support for the wooden roof and are adorned with elegantly carved volutes.

Similar wooden pillars can be found in other mosques across the region, including the Jamia Masjid in Maira Sharif, the Jamia Masjid in Khichi, the Jamia Masjid of Chawli village in Chakwal district, the Jamia Masjid of Thatta village in Attock district, and several others throughout the Pothohar region.

In addition to the mosque, a notable landmark in Chaki Shah Jee village is the bungalow of Syed Muhammad Shah II. Now in ruins, this bungalow was constructed from dressed stone slabs and built by Syed Muhammad Shah II, the son of Syed Miran Badshah. It is also referred to as the bungalow of Syed Lal Badshah (d. 2008), the son of Syed Muhammad Shah II, who resided in it for many years.

The mosque, the shrine and the bungalow together form key elements of the cultural landscape of Chaki Shah Jee village, bearing testimony to its rich architectural and spiritual heritage.

The writer is an anthropologist at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad. He has authored 17 books on Pakistan& its cultural heritage and anthropology. He tweets @kalhorozulfiqar. He may be contacted at zulfi04@hotmail.com