A shrine at Multan

The shrine of Shah Rukn-e-Alam is a major tomb and place of pilgrimage in Multan, Pakistan. Pakistan’s Department of Archaeology and Museums describes the monument as an octagonal brick structure supported by corner buttresses and timber framing. It records the site as protected under national antiquities legislation. Shah Rukn-e-Alam was associated with the Suhrawardi tradition and with the family of Bahauddin Zakariya, whose shrine is also in Multan. The two tombs are separate monuments. A modern protection record describes the building in a particular administrative context and should be read alongside evidence about its earlier history.[1][4]

Brick, timber and tile

A Punjab Urban Unit heritage report dates the monument’s construction to the early fourteenth century and discusses its decoration, including tilework, calligraphy and floral motifs. Brick and timber form part of a structure whose surfaces have been repaired and renewed over time. The building can be studied through its plan and materials as well as its continuing religious use. The report’s historical descriptions should be compared with architectural surveys and conservation records: a decorative surface visible today may include later replacement rather than material surviving unchanged from the original construction. Such distinctions help explain how historic monuments endure.[2]

Conservation in the twentieth century

A tourism assessment hosted by the World Bank discusses the tomb and notes restoration during the 1970s. The work of conserving a building includes decisions about damaged masonry, decorative surfaces and the skills required to repair them. An assessment written for tourism planning is one source on the monument’s history and management, not a substitute for the detailed records of the restoration itself. The shrine continues to be used by devotees, so its history includes both conservation work and living practices. Current access and arrangements should be checked locally rather than inferred from an older report.[3]

Sources & notes

Source records include access dates and, where known, limits on what was examined. Checks used AI assistance; independent human or specialist review has not been completed.

  1. Department of Archaeology and Museums, Pakistan. Tomb of Shah Rukhn-I-Alam ↗Written source · Source date: not established; referenced inventory 1987 · Locator: Department monument entry: description and legal status; latitude and longitude. Accessed 2026-11-04.Department entry checked for structure and stated protection. The page cites a 1987 inventory; this is not necessarily the web record date or a new legal audit. Coordinate fields inspected; map point does not define the property boundary.Return to A shrine at Multan, paragraph 1 ↑
  2. Punjab Urban Unit. Archaeology & Cultural Heritage Sectoral Report: Multan Regional Development Plan ↗Written source · Source date: 2023 · Locator: Printed p. 15: Tomb Shah Rukne Alam. Accessed 2026-11-04.Urban Unit report passage checked for this monument; its historical statements and conservation descriptions were not independently verified against original surveys.Return to Brick, timber and tile, paragraph 1 ↑
  3. World Bank. Initial Assessment around Twenty-Three Sites ↗Written source · Source date: publication date not established · Locator: Printed pp. 124–125: Shah Rukn-e-Alam and 1970s renovation. Accessed 2026-11-04.Working English World Bank-hosted assessment text checked; it is a tourism assessment, not an independent examination of original restoration records.Return to Conservation in the twentieth century, paragraph 1 ↑
  4. Punjab Auqaf and Religious Affairs Department. Hazrat Rukn-ud-Din (RA), Multan ↗Written source · Source date: publication date not established · Locator: Biography: Suhrawardi affiliation and Bahauddin Zakariya. Accessed 2026-11-04.Indexed official biography checked for the family and spiritual relationship; underlying historical manuscripts were not independently examined.Return to A shrine at Multan, paragraph 1 ↑
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Record PH-PLA-0242 · English edition · human review not performed