India GOSabir Kaliyari (Sabir Pak): the patient saint of Kaliyar
علاؤ الدین صابر کلیری
Nephew and disciple of Baba Farid, founder of the Sabiri Chishtis; his dargah at Piran Kaliyar near Haridwar draws every faith.
Alauddin Ali Ahmed Sabir, called Sabir Pak or Sabir Piya by his devotees, was a 13th-century Sufi of the Chishti order, nephew and disciple of Baba Farid, and the founder of its Sabiri branch. He died in 1291 at Kaliyar near Roorkee, in today's Uttarakhand, and his dargah at Piran Kaliyar is one of the most revered Sufi shrines in India, visited by Muslims and Hindus alike.
Story
Put in charge of Baba Farid's langar at Pakpattan, he is said to have fed everyone and never eaten from it himself, living on leaves and wild fruit, hence the name Sabir, “the patient”; later Farid sent him to Kaliyar, and the town, legend says, fell into ruin after wronging him. The tomb was raised by Ibrahim Lodi; for centuries it has stood an hour's drive from the ghats of Haridwar, and pilgrims to the Ganga come here too, on the same day. The langar still cooks.
Places linked to them
Piran Kaliyar Sharif · HaridwarHis place in the Chishti line
The Chishti order came to India with Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer and passed from him to Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki in Delhi and then to Fariduddin Ganjshakar, Baba Farid, at Pakpattan in today's Pakistan. After Farid it divided in two. One line followed Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi, the master of Amir Khusrau, and spread across the subcontinent; the other followed Sabir, Farid's nephew and successor, and became the Chishti-Sabiri order.
The details of his early life come from devotional biographies rather than records. They give his birth year as 1196; the place is Multan in some accounts and Herat in others. The story behind his name, told above, is the heart of all of them: the man trusted with the master's kitchen who would not eat from it.
The dargah at Piran Kaliyar
The shrine stands in the village of Piran Kaliyar, about 7 km from Roorkee on the Upper Ganga Canal and some 25 km from Haridwar. The tomb was built under Ibrahim Lodi, the last Lodi sultan of Delhi. People come above all to ask for healing, and the shrine is revered by Muslims and Hindus alike; many combine it with a visit to the Ganga at Haridwar. Evenings bring qawwali. Entry is free; cover your head and dress modestly.
The Urs of Sabir Pak
The Urs, the anniversary of the saint's death, is kept as a celebration of the soul's union with God rather than as mourning. At Kaliyar it lasts about two weeks in Rabi al-Awwal, the third month of the Islamic calendar. It opens with the Mehndi Dori procession on the night the new crescent is seen; the main rites, the two nights of lights (Badi Roshni falls on the 12th), the closing Qul prayers and the washing of the tomb, fall between the 11th and 14th of the month, around the anniversary on the 13th. In 2026 it ran from 14 to 27 August; in 2027 it is projected for 3 to 16 August, to be confirmed by the moon. The lanes fill with lamps and stalls, and qawwali goes on through the nights.
❓ FAQ
What is Kaliyar Sharif famous for?
For the dargah of Sabir Kaliyari, founder of the Chishti-Sabiri order, where people of every faith come to pray for healing, and for its fortnight-long Urs.
Who is Sabir Piya?
The same saint: Sabir Piya and Sabir Pak are affectionate names for Alauddin Ali Ahmed Sabir Kaliyari.
Where is the Sabir Piya dargah?
At Piran Kaliyar in Haridwar district, Uttarakhand, about 7 km from Roorkee and some 25 km from Haridwar.
When is the Kaliyar Urs?
For about two weeks in Rabi al-Awwal, so about eleven days earlier each year: 14–27 August in 2026, projected 3–16 August in 2027.