| Shrine of Khalid Walid | |
| Location: | near Kabirwala, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Type: | Sufi shrine |
| Complete: | late 12th-early 13th century |
| Map Name: | Punjab Pakistan#Pakistan |
| Map Text: | Situated at Khati Pur Thaheem |
| Coordinates: | 30.4768°N 71.7232°W |
The Shrine of Khalid Walid (ur|{{nq|مقبره خالد وليد) is a Sufi shrine located in the village of Nawan Shehr, near the Pakistani city of Kabirwala. The shrine is dedicated to the 12th century warrior-saint Khaliq Walid, popularly known instead as Khalid Walid (not to be confused with Islam's Khalid ibn Walid of Arabia).[1] The shrine dates from the period of the medieval Delhi Sultanate,[2] and may be the earliest Muslim funerary monument in South Asia.[3] The shrine represents the first stage of evolution of funerary monuments in southern Punjab which would later culminate with the Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam in Multan.
The tomb dates from between the last quarter of the 12th century,[4] and the early decades of the 13th century.[2] The shrine bears an inscription stating that the shrine was built by Ali bin Karamakh, who served as Governor of Multan during the reign of Muhammad of Ghor.[5] The tomb was rediscovered and identified as the shrine of Khalid Walid by Dr Ahmad Nabi Khan and Kamil Khan.[6]
The shrine assumes the form of a fortified rectangle measuring 70 by 90 feet, and is capped by a low and sloped dome,[7] with an exterior made of plain brick and inward sloping walls that may derive from Seljuk architecture from Central Asia.[8] The use of wooden bands horizontally across the shrine, and use of both glazed and cut brick also represents the influence of Central Asian Seljuk architecture.[8]
The shrine reflects elements of military architecture, with semicircular bastions in each of the shrine's corners, as well as in the middle of 3 of the 4 walls. The western wall of the shrine features a small projection, indicating the location of the mihrab.[9] The roofline is decorated with crenellations - a feature commonly employed in fortified structures such as the Rohtas Fort. Similar influence of military architecture is found at the Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam in Multan.[10]
The shrine's interior is square shaped measuring 24 feet on each side,[11] with entrance on each side that open to vaulted galleries, and rectangular shaped chambers on the east and west side of the shrine. The interior space is divided into a series of galleries The shrine's interior walls are decorated with cut-brick designs. The shrine is notable for its exceptional mihrab made of cut and molded brick, decorated with Kufic calligraphy,[12] capped with a hood similar to a baldachin. Decorative cut-brick patterns on the ornate mihrab differ from patterns on the rest of the shrine.[13]