The Haji Ali Dargah was constructed in 1431 in memory of a wealthy Muslim merchant, Sayyed Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari, who gave up all his worldly possessions before making a pilgrimage to Mecca. Hailing from Bukhara, in present-day Uzbekistan, Bukhari traveled around the world in the early to mid 15th century and eventually settled in present-day Mumbai. According to legends surrounding his life, once the saint saw a poor woman crying on the road, holding an empty vessel. He asked her the problem; she sobbed that her husband would thrash her as she stumbled and accidentally spilled the oil she was carrying. He asked her to take him to the spot where she spilled the oil. There, he jabbed a finger into the soil, and the oil gushed out. The overjoyed woman filled up the vessel and went home. Later, Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari had a recurring and disturbing dream that he had injured Earth by his act. Full of remorse and grief from that day, he started keeping unwell. Then, with his mother's permission, he traveled to India with his brother and finally reached the shore of Mumbai – near Worli, opposite the present tomb. His brother went back to their native place. Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari sent a letter with him to their mother informing her that he was keeping good health and decided to permanently reside at that place permanently for the spread of Islam and forgive him. Until his death, he kept spreading knowledge about Islam to the people, and his devotees would regularly visit him. Before his death, he advised his followers that they should not bury him at any proper place or graveyard and drop his Shroud ('kafan') in the ocean. His followers obeyed his wish. The Dargah is at the very site where his Shroud came to rest in the middle of the sea, where it perched on a small mound of rocks rising above the sea. On Thursdays and Fridays, people visit the Dargah to get the blessings of the holy saint. Sometimes, especially on Fridays, various Sufi musicians perform devotional music called Qawwali at the Dargah.
