Pir Sabir Shah (the spiritual pir of Ahmad Shah Durrani)

Pir Sabir Shah was a dervish and Ahmad Shah Abdali's spiritual pir. The Bayan-i-Waqai refers to Pir Sabir Shah as the son of a farrier from Lahore and describes Lahore as 'his country.' Meanwhile, the Siyar al-Mutakherin describes him as the grandson of a famous farrier from Kabul. It appears that his family was originally from Kabul and migrated to settle in Lahore. [1]

Sabir Shah abandoned Lahore in his youth and traveled to Kabul, Kandahar, and Herat. A few days before Nadir Shah's assassination, he predicted Ahmad Khan Abdali's rise to kingship. At a jirga of the Abdalis in Kandahar for the selection of their king, he put sheaves of wheat on the head of Ahmad Shah Durrani and proclaimed him "Badshah, Durr-i Dauran" (King, the Pearl of the Age), a title Ahmad Shah later changed to "Durr-i-Durran" (Pearl of Pearls). [2]

In 1748 Pir Sabir Shah visited his birthplace Lahore. The Tarikh-i-Sultani says that Sabir Shah repeated his old game of small tents in the bazars of Lahore and said that he was bringing the rule of Ahmad Shah Abdali to the country. Shah Nawaz Khan (Mughal governor of Lahore) could not bear to hear this, he ordered the dervish to be put to death. According to the contemporary Anand Ram Mukhlis, hot melted lead was poured down the throat of Sabir Shah. [3] 

The tomb of Pir Sabir Shah is situated on a raised platform at the back of Badshahi mosque towards the Taksali Gate. [4] 

Pir Sabir Shah placing a cluster of wheat on Ahmad Shah Abdali's turban, proclaiming him as a king. Painting by Ustad Abdul Ghafur Breshna, made in 1942. Source

Shrine of Sher Surkh where coronoation of Ahmad Shah Abdali took place. Source: "Ahmad Shah Baba Afghan" by Mir Ghulam Muhammad Ghobar

The cluster of wheat on the national flag of Afghanistan, is a reference to the cluster of wheat put in the turban of Ahmad Shah Abdali by Pir Sabir Shah Lahori.

References 

1- "Bayan-i-Waqi" and "Siyar al-Mutakhireen".
2- "Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan" by Thomas H. Johnson, ‎Ludwig W. Adamec
3- "Ahmad Shah Durrani by Ganda Singh
4- Ibid