From ages the ritual of going to religious figures for the treatment of any kind of illness has been costume amongst people. Not limited to any religion or part of the world, it is a phenomenon that can be manipulated or truly used by someone who pose themselves as being able to perform those rituals/ Why something that is not physically connected to the body is working, has been answered by the psychiatrists as “Placebo effect”. However science distances itself from the exact role of these rituals.

Even though mainstream Islam disapproves the ritual of mankind having the power of healing terminal illness, however it does not rule out the power of faith on the healing of disease. Some sectors of Islam, though disapproved by mainstream Islam, do perform “miracle healing” and sets up huge center like structures, also called shrine (ZYARAT or ZIARAT) or perform it at their house only by connecting their ancestries to some religious figures and claim they have inherited the power of healing either by them or the Zyarat.

One of these Zyarats are Mehtarlam Baba, which is located in Laghman , Afghanistan . Its in a remote place of Laghman province and is very popular all over Afghanistan . Its history of establishment reaches Ghaznavid Empire. Which Sultan Mahmood of Ghazni (picture below) saw in his dream the presence of Mehtarlam baba and has build the shrine, in Laghman province. Since then people come with diverse illness and believe they could be cured, this shrine is also the center for seasonal festivals and celebrations. Its also the capitol of the province itself. The Zyarat itself has guards and housekeepers that are paidby the locals thru charity or gifts and sacrifices.

Hoe effective is the Zyarat itself is controversial but despite the controversy thousands of people are visiting it each year. To proof its effectiveness compare to placebo would be a challenge to scientists and the representative of the Zyarat itself. At the moment we could accept it as an historic and interesting place to visit with the small history I just eluded above.