C H A P T E R 1ST

Shrines end their HIstoryi • • •

The shrines end ziarats dedicated to various saints andRlshls of Kashmir# together with the relics housed in them haveplayed a dominant role in the religious and socio-cultural lifeof the people. Those shrines were looked upon as centres ofdeliverance by the ignorant end the superstitious people of theValley who were always in need and want anu were usually in the grip of a disease or calamity.

From very early times the people of kashmir in streams and swarms flocked to these shrines to seek one favour or the other. The people gave their bdst and denated their share of money and often their labour to raise the shrine— Khana ah, muzp. This is how Kashmir came to possess a large number of well constructed and beautiful shrines (ziarats), hospices (Khanca*i^) anu tombs (rouzas). 'Hie architecture of these structures ref lected a gradual shift from the work of masonary to that of carpcr.fcry end timber. The style v/«s by and large indo-saracenic, sometimes showing conspicuous traits of Kashmir and Mughal styles -'£ archr. tecture. However, at places particularly the roofs of these shrines showed treces of Chinese style too.Kh one ch- 1- Bulbul Shahs

Saiyid oiharaf-ud-Din popularly known in Kashmir as' Bulbul Shah, man of high spirituality came to Kashmir during the reign of Raja 3uha Deva (1301— 1319). it was his spiritual attainment and self abnegation that first influenced end then motivated the

10

then King Finchana to embrace Islam at his handst Chus the credit of initiation of conversion to Islam goes to Saiyid Bulbul 3ha!i. .iinchane became the prominent disciple of Bulbul Jhah. He was rechristened as Sadr-ud-Din.

It wps under the instructions of 3aiyid Sharaf-ud-Dinthat a three-storeyed Khangah was constructed by Rinchana (MultanSadr-ud-Din) at a large cost on the right bank of river Jhelum,some hundred metres away from .Aali Kedal on the western side*Winchans named the Khanqah after Saiyid 3haraf-rjd-Din alias3ulbul .ihah' s name. Obviously, with the construction of Knanqah-i-Bulbul Shah, the tradition of formal Khanqah building came to

2be founded in Kashmir. A langar was attached to Khanqah where food was given to the devotees, i'his lancar was functional upto disk regime^ and there is no reference to show whether or not the lanaar survived thereafter. It was due to the attachment of 1 anaar that the are? surrounding the Khanqah came to be called Bulbul

1. ParifCh-i-Hasan* Vol. Ill, pp. 316— 317. Hineftana, Ladakhi hPo offered to become a Hindu but the Brahmans, out of jheer parochiritjtsm, did not allow him to join their fold. Thereupon he declired that he would accept the religion of the person whom he would see early next morning, he saw ->aiyic Sharaf- ud-Din offering morning prayers to God. Rinchana was impressed. :<e approached the Seiyid and offered to e.ccc-pt hi s* faith and thus Bulbul oh ah converted him into Islam. P. In.. K, Bamzai,A nistor/ of Kashmir, p. 238,

2. 'Jarlkh-j-Hasan, Vol. I, p. 317.

3. Ibid., p. 3 23.

11

1I.anc;ar now mispronounced as Bulbul 1 anker. Fhe King bestowed some villages, as jegir on the khanqah for meeting its expenses on account of langar khan a (free kitchen) and servants and

Cl323— 1338), and was buried in the compound of the khanqah on river side*

Khanqah-i-Bulbul Jhah, erected wholly in wood, caucht fire in 1604 A, ). during Mirze Akbar All* s time, a fiughal Governor. This tine the loyal and faithful disciples (murids) of Bulbul Shah

4reconstructed the khanqah in wooden structure painstakingly. Kalik Haider Chaudora states that the old end the basic khanqah was

was after some time that the khanqah was constructed a new* The present khancah is 3ingle storey. Its material consists of brick and wood.

1. I'he place was originally called Diddamatha which a little later came to be called as Didamar. Finally, with the attachment of langar end to perpetuate the memory of Bulbul lhah it became famous as Bulbul langr-r. r or.1 kh-l-H as an Vol. I, p. 3 23; R. K. Fermu, Hjstorv of Muslim Rule in Kashmir, p. 392.

2. I'arikh-i-Hasan, Vol. I, p. 318; Mohibbul Hasan, op. cit., p.40. In Turkistan 'langar' means 'inn*

3. Kashur Encyclopaedia, p. 155,i1. Kesthur Encvc 1 opaedl a. p. 1565. In course of time, however, the khanqah seems to have

suffered a lot owing to inattention so that in 137 2 A,D,Bates observes that it (khanqah) was in an afflicted c ondi ti on , I bi d.

2mutwalls. Bulbul .Shah passed away during Udeyanao Dev a's regime

12

Khancah— i--Mualla»

Khanqah-i-Mualle is situated in Srinagar on the right bank of river Tnelum between the third end the fourth bridges.Che site is four kilometres to the north of Lal-Chowk. The shrineis named aftrr the renowned mystic, scholar, poet, theologian

1 ^ and author. Mir Saivid A H Hamadani^ popularly known as Anir-i-Kefcir or jhah-i-Hamadan in the Valley* He was one of the most remarkable personalities of the 14th century Muslim world. He hailed from Hamad an in irersia and came to Kashmir in order toprop op ate He succeeded in bringing about mp»s conversionand chancing the social and cultural complexion of millions of people inhabiting the Valley, He may well be said to have practi­cally established Islam in Kashmir and laid the foundatious well

2and sure, Among the principal shrines, which came to be knownafter his name, the mo;-'t important is khanqah-i-Kulla#

The origin of Khanqah-i-Mualla goes back to the construction of a platform (suffah) by Sultan Gutb-ud-Din in honour of Kir 3eiyia <<Li Hemadani for his daily prayer. He w?s fr-mous '-usiim

1, -iaiyid Ali Hamadani is said to nave been author of morethan one hundred works on logic, jurisprudence, philosophy, ethics, suf.i sm and corrmentaries. Among his well-known works are; 2. akhi r at- ul-M ul uk. £ av af at-n ama, Minh qy- ul-^r if in *Khul as at- ul-M an acib. Asrar-ul-Nef s. Oh av at- ul-'' akan and others.

2, r^ohibbul Hasan, Kashmir Under the Sultans, p. 55*■'* History ~~f Muslim Rule in Kashmir* pp. 101-102,

13

3aint of Kubrevi orcer\ who arrived in the '/alley during tne2reinn of Sult~m Qutb-ud-Din (1373-1339). Aprrt ficm being a

place of prayer* Khanqah-i-Kual1 a becwne t main centre of thepropagation of Islam by ilir Seiyici /-H Hamadani. A small room(hujre-i-khas) was constructed in north western corner of suf i ah(in the direction of qibla) which was used by ?'it 3eyid Ali

3Harnadani for residence end meditation snd this apartment is held in high esteem by the Muslims to this date. A rectangular repository fitted v;j.th glass panes is installed at the outer cate of huira-i khas« Its contents include* among other sacred things* the banner of the Prophet (p.b.u,h») of Islam and a wooden pillar against which he usually reclined in his tent, doth the relics were brought

4by 3h ah-i-H am ad an to Kashmir and deposited in the nosque •

The visit to Kashmir by Mir -iaiyid Ali Hamadeni was followed5

by a similar visit by .:ir i-iuhaitenad HsuadaniJ hi.y son. Jhe letter* alongwith his three hundred disciples, arrived in Kashmir during

1. This order was founded by Ahmad-bin-Umarul khayuqi alsoknovti t-s jmu’d-Din Kubrc born in 540 A.K/ 11 5 A. ;, in. Khwarzm-Kubravi Sufi order is an off-shooc :f the iuhrawardi order of oufi3m. A disciple of Shaikh Abu Najib Juhrawardhi* Shaikh Ismail Cadiri was one of the spiritual teachers of Najmu* d-i"--in Kubra* This Sufi order spread throughout the Muslim world especially in Central Asia and . nr sia. orderwas introduced in Kashmir by Mir Saiyid Ali da.madani*

2. <A. w. 3af iqi, Sufism in K ?shrolr, p. 63.3. i*ax 1 kh-i-i.asari. Vol. I* p. 328,4. Tarikh-i^ilesan, Vol. Ill, p. lo3.5. for Saiyid *li's advice t^ his son* Saiyid ;• uho i:-;ad* on the

educational value of travels* Abdul Wanab Nuri* E'athat-j- Kubraviva, R.P.D.* NOs 17, f. 155b.

14

the reicn of Sultan iikandar and occupied the same suffahwhere his father has prayed* He accelerel ■ > u. i anclsucceeded in influencing the rsigning Multan, who, apart fromabiding by his many other suggestions, convert^*'’ the suff eh(platform) of Mir Saiyid Ali Hamadani into a fulfledged single

2storey &u khanqah in two years. Ar art fr om builcing the khanqah, a substantial aqf grant wes also endowed upon it. I*he waqfnama (the endowment deed) of the khanqeh-i-Mualla which is .reserved

3in the said khanqah says that the revenue of three villages;Wechi from pare an a shahura, Tral from pargena Ultr and Nunwunl

4from p erg an a Martand were bestoweu upon ic*

1. Mohibbul Hasan, op. cit.# p. 63; Tarikh-i-Hc.sen, Vol. i# p. 330*

2* ^arlkh-l-noson, Vol. I, p. 330.He also constructed khanqah-i-Ala at Tral near V an tip or ,

i'h snq ah-i- tfal a in Wachi, Parc ana .ihehura, '*nd the khancah-i- Kubravi in Mat an. He also b u i l t the grand Jamia Mas 11 d at ?ikanderi-ora. 0. ;-t. 0. Sufi, .shir, p. 146.

3. 'he -teqmaae makes mention of the foundation of khanqah as unders

“Muhammad, Son of Mir Saiyid Ali Hamadani says# Since ..r/ fetner removed the rust of heresy and heathenism from the hearts of the Kashmiris with the help of Godly Kings, Sultan wucb-ud-Din, he laid the foundation of khanqah-i- Mulla? iae Wacfnama preserved in the khanqah-i-!lualla L'ruBt, Srinagar, Kashmir.

4. 11 x i said that Mir Muhammad Hamadani had with him a Lal-i-faadakshan (jewel) which he presented to the Sultan.L"ne Multan reciprocated this offer with the assignment of the three above-mentioned villages as jegir for up-keep and maintenance of the khanqah. I1 arikh-i-Hasan, Vol. I, p. 33l*

Besides, Bah~ristan-1 - 3hahi and L‘uhfat-ul-Ahbad makes mention of only two villages. But it do< s not appear to be correct. In Waqfnama and other contemporory sources, there is clear mention of all the three villages*

15

)

As khanqah was exclusively of wooden structure, it caught : ire several times. During ^ulten Has an s tisne (147 2-84),there occured fire in Ala-ud-Dinpore eni Khanqeh-i-.iualla got burnt. The sultan himself took peins in r-econstructing the khanqah f?nd built a splendid structure of single storey. de also purchased the lend lying in the vicinity 0 1 Khenaah end extended its co^ound^

2In 114 4 A .H /1731 a .d . th ere occured a l i r e and khanqah-

i - is u e l la whicn was a l l b u ilt of deodar t j mber acain caught f i r e .

Che khadlms succeeded in sa v in g th e r e l i c s (teb j c.kc) at the time

of fi re . Wewab Abu Bar aka t Khan, the *ugh?l V icero y undertook3thi ? time the work of reconst ruction. He consttucc^n chambers i.e.

small rooms (h u jra s ) and erected four pillars in the middle.

<?he present structure ot the khanqah brine.: br?ck the T^nory of those times. Apart from the cloisters which have been added iQufe® and the additions and alterations that arr bed:ir corri od out by present day care takers, the original building is a square structure. Its chief structural peculiarity is c :»<??; jr. i*? for most pert built of wooden balks ^resenting b^st specimen of the

•iaiyid Mi, Te*lkh-l-3alvid a h , <j.f . n o 4 7 3 >, f. 32b., Khawdj c buhammad Azam Ued&nari, -Qc/at-l-*.c ..;i< -dr, .i.F.-u., \*0s 100, f. 224a,i .-%.K. r>amzai, /» H istorv Kashmir. p. 534.

Ibid.,

16

woo'V-o c-rc'hitecture* It is interesting to note th-ft its roofis probably very similer to that which once covered the templeat ->rt and end the crowning ornament is evidently a reminiscence

1of a Buddhist Hiti, It is a significant fact that the heavy corbelled cornice at khanqah-i-Muella should bear e strong resemblance to that of the mosque of Madani et Mpdin 5«hib and si Til 1 ar little mosque at D amp or e.

-he interior of Khanqeh-i-KuaHe consists of a singlelarge hall, 63 feet by 43 feet, with fourteen chewbors or cells on its northern and southern sides, The only sc ~r ation in the interior is the beautiful panelled wood work on i s walls, to which art; has i'Rparted a rich brown colour, i’he li-rQer panels in the walls bear carved on them various attributes of God, which have been painted in gold,

i'he spaces between the balks are filled and carefullydressed with bricks. ~>ome of the doors and windows ere beautifulexamples of wood carving and wood cornice, i’he plinth is anexquisite piece of workmanship. Its mein gate opens on the easternside. ?here is also e graveyard in the northern pert of thekhan<- ah, the view of R.C. Kak that Lhe tomb of iiir ^eiyid Ali

2Hamadani is situated within the khanq eh is erroneous* Actually

iexcusson J. History of Indian and Eastern .nreniteccure, p. 333,

17

18

Mir S a iy id A li Hamadani t r a v e l le d to P ak h li and thence proceeded

to Kunar near K a fir is ta n * Here he f e l l i l l s e r io u s ly And d ied on

January 19 , 138 5 and was b u ried in K h atlan .*

Jam ia M aslidt

Jam ia Mas l id . th e grand mosque or Bud Masheed. s itu a te d 2

a t S ikan darpora, was b u i l t by Su ltan Sikandar under the in s t r u c -3

t io n s o f Mir Muhammad Hamadani* I t i s b u i l t in th e unique s t y le

o f Kashm iri a rc h ite c tu re fo r d a i ly worship and co n g regatio n a l

p ra y e rs . The work of co n stru ctio n was c a r r ie d out under th e

su p e rv is io n o f S a iy id Muhammad o f L u rista n and S a iy id Sadr-ud-D.in

o f Khurasan, both old companions o f the g r e a t Shah-i-Hamadan. The

two gentlemen were d is t in g u ish e d and d extro u s a r c h ite c ts o f t h e ir

tim es* Famous fo r t h e ir exp erien ce , s k i l l and p ie t y , th ey were

in v ite d by Su ltan Sikandar and put in ch arge of th e co n stru ctio n *

The mosque was con structed w ith lo c a l ly a v a i la b le b u ild in g m ateria li­

s t oner tim ber and burnt b r ic k . The two renowned a r c h ite c ts4completed th e co n stru ctio n w ithout accep tin g a penny in re tu rn •

Su ltan Sikandar a lso co n stru cted a g re a t sem inary to i t s north

where A rab ic and P ersian were taught to th e stu d en ts. Qazj Mir

mm ^ ^ q mm _ “ mrn mm ^ im _ w ^m - _ am ^ mm _ M _ im q mm £ £ mm « # 0 mm 0 am A mm * mm ^ mm _ mm 0 • mm m mm • ^ ^m m m

1 . Mohibbul Hasan, Kashmir Under the S u i t i a n « r p . 57.

2, Modern name o f t h is p la c e i s Nowhatta.

3* T arik h -i-H asan , V o l. I , p . 338.

4. G.M.d. S u f i , K ash ir, V o l. I , p . 14 5 .

19

Muhanmad A li Bukhari was appointed as head o f the in s t itu t io n *

A fte r Su ltan S ikan d ar, h is son and su ccesso r Z a in -u l-A b id in

p o p u la r ly known as Badshah in Kashmir, made ad d itio n s and2

a lte r a t io n s in the mosque* To make i t more m agn ificen t and

b e a u t ifu l , a tan k (w ater r e s e r v o ir ) was co n stru cted with a

fo u n ta in p la y in g in th e cen tre* This tan k r e c e iv e d w ater through

can a l which was branched out from Shahkul. Lachma Khetun w ife of

J a l a l Thakur and daughter o f M elik S a if-u d -D in had con stru cted

t h i s can a l, hence i t became famous as I.achma cen al (Lachm a-kul).

The can al which was somehow damaged was rep a ired by Shaikh Ghulam

Mohi-ud-Din, so th a t th e w ater supply to Jam ia M asjid remained

in ta c t*

But i t f i n a l l y f e l l in to d isu se a f t e r 1903 wnen S r in a g a r4

w ater works system was in s t i t u t e d by the s t a t e government. The

can al i s p r a c t i c a l l y non e x is te n t tod ay. The mosque i s one of

th e most sp len d id s tru c tu re o f i t s kind in th e world in p o in t o f

grandeur, a rea and i t s a r c h ite c tu r a l e x c e lla n c e . i t has 370 lo f t y

p i l l a r s c h is e l le d out o f deodar wood. These columns support th e

ro o f and add to th e m agnificence o f the s t ru c tu re , i t has fo u r

m inarets one at th e cen tre o f each of fo u r b lo ck s from which one

1 . K hulasat-u l-T aw arikh* ( M irza Kem al's T ran s), p . 19 9 .

2 . W. R. Lawrence* The V a lie v o f Kashmir* p . 291*

3* I t i s s a id th a t wheu__tl^e water__Qf the can al reached th er f 1, c i t y of S r in a g a r ,/ e ig h ty th ou san d^ 80,000) people were g iven ) ) meals a t Id gah ahd th e caneri"~w§s opened fo r the ceople*

^ T arik h -l-H asan , V o l. I l l , p . 157*

4. Jammu and Kashmir R esearch Bi-annual* V o l. 1 , p . 70*

can have a b ir d s eye view o f th e whole S r in a g a r c i t y . The ro o f

o f th e mosque in th e f i r s t in s ta n c e was covered with b r ic h -b a rk s

which looked v ery fa s c in a t in g and im p ressive during sp rin g season

t u l ip s blossomed thereon*

During th e tim e o f Su ltan Hasan Shah (14 7 2 A.D. 1484 A .D .)

a se r io u s c o n fla g ra t io n occured in th e neighbourhood o f Jam ia M asjid

in th e M oh a l l a Nowhatta ( Sikandarpore) and th e mosque en gu lfed by

th e f i r e . S u ltan Hasan Shah reco n stru cted th e mosque*, but unfor­

tu n a te ly he d ied b e fo re com pleting the work. A fte r h is death h is

son Haider Shah who ascended th e throne resumed th e co n stru ctio n and

completed some p o rtio n s o f i t in th ree y e a r s . The then Commander-

in -C h ie f o f th e army, M alik Ibrahim Magrey a n a t iv e o f Tregham b u i l t

th e ro o f and w a lls around i t out o f h is p r iv a t e p u rse . A fte r th a t

Qazi Musa shaheed during Yaqub Shah Chak's tim e re p a ire d the ro o f 2o f th e mosque.

During emperor Ja h a n g ir 's re ig n in 1029 on Id d -i-P amzan#

tho mosque caught f i r e a second tim e when tw elve thousand houses

in c lu d in g Jam ia M asjid were gu tted in the lower p a rts o f th e c ity *

The emperor bein g p e rso n a lly p resen t in th e V a lle y t r ie d h is b e s t

t o b rin g f i r e under co n tro l but th e mosque could not be saved* The

emperor im m ediately attended to the re co n stru c tio n o f tHe mosque

which w as taken in hand under th e guidance o f R a ls-u l-M u lk . M alik3

H aider Chaudra*

1* T arikh -i-H asan , V o l. I , p . 338? R.K. Parmoo, op. c i t . , p . 18 2 .2 . R. K. Parmoo, pp. c i t . # p . 18 2 .3 . T arik h -l-H asan . V ol. I # p . 339,

K h u lasgt-u l-T aw arikh j p . 377 .

The mosque caught f i r e fo r th ird tim e during the re ig n

o f Aurangzeb, This tim e the f i r e in vo lved th e lower p a r ts o f th e

c i t y from M ohalla Kgwdara to Mohallah Sikandarpora. vtoen AurangzebcLheard o f accident, h is f i r s t enquiry wees whether th e ch in a rs were

s a fe . He then im m ediately ordered fo r r e h a b i l i t a t io n o f f i r e

v ic t im s , Qawam-ud-Din Khan# Governor o f Kashmir (16 75-78 ) was

ordered to attend to th e reco n stru ctio n o f the p la c e o f w orsh ip .

Mull a Muhammad T a h ir Naqshabandi was appointed th e chairman o f

re co n stru c tio n p r o je c t . The surrounding houses were acq u ired to

extend th e o u ter compound o f th e mosque in order to m inim ise the

chances o f s im ila r tragedy#

The fo llo w in g in s c r ip t io n engraved on a stone f ix e d a t

th e top o f th e south g a te o f the mosque g iv e s a h is to r y o f t h i s

mosque upto the re ig n o f Ja h a n g ir s -

" O r ig in a lly the Jam ia M asjid was b u i l t by Su ltan Sikandar*but i t was subsequently burnt down. I t was r e b u ilt by thegrace o f Almighty by S u lta n Hasan Shah# a descendant o fS ikan d ar. Then i t was w ithout p i l l a r s on i t s two wings# andw ithout i t s ro o f. They were completed by (M alik) IbrehimMagrey ( h is prime M in iste r) and in 909 H i j r i (1508) in there ig n o f Muhammad Shah t h i s b l i s s f u l abode became th e g lo r io u stower o f the stren gth o f Islam . Vet again mosque g o t burntdown in 1029 H i j r i ( 16 19 A. D .)# on the day o f Idd, and wasr e b u i lt by M alik H aider (Ghaudura), th e R a is-u l-M u lk , in the

2re ic n o f Ja h a n g ir , on th e Idd-i-Q urban".

1 . K h u lasat-u l-T aw arikh , p . 379.

2. P . K. Parimoo, op. c i t . # pp. 306— 307,

With th e f a l l o f Mugteal empire very l i t t l e in t e r e s t was

p aid tow ards th e maintenance o f th e mosque. O bviously, i t s con d ition

worsened during th e Afghan r u le . Although Karim Dad Khan, a c ru e l

Governor o f Kashmir, spent e ig h t thousand rupees on th e n ecessary

rep a irs# During th e Sikh r u le , i t was not only l e f t unattended

but i t s doors were c lo sed and th e Muslims had to fa c e g re a t

d i f f i c u l t y and the c a l l fo r p ra y e rs (Azan) was prohibited and

ord ers were issu ed fo r the c o n fisc a t io n o f th e ja g i r s o f the mosque*.3

But during th e tim e o f Shaikh Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din , Governor o f

Kashmir o rd ers were issu ed fo r re-opening o f th e g e te s o f th e4

mosque. T h is tim e a sum o f rupees one lakh and f i f t y thousand was

spent on r e p a ir s o f th e mosque and t h i s f a c t has been mentioned by5

Moulvi Naba Shah in h is book wa jeez-u t-T aw ar ikh#

During Dogra p eriod in th e time o f M aharaja Ranbir Singh

n ecessary r e p a ir s were c a r r ie d out to the mosque with th e e f f o r t s

o f Muslim s u b je c ts , Maharaja h im se lf co n trib u ted a sum of two

thousand rupees towards t h i s p io u s a c t f U n fortu n ate ly due to

f in a n c ia l d i f f i c u l t i e s the req u ired r e p a ir s could not be executed .

1 , I b id . ,

2, I b id . ,

3 , Shaikh Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din i s bu ried in the in n er chamber o f th e Shaikh Hamza's sh rin e on eastern side#

4, K h u lasat-u l-T aw arlkh , p . 380. Parikh~i-H asan , V o l. I , p . 340.

5 , K h u lasat-u l-T aw arikh . p . 380,

6 , F srik h -i-H asan , (Moulvi Ib rah im 's T ra n s .) , p . 578.

U ltim ate ly r e l ig io u s minded M aharaja P artab Singh who too k

g re a t in t e r e s t in th e maintenance o f p la c e s o f worbhip o f a l l

communities took th e Revenue M in iste r o f the tim e Shaikh Maqbul

Hussain Qidwei in to h is con fid en ce to f in d out measures fo r

re co n stru c tio n o f th e mosque which had fo r some tim e been in a s ta t e

o f d e te r io r a t io n . In the y e a r 19 12 a Committee under the chairman­

ship o f th e Revenue M in iste r com prising some prominent government1

o f f i c i a l s was se t up t o co n sid er th e q u estio n o f re c o n stru c tio n •

For the req u ired fin an ces a d e c is io n was taken th a t h a l f anna p er

rupee o f th e land revenue be c o lle c te d from the Sunni Muslims by the

government an n u ally t i l l the co n stru ctio n o f th e mosque was completed*

I t was a ls o decided th a t t h i s fund known as 'Ja m ia M asjia Fund*

should be d ep o sited in government t re a s u ry . ?he te c h n ic a l ad vice2was sought from th e A rc h e e lo g ic a l Department, Government o f In d ia •

P lan s fo r the re co n stru ctio n o f th e mosque were prepared

under th e guidance o f s ta t e Engineer o f Bhopal S ta te Khan Bahadur

J a f f a r H ussain who was deputed by the Nawab o f Bhopal t o atten d

to t h is p io u s work without any rem uneration. In the ye a r 1 9 1 3 ,

S a iy id J a f f a r Hussain came to S r in a g a r and attended to th e req u ired

work w ithout any com pensation. Im mediately a f t e r t h is a need was

f e l t to f in d out a competent Engineer to lo o k a f t e r th e co n stru ctio n

work. S i r H. V. Gob in v ite d S ir John M arsh all th e then D ire c to r

General o f A rch aeo lo g ica l Survey o f In d ia t o Kashmir to a d v ic e .

1 . Shaikh Maqbul Husain, R ls a la - l- Ja m ia Mas l id , p . 2 3 ., G.M. D. S u f i , K ash ir , p . 5 1 3 ,

2 . G. M. D. S u f i , K ash ir. p* 513»

Sii* John M arsh all came to Kashmir in 19 15 and was a g u est

o f Maharajah The Revenue M in is te r a lso met th e D irecto r G eneral

( S ir John M arsh all) and d iscu sse d the d e t a i l s o f th e problem*

Im m ediately a f t e r t h i s , Mr* Peech Superintendent A rch a eo lo g ica l

Department o f In d ia with the perm ission o f C en tra l government came

t o Kashmir and remained h ere fo r fo u r months *d c o lle c te d a l l

n ecessary d a ta and th e p la n s o f th e co n stru ctio n to be prepared*

He d id not c la im any remuneration* He co n trib u ted a sum o f f i v e

thousand rupees on b eh a lf o f the Government o f In d ia cowards the2

'Ja m ia M asjid co n stru ctio n fu n d '* The q u estio n o f e n tru stin g the

co n stru ctio n work to a competent engineer was thoroughly d isc u sse d

and i t was decided th a t Mr. Avery# a w e ll known engineer be appointed

with Col* H. A. D* F re se r , th e s ta te en gin eer t o su p e rv ise th e work3

o f th e mosque*

The f i n a l c o st o f co n stru ctio n was estim ated at rupees

th ir te e n lak h s which was an nually being c o lle c te d by the Revenue

Department of th e government and deposited w ith s ta t e t r e a s u r y

under a se p ara te head *Jam ia M aojid Fundi The co n stru ctio n o f the4

mosque was completed w ith in tw e lve years* The mosque served th e

purpose o f a g re a t r e l ig io u s cen tre fo r th e Muslims of Kashmir*

People from a l l p a r ts o f the V a lle y came to l i s t e n to th e sermons

1* Shaikh Maqbool Husain# op* c i t * , p . 25.

2 . I b id . , p . 26*

3* I b id . ,

4* I b id . , p . 27.

o f th e p reach ers* The people who o ffe re d p ra y e rs at the mosque

a ls o co n trib u ted fo r i t s up keep and management* A fte r p a r t i t io n

th e mosque was being looked a f t e r by th e Jammu and Kashmir Muslim

Awqaf T ru st t i l l 19 70 , when i t was f i n a l l y handed over to Maulana

Muhammad Farooq, M irwaiz Kashmir whose a n ce sto rs had been atten d in g

to i t b e fo re p a r t it io n *

Khanqah-l-Shalkh-ul-Aalam > ,

Shaikh1 Nur-ud-Din ( l ig h t o f th e fa ith ) i s th e most w id ely

acclaim ed lead er amongst th e s u f i s o f Kashmir e s p e c ia l ly in th e

R ish i cu lt* He i s in the vanguard of lo c a l s u f i s of Kashmir whose

sh rin e at C h r a r - i-S h a r if i s th e source o f s p i r i t u a l in s p ir a t io n to

th e people a t la r g e . The s a in t d id nc schoolin g and y e t he was a

v a s t r e s e r v o ir o f s p i r i t u a l knowledge, w o rld ly wisdom end was an

embodiment o f human v a lu e s which he preached in r ig h t earnest# A

high p r ie s t o f broad humanism. Shaikh exhorted people to address

them selves to th e s e rv ic e o f s o c ie ty i r r e s p e c t iv e o f c c s te or creed

in th ese words, "Feed th e hungry i f you can , ask not th e naked what2h is c a s te or creed i s " . H azrat Shaikh Nur-ud-Din p o p u la r ly known

1* Shaikh Nur-ud-Din was born towards the c lo se of 14 thcen tury in v i l l a g e Qaimuh o f Teh s i 1 Kulgam. Having been m arried at an e a r ly age h is w ife Zai-D ed bore him two is s u e s . He p aid good bye to h is fa m ily and took t o ways o f severe penance and m editation fo r tn e sake o f a t ta in in g a high le v e l o f d iv in e e e s ta s y .

2. Census, 19 8 1 , D is t r ic t Budgam, p . 14*

as Aalam dar-i-Kashm ir meaning th e s p i r i t u a l le a d e r , p o sse ss in g

th e au th o rity to lead th e K ashm iris to s a lv a t io n on the day o f

re s u r re c t io n . I t ( Shaikh-ul-Aalam ) means a ls o the top -ran kin g

mentor of the world*

The g r e a t R ish i sa in t d ied at the age of s ix t y th ree y e a r s .

The year o f p a ss in g away o f th e sa in t i s d erived from th e chronogram

composed as “ Shams—u l—A rife e n * which accord in g to the v e lu e a scrib ed

to Alphabet (Abjad) works out to 842 A,H* He was bu ried in Q irar

and a mausoleum was co n stru cted by Su ltan Z a in -u l-A b id in over h is2

g ra v e . The mausoleum due to the g re a t s p i r i t u a l power o f th e

s a in t became a source o f a t t ra c t io n fo r a l l th e K ash m iris, The

g re a t c e le b r i t y o f t h is s a in t seems c h ie f ly owing to h is having been3

a Kashmiri by b ir t h . The tomb i s o f th e u su a l form, but i s perhaps

b e t te r p ro p o rtio n a l and co n ta in s more e le b o ra te carv in g than any

o th er in th e V a lle y * A fte r 2 a in -u l-A b id in , i t appears th a t th e4

sh rin e has been con stru cted during the tim e o f Akbar. There i s a lso

a khanqah to th e south-w est o f th e z ia r a t which was a ls o co n stru cted5

by Su ltan Z a in -u l-A b id in , a f t e r the co n stru ctio n o f the sh r in e .

1 , T erlkh -i-H asan , V o l. I l l , p . 12 5 ,

2* Kashur Encyclopaedia* p . 157*

3 , G azetteer o f Kashmir and Ladakh, p . 273 .

4* G azetteer o f Kashrrdr and Ladakh, p , 277 ,

5 . Kashur Eh cyc lo p aed ia* p . 15 7 ,

The s tru c tu re was gu tted by f i r e many tim es because i t was

made o f wood in i t s e n t e r it y , The khanqah caught a ravag in g f i r e

during th e m utw aliship o f A lh a j Lassababa. I t was reco n stru cted

w ith th e co n tr ib u tio n of d evo tees and p ilg r im s o f the V a lle y ,

There occured y e t another f i r e in v o lv in g th e khanqah during

th e re ign o f th e Chaks. P ir Ghulam Hasan Khuiharal says t h a t Yaqoob

Shah Chak th e re ig n in g monarch reco n stru cted th e Khanqah, I t i s

sa id th a t th e khanqah was not fa c in g th e a lb l a . T h is e r ro r was se t2

r ig h t by a s p i r i t u a l m aster o f th e tim e namely N iki R ls h i ,

S t i l l another f i r e broke out during Mughal p erio d and both

th e khanqah and th e z la r a t were gu tted . T h is tim e Abul B sra k a t Khan

th e Governor and th e R a ls-i-K ash m ir. Khawaj a Nizam-ud-Din Drabu3

reco n stru cted th e khanqah and the z la r a t w ith g re a t in t e r e s t . Th is

tim e a road was con stru cted from Nagam to C h r a r - i-S h a r if f o r th e

com fort o f th e d evotees. B e sid e s , arrangements fo r supply o f water

were a lso made. I t has been confirm ed through the exam ination o f

documents th a t t h i s Aab khana (w ater r e s e rv o ir ) was co n stru cted

by Sard ar A tta Muhammad Khan (the Path an Governor) during h i s tim e?

During Dogra p e rio d an Anluman was formed under the chairm anship

1 . Khulas at-u l-T aw arlkh* p . 4 12 .

2 , Tarikh-i-H asan* V o l. I , p . 352 ,

3 . I b id . ,

4 , K h u lasat-u l-T aw arlkh . p . 4 14 ,

o f A ziz Mir R a jp u r i, R a is of Kashmir. I t s members belonged to

d i f fe r e n t p la c e s . They d id t h e i r b e st fo r th e re c o n stru c tio n o f

th e khanqah. I t was w ith th e h elp o f t h i s Anjuman th a t th e branq

(sp ire ) o f th e sh rin e could be ra ise d to i t s com pletion1 #

The khanqah c o n s is ts o f a la rg e oblong b u ild in g , w ith a

wing at e ith e r end; i t i s b u i l t o f hewn tim ber p laced t r a n s v e r s e ly ,

and ra is e d on a p lin th o f b rick -w o rk . I t i s a double sto reyed

b u ild in g , th e cen tre chambers measuring about 80 fe e t by 60, w ith

an e le v a t io n o f about 30 f e e t ; the ro o f, which r i s e s in t i e r s , i s

supported by fo u r p i l l a r s o f hewn tim ber, each formed o f th e s in g le

trun k o f deodar tre e s* The in t e r io r i s q u ite p la in ; th e m assive

wood-work i s n e ith e r sta in ed nor varn ish ed , but th e windows are

f i l l e d with t r e l l i s - w o r k .

i-nWooden s t y le of a rc h ite c tu re was common^the V a lle y during

th e su lta n a te ra th e r than masonary sty le# Although b u ild in g in wood

was not unknown in Hindu tim es, i t became more popular under th e

su ltan s* T h is i s perhaps due to the fa c t th a t sh rin es and khanqahs

con stru cted in wooden fram e-work are le s s l i a b le to f a l l in e a rth -2

quakes than an e d i f ic e o f b r ic k or stone* Moreover, th e change o f

r e l ig io n req u ired th e h asty e re c tio n o f b u ild in g s fo r p u b lic worship

on a much la r g e s c a le than had been req u ired by Hindu r i t u a l , wood

was abundant and e a s i ly worked hence i t s s u b s t itu t io n fo r stone and

th e fa sh io n having once s e t in continued to spread a f t e r th e occasion

fo r i t had ceased*

1* T h is in form ation was g iven to me by M aster Ghulam Nabi o fC h ra r- i-S h a r if#

2. Mohibbul Hasan, op. c i t . , p . 268*

Z la r a t - l-B a b a Zain-ud-Din Reshi»

The z ie r a t - i- B a b a Zain-ud-D in at Aishmuqam in pargana

Khawurpora i s an im portant p la c e o f p ilg rim a g e w ith in th e V a lle y .

Devotees in thousands r e v e r t to t h i s sh rin e to o f fe r t h e i r homage

and o ften in fu lf i lm e n t o f a vow. The p ilg r im s and v i s i t o r s t o the

sh rin e belong to a l l creed s and c la s s e s .

Baba Zain-ud-D in who l iv e d in f i f t e e n t h century A.D. was

th e c h ie f d i s c ip le o f Shaikh Nur-ud-Din R esh i, th e founder o f Risihi

order in Kashmir. Being one o f th e e a r l i e s t members o f the Reshi

ord er in southern p a rt o f th e V a lle y Baba Zain-ud-Din d id p io n eerin g

work fo r Reshi order and came to e x e rc is e profound in flu e n c e on the

people o f the V a lle y .

O r ig in a lly , th ere was no sh rin e a t Aishmuqam. There was

only a cave1 occupied by snakes and r e p t i l e s . The sh rin e came in to2

e x is te n c e a f t e r th e demise o f Baba Zain -ud-D in . I t i s s a id , th a t

a f t e r Zain-ud-D in a tta in te d s p i r i t u a l p e r fe c t io n , h is mentor Shaikh

1 . The Reshinama record s th a t long ago Aishmuqam was th e headquarter o f one Tam-yesh Sen who i s s a id to have dug th e cave a t th e same p la c e where now stan ds the sn rin e . I t was t h i s cave which Baba Zain-ud-D in se le c te d fo r h is m editation and penance. Kashur Encyclopaedia^ p . 203.

2 . The s a in t Zain-ud-Din was a Sikh p r in c e b e fo re h is con version to Islam belonging to th e ru lin g fa m ily of R a la s o f K ish^w ar. H is name was Zai S in gh . He lo s t h is fa th e r when he was s t i l l a c h ild . I t i s fu r th e r recorded th a t he was taken i l l in h is e a r ly age and h is mother go t w orried . Meanwhile, an anonymous person came and enquired about the ailm ent o f th e c h i ld . F in a l ly i t was agreed upon th a t i f th e baby recovered , th e mother should come to Kashmir alongw ith the c h ild and accept Islam . A ccord in gly th e mother a f t e r th e recovery o f the c h ild came t o Kashmir alongw ith th e c h ild and both mother and son enrigraced Islam . The boy was named Zain-ud-D in, T erikh -i-H asan . V o l. I l l , p . 12 9 .

Noor-ud-Din ad v ised him to m igrate from Sopore to th e cave

at Aishmuqam. When he reached th e a fo re sa id p la c e , he found th e

entrance o f the cave, b locked by snakes and r e p t i le s * He c a r r ie d

w ith him a c lu b , which he had recovered from th e mentor. He p laced

th e clu b on th e ground and i t soon turned in to d read fu l cobra* The

snakes in th e cave go t ew estricken and vaca ted the cave a f t e r they

surroundered th e s a in t • Thus th e sa in t occupied th e cave and

m editated f o r tw elve long y e a r s to secure s p i r i t u a l u p liftm e n t.

In 1448 A.D. Bab a Zain-ud-D in bade good bye t o t h i s u n iverse*

I t i s sa id th a t a f t e r perform ing n ecessary ab lu tio n (gosu l) o f the

dead body, i t was put in to c o f f in aid taken to th e graveyard fo r

b u r ia l . S tra n g e ly a f t e r opening the c o f f in , i t was found to be

empty and th e d is c ip le s and devotees had to f l e d away in u t te r

con fu sion . I t was in the succeed in g n igh t th a t one o f the d i s c ip le s

saw th e s a in t in dream, who d ire c te d him to make the graveyard2

where the c o f f in had been p laced* Next day th e same d ir e c t io n s were

r ig h t ly fo llow ed* In the main chamber o f th e cave where th e s a in t

1* The snakes are sa id to have f le d to Puhurpaj an, a h i l l y a rea s ix te e n m iles to th e e a s t of Aishmuqam. Legend say s th a t in th a t area th e snakes and th e cobras are non-poisonous because o f the m irac le perform ed by th e s a in t , H azrat Zain-ud- Din. Not only are th ey non-poisnous but so humble th a t i f o n e 's f e e t g e t smothered w ith m ilk, th e snakes being fond o f m ilk, th e y would l i c k th e fe e t but would never b ite * Mohi-ud- Din S a r a b a li , T a r ik h - i-K a b lr . f . 10 3 a.

2. T arikh -i-H asan . V ol. I I , p . 132*The s a in t had d ire c te d th a t h is tomb should be e re c te d

where h is s t a f f was to be found, as h i s body would d isappear* Abul F a z l , A in -i-A kbarl,. p . 3 5 9 .Cf. H is to r ic a l Geography o f Kashmir, p . 79 .

used t o s i t fo r m editation , an a r t i f i c i a l g rave was b u i l t which

has become th e cen tre o f p ilg rim a g e fo r th e devotees who v i s i t the

sh rin e fo r g ra n t o f b en ed ictio n s round th e y e a r .

I t was a f t e r th e demise o f th e Shaikh Z&in-ud-Din th a t th e

sh rin e came in to e x is te n c e . T h is t » e th e mausoleum c o n ta in s two

g ra v es o f Baba Zain-ud-D in— one w ith in th e cave and th e o th er

r ig h t above i t in th e chamber o f th e sh r in e . B esid es Baba Z a in -

u d -D in 's g ra v e some d is c ip le s of the s a in t a ls o l i e bu ried in the1

compound o f th e a la r a t .

S in ce th e sh rin e i s on a h i l l s i d e one has t o go e f l i g h t

s t a i r s . The s tru c tu re i s b e a u t ifu l and t y p ic a l example o f R ish i

s t y le o f s h r in e s . I t has a fo u r - t ie r ro o f surrounded by a s p ir e .

The la t t ic e d window work in wood i s unique, th e l ik e o f which i s

not to be found anywhere e l s e .

21 a ra t- l-B a b a Payam-ud-.Din

The sh rin e o f Baba Payaro-ud-Din p o p u la r ly known as R is h i

Sahib, i s s itu a te d in th e v i l l a g e Ranbuah in B an g il pargana about

seven k ilo m etres from Gulmarg. The sh rin e i s s itu a te d on th e co o l,

h ea lth y and g ra ssy s lo p es surrounded by f o r e s t s .

1* T a r lk h - l -H a s a n . p . 1 3 2 .

Baba R is h i i s th e popular name of Baba Payam-ud-Din who

was a prominent d is c ip le o f Shaikh Zain-ud-D in o f Ai shmuqam* He

i s reported to have belonged to a r ic h fa m ily and i s sa id to have

suddenly served a l l w orld ly r e la t io n s and turned a m endicant. I t

was under th e in s tru c t io n s o f the p recep to r th a t the s e in t spent

h is l a s t days in Ranbulh in secluded m editation fo r s p i r i t u a l gain*

The s a in t d ied in 1475 A.D. at Ranbuah and was bu ried th e re } Soon

th e rea fte r# a sh rin e was b u i l t at the s it e * The people in la rg e

numbers v i s i t th e sh rin e and tak e a vow to o f fe r p resen ts a t th e

sh rin e once t h e ir w ishes are f u l f i l l e d .

I t i s sa id th a t th e r u le r o f contemporary Kashmir d id not

have a male i s s u e . He came to Baba R ish i and prayed fo r th e boon

o f a son. E ven tu a lly a son was born to the k in g . Afterwards# both

th e king and h is son became the murids ( d is c ip le s ) o f th e R ish i

Sah ib . Under th e o rd ers o f th e k in g a lan garkhana ( f r e e k itch en )

was co n stru cted and some land as waqf was granted fo r the m ainte-2

nance of the la n a a r . The langarkhana stan ds even today. The main

sh rin e ot th e s i t e i s a s in g le -s to re y e d b u ild in g erected on stone

foundation . I t i s e x c lu s iv e ly con stru cted o f wooden b a lk s* The

spaces between th e b a lk s are f i l l e d with v e ry sm all and c a r e f u l ly

d ressed b r ic k s . The door and th e windows o f the sh rin e are b e a u t ifu l

examples o f wood carving# and the wooden c o rn ic e o f th e p lin th i s

i* T arik h -l-H asan . V ol. I l l# p* 1 12 *

2. Eaba R ish i# Id a r s - i- A u a a f- i - I s ls m ic . J&K, pp. 7— 8*

an e x q u is ite p ie c e of workmanship* "Hie g raveyard o f th e s a in t

i s covered w ith ve lt/et c lo th which i s embroidered with Q uranic

a v a ts and n a a ts . The sh rin e i s a tru e copy o f the sh rin e s o f oth er

R is h is o f Kashmir having a brana (sp ire ) at the top . There i s a

two sto reyed khanqah to th e north o f the sh r in e . I t has haromam on

th e e a s te r n -s id e . One im portant fe a tu re to be seen th e re in th e

compound o f R is h i Sahib i s a h earth made by R is h i Sahib w ith h is

own hands. I t i s enclosed w ith a p n ^ tective w all* This h earth was

used fo r cooking e a ta b le s and p rep a ra tio n s fo r th e p ilg r im s and

devotees who v i s i t e d the sh rin e* B e sid e s , th e re are many b a rra ck s

co n stru cted fo r com fortable s ta y o f the d evo tees. These b a rra c k s

were ra ise d to p ro v id e f a c i l i t i e s o f boarding and lodging to th e

p ilg r im s*

Sh rin e o f Shaikh Hamza Makhdooim

The sh rin e of Shaikh Hamza Makhdoom, s itu a te d in th e lap

o f Koh-i-Maran (a ls o known as H ariparbat h i l l in S r in a g a r ) , one

thousand f e e t h igh er than th e surrounding land, i s another im portant

sh rin e thronged by a la rg e number o f devotees* Shaikh Hamza Makhdoom,

one o f th e lead in g m ystics o f Kashmir who w ielded g re a t in flu e n c e

on th e m asses, l i e s entombed th e re . B esid es the s a in t , th e body

o f Baba Daud Khaki, one o f th e c h ie f d i s c ip le s of th e s a in t and

once th e c h ie f ju s t ic e o f Kashmir and sc h o la r o f the tim e i s a ls o

entombed w ith in th e shrine* I t i s sa id th a t when Jam al-ud-D in

Bukhari* a r r iv e d Kashmir, he sa id th at the abode of Shaikh

Hamza Makhdoom was the cen tre o f sacred grace* Shaikh Hamza

Makhdoom choose t h is p la c e fo r p ra y e rs , m editation and preach ing

re lig io n * Soon a f t e r th e death o f Shaikh Hamza Makhdoom, th e re came

to be e s ta b lis h e d a sh rin e over the graveyard o f the Shaikh*

I t i s im portant to note th a t at th e beginning th ere was no

sh rin e on th e slo p e o f Koh-i-M aran. There was a mosque known as

*2 a k ir M asjid ' con stru cted by Makhdoom Sahib fo r p ra y e rs which

in s p it e o f ren ovation seems# by and la rg e to be in i t s o r ig in a l

shape* I t was a f t e r S h a ik h 's demise th a t the sh rin e came in to

e x is te n c e . In 1006 A.H/1597 A .D ., Akbar, th e Mughal Emperor came

to Kashmir and issu ed o rd ers fo r the co n stru ctio n o f a mausoleum2

a t th e s i t e , to the l e f t o f th e 'Z a k ir M asjid J Thus was co n stru cted

a s in g le s to re y sh rin e upon the mausoleum covered by a brana (s p ire )*

Naweb In n ayatu llah Khan# (Subadar during Mughal ru le ) to o k g re a t

in t e r e s t in th e re co n stru c tio n . He co n stru cted an Ibadatkhana

1* S a iy id Jam al-ud-Din Bukhari, a Suhrawardi S u fi a r r iv e d inKashmir in th e f i r s t h a l f o f the 16 th cen tu ry . A la r g e number o f p eop le were a ttra c te d to him. Shaikh Hamza Makhdoom became h is d i s c ip le and re c e iv e d in i t i a t io n in to th e Suhrawardi o rd er. A. 6. R a f iq i , Sufism in Kashmir* pp. 2 1 — 22*

2. Kashur Encyclopaedia* p . 215*

(mosque) which la t e r on became famous as M asjid Inn ay a t Khan.

A tta Muhammad Khan, a Path an Governor a ls o to o k g re a t in t e r e s t a ix a

in i t s re co n stru c tio n and extended the mosque1 Shaikh Ghulam Mohi-

ud-Din, a Governor during S ikh period r e b u i l t i t . He extended th e

s tru c tu re o f the sh rin e and con stru cted a g a te on e a s te rn s id e . He

i s bu ried on the eastern s id e o f the e n c lo su re , ( Gulam gardish), f h e

len gth o f tomb i s 3% f e e t . Then Khwaja Muhammad Sgkhi Drabu who

was a R a is and a t ra d e r , took keen in t e r e s t in re c o n stru c tin g and

deco ratin g th e sh rin e during the tim e o f h i s mutwali sh ip . He a ls o

r a is e d a brang (sp ire ) on th e ro o f o f Makhdoom S a h ib 's sh r in e ,

Khawaja Mohi-ud-DinGundroo R aia-u l-W aaat (during th e p erio d he was

incharge^ p a id an adm irable a tten tio n to th e m atters o f c o n stru ctio n .3

He co n stru cted a harcroam fo r th e devotees com fort and purchased

some lend which became th e p ro p erty o f th e sh r in e . Che im portant

th in g with regard t o management i s th a t i t were th e atten d en ts o f4

th e sh rin e v i z . , F i r Sahiban, Baba and P ir Sahiban Paen who e le c te d

unanimously mutwali fo r th e up keep and maintenance o f th e sh r in e .

This system s ta r te d during our p eriod of stu d y . I t s management or

th e chairm anship s in ce the l a s t phase o f our p erio d of study came

in to th e hands of M irza d yn asty . The f i r s t person of t h i s dynasty

v.’ho took over as th e charge o f mutwali sh ip was H a ji M irza Ghulam

M ustafa. He co n stru cted a go down fo r keeping the fu r n itu r e of the

sh rin e q u ite s a fe . M irza M ustafa with th e h elp of famous t ra d e r o f

th e tim e, Khawaja S a if-u d -D in Gani framed a co n stru ctio n programme

o f th e Z ia r a t o f Makhdoom Sah ib . They co n stru cted the s te p s by

f i t t i n g c h is e l le d stones which took neer about seventy thousand

1 . K h u lasat-u l-T aw erikh . p . 398.2. I b id . ,K h u lasat-u l-T aw arikh . op. c i t . , p . 399*4* See Appendix— I

rupees to com plete. Besides# the compound o f the z ia r a t was f i t t e d

with sto n es and ro o fs were made o f corrugated g a lvan ish ed sh e e ts o f

t in ,.The z la r eta ah o f Makhdoom Sahib i s a complex of mosques and

g ravey ard s. The mosque o f Akhun Mull a Shah i s s itu a te d ju s t below the

sh rin e o f Makhdoom Sah ib , This l i t t l e mosque was b u i l t by Dara Shikoh^

son of Shah Jahan fo r h is tu to r Akun M ulla Shah, Grey b e a u t ifu l s la b s

are used fo r i t s c o n stru ctio n . The stone lo tu s f ix e d over the p u lp it

i s the only exanrqple o f i t s s u r v iv a l in Kashmir, The only e x te rn a l

d eco ratio n s are th e re c ta n g u la r p an els e n c lo sin g cusped arch es,

There are Mas1 id - 1- Ja h a n g ir * M a s lld - l-S a la a r Beiqh* Z ak ir Mas1 id*

M a s lld - i-H a ft Sadat* M a s iid - l-A t ta Muhammad Khan* S a ra - i-K h a s and a2

T alab (pond). There i s K a stu r i pend on th e e a ste rn s id e where the

d evotees o f f e r p ra y e rs during th e hot days of summer season*

During th e re ig n o f Akbar em bellished arcades were co n stru cted3around the mausoleum and i t s c e i l in g was made o f khatmbund p a tte rn .

To th e r ig h t o f Makhdoom S a h ib 's grave e x i s t s the grave o f Baba Daud-

i-K h a k i. Both th ese g raves have p in i r - k a r i (p e rfo ra te d screen s)

d esig n s to th e n orth . The w a lls o f th e sh rin e are decorated with

carved wood warft which i s p o lish e d . The windows too a re em bellished

w ith carved wood work* Each la t t ic e d window i s q u ite d i f f e r e n t from

th e other in i t s make. The g ra v es are covered with sh eets o f brocade,

The windows around th e g ra v es

through which the p ilg r im s have a view of th e g ra v es are

perm anently f i t t e d with g la s s e s in s iz e e q u a llin g th e s ta tu r e of man*

The c e i l in g i s decorated w ith d esign s in pap ier-m ach ie. The mausoleum

h as a fo u r l i e r ro o f and surmounted with a f i ld e d sp ire*

1* R. C. Kak# Ancient Monuments o f Kashmir* p . 90*2. Kashur Encyclopaedia* pp. 2 16 , 1 7 , 18 and 19 .3* Ib id .*

3R

H a z r a t b a l S h r ln e t

The sh rin e at H azratbal1 i s o f g re a te s t inqportancd among

a l l the Muslim sh rin es o f Kashmir. The Z ia r a t occupies a h ig h e s t

p o s it io n throughout the V a lle y among a l l th e se c t io n s o f the

s o c ie ty w ithout any r e l ig io u s d is t in c t io n . This reveren ce fo r

th e sh rin e i s due to i t s being th e re p o s ito ry o f the h o ly r e l i c

(hair-moe-mubarak) o f h o ly Prophet ( p .b .u .h .) The Kashm iris r e fe r2

to i t by v a r io u s t i t l e s l ik e a a s a r - 1 - s h a r l f , m ad ln at-u s-th an j

and d a r q a h - l- s h a r if out o f t h e ir profound reveren ce fo r and

f a i t h in the san tft ity o f t h i s p la c e o f w orship .

The o r ig in of H azratbal sh rin e goes back t o the co n stru ctio n

by Spdiq Khan# o f an e x q u is ite -b u ild in g (b a ra d a ri) w ith in a

p le a sa n t garden on th e w estern bank of the Dal la k e . The sh rin e3 4i s in c lo s e p ro xim ity to Naseem Bagh and B ag h -i-A fza lab ad . The

1 . H azratb al, ten k ilo m etres away from Lalchow k(drinaga^) i s b e a u t i fu l ly s itu a te d a t an a lt itu d e o f 5250 fe e t on th e w estern sh o .e s of famous Dal la k e . H azratbal has th e geo- m e tric a l lo c a t io n o f 340 5'N and 7 4 ° 5 'E , D eptt. of Geography Kashmir U niversity# Geography o f Jammu and Kashmir, p . 18 8 .

2. The t i t l e o f d a rq a h -e -sh a r if i s m ostly at the t ip o f every K ashm iris tongue. Kashur Encyclopaedia, p . 1 3 .

3 . I t was b u i l t by Sh ah -i-Jah an at a p la c e q u ite ad jacen t to H azratbal lo c a l i t y on th e western bank o f th e Dal la k e . I t i s said th a t when the sun en tered the zo d iac of a r ie s , tw e lv e hundred sa p lin g s of ch in ar were p lan ted a t th e one and th e same tim e and in stead o f w ater, they were i r r ig a t e d w ith m ilk. Thus not a s in g le p la n t went d ry . "he v e lv e t green g r a s s was la id over the su rfa c e and from the Zakura canal# a branchwas dug out upto th e garden . Che firm bu ild in gs# th e stro n g boundry w a ll and fo u n ta in s and cassot cascad es became e x t in c t during Afghan p e rio d . But most o f th e ch in a r s t i l l e x i s t . T arik h -l-H asan . pp. 9 1-9 2 .

4 . I t was b u i l t q u ite c lo se to H azratbal by A fz a l Khan a noble o f Shah Jahan in the n orth . Ib id .# p . 303. T h is garden does not e x i s t to d ay .

garden la id out by Sadiq Khan u lt im a te ly became famous as

B a a h - i-3 adicabad1 . I t was during the v i s i t of Shahjahan to

Kashmir th a t th e unique typ e of b u ild in g (b arad ari) was t r a n s ­

fe r re d in to p la c e of w orship. He issu ed o rd ers fo r the co n stru c-2

t io n of the p u lp it (mimber) w ith other n ecessary annexes, so

as to make i t a v a ila b le fo r d a i ly p ra y e rs ( to God). S ix ty seven

y e a r s la t e r , in 1 1 1 1 A.H. (A.D. 16 9 9 ), the h o ly h a ir of th e

Prophet (p . b . u .h .) was brought to Kashmir and was p laced in

th e in n er most chamber of th e above mentioned e x q u is ite b u ild in g .

The h is t o r y o f the sacred r e l i c in th e dargah of H azratbal

i s re la te d by v a r io u s c h ro n ic le r s and h is t o r ia n s . I t i s sa id th a t

th e h o ly h a ir was f i r s t in th e p o ssessio n o f S a iy id A bdullah,

who h a ile d from Medina-e-Munawara. He had served as the c u s to d ia l

(mutwali) o f P ro p h e t 's g rave ( rouza-e-m uthara) at Madina in

A rab ia . He was a re b e l a g a in st the commands o f th e king of Rome.

I t was due t o h is d isobed ien ce th a t the o rd ers o f h is banishment

from A rab ia were issu ed . The Governor o f Medina in accordance3

w ith commandments banished the Sa iy id *

1 . Sadiq Khan who was one o f th e nobles of Shah Jahan b u i l t a p le a sa n t garden around th e b e a u t ifu l b u ild in g . In 1044 A.H, (16 36 A. D .), Shah Jahan came to Kashmir and perform ed ab lu tion in i t s main b u fld in g and o ffe re d two ra k a ts as p rayer ( to God). For the co n stru ctio n of unique b u ild in g ,he sa id to Sadiq Khan th a t t h is i s not a p la c e of lu xu ry but a p la c e os w orship. I b id . , p . 302. K h u la sa n t-u l-fa w a rlk h , p . 304.

2 . Mimber i s th a t unique p la c e in the mosque where Immam perform s the fu n ction o f I mama t .

3 . che Governor o f Medina Munnawara se iz ed the p roperty of S a iy id Abdullah and e x ile d him. T arlkh -i-H gsan (P rof* Ib rah im 's Trans)* V o l. I l l , p . 4"S5̂

Qrt h is d epartu re from Arabia# he c a r r ie d , i t i s sa id

th re e sacred r e l i c s 1 and reached India* He was g iven c o r d ia l

and warm welcome by the then emperor Shah Jahan and as a token

o f g ra t itu d e and regard th e emperor bestowed upon him a j a g i r

at B ije p u r . A fte r h is death, h is son threw t h e i r lo t on th e

s id e o f Daro-Shikoh* Consequently t h e ir j a g i r was c o n fisc a te d

by Aurangzeb Alamgir* The sons had to v i s i t Shah Jahanabad to

g e t th e ir j a g i r re leased * The r e le a s e o rd ers of th e j a g i r could

not be obtained e a s i ly and e a r ly . O bviously, t h e i r co n d itio n went

from bad t o worse day by day and consequently they pawned th e3

sacred r e l i c a g a in st th e heavy debt, with Khawaja Nur-ud-Din t

a Kashmiri businessman who l iv e d at Urdu Bazar Shah jahanabad*

The sons of S a iy id Abdullah had no c a p a c ity to repay the debts*

T h ere fo re , the sacred r e l i c had to be t r a n s fe r r e d to Nur-ud-Din*

Nur-ud-Bin con sidered i t a boon and t e s t i f i e d th e debts to have

been paid o f f .

1* The r e l i c s contained th e fo llo w in g item s

i) H eir (moe-mubarak) of Prophet Muhammad (p*b .u*h*)i i ) Turban ( d a s ta r - i- b h a r i f ) of Prophet Muhammad (p .b * u*h.)i i i ) Saddle of th e h o rse used by H azrat A li* Ib id ,

2, ~J!zaa. fc£ •*" f v vTsf W

3* Nur-ud-Din Ish b a r i belonged to Keshm irCIshbar). He was r ic h t r a d e r , having tra d e r e la t io n s w ith many p a rts o f India* He was o f r e l ig io u s bent o f mind*

A fte r t h i s p rec io u s a c q u is it io n Nur-ud-Din decided to

se t out to Kashmir alongwith th e r e l i c . B e fo re he could reach

th e d e s t in a t io n , th e sp ie s conveyed th e news to the King A lam gir,

Nur-ud-Din had reached Lahore, where he was a rre s te d and along­

w ith h is se rv an t Ghulam Hassan who was the cu stod ian o f th e sacred

r e l i c , he was presen ted b e fo re the ro y a l c o u rt , The King, a f t e r

th e e x h ib it io n (deedar) o f th e h o ly r e l i c , ordered to keep i t

a t the sh rin e o f Muin—ud—Din C h ish ti (Rehm atullah A llah ) in

Ajmeer. Khawaja Nur-ud-Din d ied a t Lahore o f shock of b e in g

re lie v e d o f th e r e l i c by Aurangzeb, The Khawaja expressed h is

l a s t d e s ire to Khawaja Ghulam Hasan th a t in c a se the l a t t e r

succeeded in reco v erin g the r e l i c , he should ta k e i t to Kashm ir,

I t was only a f t e r a few d ays, when i t i s b e lie v e d , the King

had a dream* v and the r e l i c was allowed t o be taken to Kashmir

am idst g re a t enthusiasm alongw ith the dead body o f Khawaja Nur-

ud-Din*

The learnedmen, sc h o la rs , e le rg y , Muslim la v i t y d ig n i t a r ie s

and a mass o f commoners under the guidance and le a d e rsh ip o f Sheikh3

Muhasnmad Radhu reached H irpur (Shopian) t o welcome and r e c e iv e

1 , I t i s s a id th a t the King had a dream where he was d ire c te d by Prophet Muhammad (p . b . u. h .) to send the h o ly r e l i cto Kashmir, T arikh -l-H asan . Vo l . I l l , p . 4 8 1, T arikh -l-H asan V o l. I , p . 302,

2, Khawaja Nur-ud-Din was b u ried near the z ia r a t . Bamzai,A H isto ry o f Kashmir, pp, 537-38 .

3 , Shaikh Muhammad Radhu was a s a in t ly and s c h o la r ly person o f th e tim e. I t was he who id e n t i f ie d th e r e l i c w h ile reach ing Kashmir and was p u b lic ly accepted by the K ash m iris, T arikh -i-H gsan . V o l. I l l , p . 4 8 1,

th e r e l i c ( moe-i-mubar ak)• The sacred r e l i c was f i r s t

e x h ib ite d at Khanqah o f Naqshbend Sahib where thousands o f

people came t o pay homage to th e r e l i c (moe-i-mubar ak). Shaikh

Muhammad Radhu was the f i r s t person to e x h ib it the r e l i c to the

g e n e ra l m esses. I t i s a lso sa id th a t th e r e l i c was a t f i r s t

e x h ib ite d in th e C esi mosque at C h ish ti S t r e e t near th e re s id e n ce

o f Shaikh Radhu b efo re th e g e n e ra l masses*

However, the space in Naqshaband Sahib sh rin e was lim ite d ,

c e r ta in re sp o n s ib le people approached the then Governor, F a z i l

Khan with the su ggestion th a t the r e l i c be s h if t e d to such a

p la c e as would be ample fo r i t s p u b lic e x h ib it io n and as would

meet a l l the requirem ents. This i s how the r e l i c came to be

s h ifte d to th e B agh -i-Sad iqabad , a p la ce which s a t i s f i e d th e

needs o f the people and f u l f i l l e d th e a n t ic ip a t io n of Emperor2Shahjahan. Aurangeeb bestowed th ree v i l l a g e s in j a g i r t o Khadims

f o r up keep and maintenance of th e r e l i c and the p la c e assign ed

fo r i t s p reserv a tio n *

1* Shaikh Radhu liv e d in the sa id Mohalla and i s b u riedin the sa id M ohalla. May be th a t the Shaikh commanded so much lo v e in the h e a rts o f common m asses and as a token o f r e sp e c t th e people agreed to the e x h ib it io n of the r e l i c b e fo re a mass g a th e rin g w ith in th e mosque.

2 . T arikh -i-H asan . Vol* I I I , p . 4 8 1.

B agh-i-3ad iqabad was re c h r is t io n e d as H azratbal because

o f t ru s te e s h ip of the h o ly r e l i c * T h is added a lo t of s ig n if ic a n c e

and r e l ig io u s s a n c t ity to the d erg ah. The b u ild in g (b a re d a ri)

b u i l t a fte r th e Mughal s t y le o f a rc h ite c tu re was w e ll em b ellish ed

to house the sacred r e l i c which le te ro n became famous as a a a a r - i-

s h a r i f end was s e t to the needs o f the time in due course*

The h o ly r e l i c (moe-i-mubarak) kept in a g la s s co n ta in er

was tra n s fe r re d in to sa fe custody o f th e pagoda type b u ild in g .

I t was very n a tu ra l fo r the peop le and the ad m in istratio n to act

in r ig h t e a rn e st and e s p e c ia l ly to show a l l th e reveren ce and

c a re in fin d in g a v e ry ap p ro p riate p la c e fo r the r e l ic * Proper

ca re was taken to make the environment e le g a n t and g ra c e fu l around

th e sa fe chamber of the b u ild in g (b a ra d a r i) , The c a ^ n g s on th e

w a ll and la t t ic e d windows o f the b u ild in g were specimens o f

e x q u is ite a r t . The devotees o f the sacred p la c e Cdargah) h avin g

made re p a ir s to the b u ild in g and having extended i t westward,

b u i l t a mosque and in 1285 A.H, (1868 A .D .}# they added to i t a2

sp aciou s khanaah and a high b u ild in g on i t s e a ste rn s id e . A

mosque was a ls o con stru cted on i t s ea ste rn s id e and a noorkhana

was connected to i t where the women fo lk o ffe re d p ra y e rs , A

pandal in p ro x im ity to the main sh rin e in ord er to e x h ib it th e

1 . H azratb a l»Hazrat means m ajesty and b a l in Keshm iri means a p la c e and i s ap p lied to a bank or e lead in g p ie c e . S in ce th e abov# sa id place# being re p o s ito ry o f P ro p h e t 's (p .b .u .h * ) h a ir i s s itu a te d on the bank o f Dal lake# i t came to be known as H azratb a l. T arlk h -l-H asan . V o l. I# p . 303,

2 . T arikh -i-H asan . V o l, I , p . 303*

h o ly r e l i c to the p ilg r im s and d evo tees. I t was In 1793 A.D.

t h a t Nawab A san -u llah Khan (Nawab of Dacca) o r ig in a l ly a Kashmir#

devoted c o n sid e ra b le re so u rces towards the co n stru ctio n o f2

z ia r a t . He co n stru cted a b e a u t ifu l hammam (tu rk ish bath) fo r the3

com fort of the d evotees. I t was in 1942 A.D. th a t the two g r e a t

verandahs were co n stru cted and th e old roo f^ th e b u ild in g was

d ism antled and was rep laced by sh eets o f co rru gated g a lv a n iz e d

t i n .

The old sh rin e o f H azratbal was a sp len d id and a t y p ic a l

p ie c e of a rc h ite c tu re of Muqal and Kashmi r a r t . I t was th re e--------- --------- 4

storeyed having seven windows. I t had f i v e r o o fs a f t e r th e

Chinese s t y le o f a rc h ite c tu re . I t s windows, openings and b a lu s ­

tra d e s were f i l l e d w ith e la b o sa te n et ( J a i l ) screen s th e p a tte rn s

of which were produced by l i t t l e p ie c e s to g e th e r w e ll cut and

1 . Kashur Encyclopaedia* p . 14 .

2 . The hammam (tu rk ish bath) has been a g re a t in s t i t u t io n in Kashmir and was in troduced by M irza H aider D ughlat. As Kalhana in h is f i r s t taran q mentions ’ hot baths* or 'warm bath h ou ses ' in Kashmir, we can suppose th a t th e p resen t s tru c tu re o f the hammam may have been due to the Turkish bath o f M irza Haidtar. The Turkish bath i s r e a l ly a oaa misnomer, as the a s s o c ia t io n with Turks cane a ft e r t h e i r conquest o f Constantinople, rhe Greeks—cum-Rom an bathi s th e o r ig in o f the h anna am o f the e n t ir e near e a s t . Even Today one can see an example in th e ru in s o f th ese b ath s in Fom peii, I t a l y . In S rin ag ar every mosque has a bath house (h aim am) where warm w ater i s a v a ila b le in w in ter fo r a b lu tio n s . In t e r e s t in g ly enough, during th e co ld w in ter months the f a i t h f u l a ls o obtain warmth in the mosques owing t o the heat generated by hammam.

3 . K hulasat-u l-T aw arlkh* p . 309.a. The ro o f over ro o f was the main fe a tu r e o f the b u ild in g .

The second ro o f was v a s t e r in length and breadth than the f i r s t . Kashur En cyclopaedia, p . 1 5 .

e x q u is it e ly design ed and p ie c e s o f wood f i t t e d to g e th er so

as to form g eo m etrica l p a tte rn s* In between the fo u rth and th e

f i f t h r o o fs th e space was covered with n et ( j a l i ) •

In the y e a r 1968 A. D. th e o ld typ e o f b u ild in g (b a ra d a ri)

was d ism antled and a new m arble mosque, sa id to be r e p l ic a typ e

o f the torrtb o f th e Prophet (p * b .u .h .) in Madina was co n stru cted

under th e o rd ers and p erso n a l c a re o f Late Sheikh Muhanmad

A bdullah. This came to com pletion in 19 79 . The r e l i c was then

tra n s fe r re d to th e newly co n stru cted sh rin e with g re a t enthusiasm *

Sh rin e o f P ir - i-D a s to irx • • • •

S a iy id Abdul Qadir J i l a n i a to p -ran k in g Muslim sa in t

and sch o lar o f Baghdad# whose rep u tatio n fo r p ie t y and s p i r i t u a l

attainm ents t r a v e l le d f a r and wide a l l over the world. The s a in t

n ever v i s i t e d Kashmir or any p a r t o f sub-continent# but h is

s a n c t ity brought him so much o f rep u ta tio n th a t people o f a l l

c o u n trie s and communities came to hold him in high esteem* Ever

s in c e the estab lish m en t o f th e z ia r a t o f P i r - i - d s s t g i r the people

have been f lo c k in g th e z ia r a t every day to invoke the b le s s in g s

o f th e c e le b ra te d P i r . S a iy id Abdul Qadir J i l a n i i s known by

number of name*, among which e leven prominant names o f the s a in t

have earned him th e name o f Kahnau1 among e l l (person h avin g

1* The s a in t namely S a iy id Abdul Qadir J i l a n i had f ix e de leven th d ate o f every month (Muslim calen d er) fo r the d is t r ib u t io n o f alm s. I t a lso s p e c i f ie s the s ig n if ic a n c e o f kahnau.

e leven names) the communities. However, the most popular

names o f the s a in t in Kashmir are P i r - i - d a s t g l r i - gh au s-u l-2 ̂azam , Shah-i-baadad and o th e rs »

The sh rin e of P i r - i - d a s t a i r which stan d s at Khanyar

(S rin ag ar) i s resp ected by alm ost a l l the se c t io n s o f peop le

w ithout any r e l ig io u s d is t in c t io n * The sh rin e co n ta in s the h o ly

r e l i c (h a ir) o f H azrat Abdul G adir J i l a n i , th e founder and g re a t4

s a in t o f Q adiri order • The h o ly r e l i c o f the founder o f G a d ir i

s i l s i l a h was brought to Kashmir by a t o u r is t from Kabul in 1802

A.D. during the governorship o f Sardar A bdullah Khan A lk o z i, an

Afghan govern or. The governor acquired i t from th e t o u r is t and5

presen ted i t to a lo c a l s a in t S a iy id Buzerg Shah fia d ir i*

1* P lr means mentor and d a s t a lr means the person who h o ld s th e hand o r supports th e su p p lia n t.

2. He not on ly lis te n e d to th e problems o f the people, but a ls o searched out so lu tio n s fc»x t o t h e i r problem s. The p e c u l ia r i t y earned him the t i t l e o f ghous-ul-azam .

3 . Shah-i-baghdad l i t e r a l l y means th e so vere ig n of Baghdad,c a p it a l o f Ira q , but h ere the term Shah means the monarch inth e s p i r i t u a l end not the m a te ria l sen se . Baghdad waslooked upon as th e ce n tre o f the l i t e r a r y and s p i r i t u a l a c t iv i t y of e x a lte d s a in t s l ik e Shah-i-baqdat*

4 . The most w ide-spread S u fi order of th e world (C a d ir i order)was founded by Abdul G adir J i l a n i . S a iy id Abdul G adir J i l a n is ta r te d th e teach in g and preach ing o f p ie t y and p u r itys in c e th e e a r ly stage of h i s l i f e . B e fo re long h is d ed ica ­t io n , d evotion and m ission ary z ea l brought round him a la rg enumber o f fo llo w e rs* T h is order was in trodu ced in Kashmir by S a iy id Niam atullah Shah G ad iri who v i s i t e d the V a lle y second h a l f o f 16 th century*

5 . I t i s sa id th a t the Governor was murid o f th e sa in t* S a iy id Buzerg Shah Q adiri t o whom he presen ted th e r e l ic * T a r lk h - 1- Hasan. p . 493*

The sh rin e of P i r - i - d a s t a l r i s s itu a te d on th e l e f t ­

s id e of th e S rin ayar-L eh Highway, fou r k ilo m e tre s away from

L a i Chowk* Towards north , a t Khanyar M ohalla o f the S rin ag ar

c i t y . B efo re th e a r r iv a l of the sacred r e l i c o f P i r - l - d a s t g i r ,

a Khanqah-i-Q a d ir i had a lread y been b u i l t by Shah Muhammad F a z i l1 2 Q adiri p o p u la r ly known as Sakhi Shah Sahib* Sakhi Shah Sah ib

alongwith h i s fa m ily and se rv a n ts had en tered Kashmir in th e

company o f c e r ta in famous S a iy id s . He f i r s t e s ta b lis h e d h im se lf

a t Khanyar and in course of tim e he gathered round h im se lf a

la rg e number o f fo llo w e rs . I t was w ith the f in a n c ia l a s s is ta n c e

o f h is d i s c ip le s and proceeds o f the J a g i r which he re c e iv e d from

th e government th a t he was ab le to b u ild th e khanqah Sakhi Shah

Sah ib in i t i a t e d a la rg e number o f people in t o the Q adiri o rd e r.

Among th e se were c e r ta in eminent p e r s o n a l i t ie s of the tim es v i z . ,

Qazi Abdul Qadir Khan with whose help S a iy id Ghulam-ud-Din3Azad reco n stru cted th e khanqah*

1 . Shah Muhammad F a z i l Q ad iri, th e founder of Q adiri ord erin Kashmir, had come t o Sindh (p re s e n t ly in P akistan ) from Baghdad during th e re ig n o f Aurangzeb. He then came to Kashmir and s ta r te d w ad iri order in which he succeeded and th u s became th e founder o f Q adiri order in Kashmir.

2* Shah Muhammad F a z i l Q ad iri was very famous, p ious andkind h e a rted . In s p ite of being in debt and poor co n d itio n , he d is t r ib u te d a l l th a t he possessed and which came to him from murids among the d eserv in g and the poor p eo p le .He a lso used to g iv e c lo th e s , food and t r a v e l l in g expenses to those who v i s i t e d him at Khanqah* Being g r e a t ly h e lp fu l to the poor and needy, he came t o be known as Sakhi Shah Sahib* P ir Ghulam Hasan Khuihami, op. c i t . . V o l. I l l , p . 70*

3 . Keshur Sn cyclopaedia* p . 169*

When the h o ly r e l i c o f P ir - i - D a s t g ir was brought bo

Kashmir# th e Governor o f th a t tim e in c o n su lta tio n with S a iy id

Buzerg Shah# the lead in g Q adiri S u fi o f th e tim e in the V a lle y

ordered th e r e l i c to be taken to Khanyar where i t was enshrined

in th e O ad iri Khanqah} B esid es th e h o ly r e l i c , both the S u f i s

Sakhi Shah Sah ib and Buzerg Shah l i e bu ried t o th e e a s t o f main

chamber sanctum sanctorum. S in ce the Khanqah was not in a p o s it io n

to accomodate a l l th e devotees# th erefore# during M aharaja Ranbir

S in g h 's tim e, Son a-u llah shawl r a i s o f the tim e to o k the respon­

s i b i l i t y on h is shou lders and extended th e Khanqah and i t s2

compound*

The a rc h ite c tu re of the z ia r a t matches with the R is h i

Khanq ah 3 of Kashm ir, I t 3 wooden sp ire which i s covered w ith

s i l v e r cap and the windows on th e w estern s id e are l ik e th o se

in th e R ish i sh rin es* o f Kashm ir, The c o n stru c tio n a l m a te r ia l

o f the sh rin e in c lu d e s c h is e l le d ston es, burn t b r ic k s , cement

and wood. I t has th re e windows on th e northern s id e , th re e on

th e southern s id e and seven on th e w estern s id e . A l l th e se windows

are surmounted with arch3 (m ehrabs). Each window i s e leven fe e t

1 , The G a d ir i S u f is who came to Kashmir made Khanyar Khanqah the ce n tre of th e ir m editation and preached Q adiri order to the lo c a ls , thus g e ttin g a la rg e g a th erin g of b e l ie v e r s around. The r e s u lt o f th e ir s u c c e ss fu l e f f o r t s i s borne out by p resen t day fo llo w e rs who are t o be found in every nook and corner of the V a lle y . K hu& asat-ul-Paw arikh, p . 408. ^

in length and seven fe e t in w idth . The in n er chamber of th e

sh rin e co n ta in s fo u r a r t i s t i c p i l l a r s which are surmounted with

fo u r t ie r e d pentagunal roof* Each p i l l a r i s twenty two fe e t

long and two and a h a l f f e e t in g i r t h . The sh rin e has a l l over

a c e i l in g of a r t i s t i c l y cut p ie c e s which a re jo in ed to g e th e r

by ch ip s . To the west the a r t is a n s have produced lu n ar p a tte rn

on th e c e i l in g and from th e m iddle of each a g la s s c h a n d e lie r .

The t e x t of the chapter concluded h ers g iv e s us a c le a r

id e a about the o rig io n and growth v a r io u s im portant and rep resen ­

t a t iv e fcx sh r in e s of the Kashmir V a lle y . I t makes an in t e r e s t in g

study to fo llo w the h is to ry of th ese sh rin e s and t o le a rn about

th e im portance end in flu e n c e of th e r e l i c s housed in th e se

sh rin e s adds sauce to the supper*

E qu ally im portant and in t e r e s t in g i s the qu estion o fI fta rc h ite c tu re which was fo llo w e d --c o n stru c tJn g th ese sh r in e s .

Often the styi<» nf »rrh<fcprt-.iir» fo llow ed in r a is in g th ese

s tru c tu re s was a happy blend of v a r io u s s t y le s and p a tte rn s .

The h is to ry of the sh rin es and t h e ir re s p e c t iv e s t y le s o f

a rc h ite c tu re are in c o rre c t h i s t o r i c a l p e rs p e c t iv e which could

be achieved by fo llo w in g s t r i c t ch ro n o lo g ica l o rd er.

Conclusion*