hazratbal mosque on a rainy day

We had a just the morning to see Srinagar, thanks to bad weather, bad roads and one of the must-watch spots in my agenda was the Hazratbal Mosque - before we could catch our afternoon flight to Delhi.

On a rainy morning, this beautiful mosque, built completely of white marble had a surreal feel to it. Maybe because of the mist, maybe because of the beautiful surroundings of the West Bank of the Dal River,  the greenery facing the beautiful Nishat Bagh or the mountains afar.

This revered mosque houses the Moi-e-Muqqadus (preserved sacred hair) of Prophet Mohammad which is open for display only on religious occasions. This sacred relic was first brought to Bijapur, India from Medina by a descendant of the holy Prophet Muhammad – Syed Abdullah. Subsequently after the Mughal conquest of the region, it was gifted to a Kashmiri businessman. On hearing about the relic, Aurangazeb seized it and had it placed at the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti at Ajmer and had the Kashmiri businessman imprisoned in Lahore. Later realizing his mistake, he returned the relic to the businessman Khwaja Nur-ud-Din, who by now had died in prison. The relic was therefore brought to Kashmir along with his body.

This shrine is also known as Assar-e-Sharief, Madinat-us-Sani and Dargah Sharif. Entry for non Muslims is allowed and I had a view of the beautiful interiors which resonates the love and respect of Muslims for the Prophet, Hazratbal is the only domed mosque in entire Srinagar and it integrates beautifully Kashmiri and Mughal styles of architecture.




Friday prayers to this shrine attract Muslims in large numbers. The entire place along with the garden has a calming presence and is a must watch for any traveler to Srinagar.