Abu Bakr Siddique, Moy-i-Mubarak of the first four Caliphs and stone impression of the feet of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
The great sufi saint who is credited for mass conversions of Kashmiris to Islam is Hazrat Mir Sayyid Ali Hamdani (RA), popularly known as Hazrat Amir-i-Kabir and Shah-i- Hamdan. Shah-i-Hamdan had visited Kashmir three times for brief time periods, first time in 774 Hijri (aprox. 1373 CE). He was from Khatlan Tajikistan and is buried there.
It is said that Shah-i-Hamdan had purchased hundreds of kanals of land and donated (wakf) it for the welfare of Muslims in Kashmir. One piece of land is where the shrine exists, other is the Eidgah and the other one is Malkhah, the largest graveyard of the valley. The caretakers of the shrine aver that the sale deed of the land is still preserved in the library of the shrine.
Shah-i-Hamdan visited Kashmir some 639 years ago but the present shrine is not that old, it was damaged at least thrice. The present shrine was built during Chak rule by Begum Soliha, the sunni wife of Hassan Shah from her own property that included her Mehr and jewelry. Hassan Shah was the member of ruling Chak family.
Apart from its religious importance, the shrine has an exceptional architecture. It is the first and perhaps only building in the state which has a hamam in the first floor. “Its wood carving is exceptional, the clarity of Asma-ul-husna, Awraad ti fatah and Kibrat Sharief written on its walls is amazing,” says Zareef. The relic available in the shrine is the Alam sharief. Believed to be of the times of Prophet Muhammed (SAW), it is said to have been used as a support for the tents (Kheemas) mostly in wars. This relic is also not displayed before public. A four feet long, hand written Quran is also kept in Shah-i-Hamdan’s shrine.
In the recent past, the Alam Sharief used to be taken to Chrar Sharief whenever a natural calamity or any disaster would hit Kashmir.“It was taken from Khan Qahi Muallaa to Charar-i-Sharief by thousands of people on foot. The devotees used to rest only at Kralpora, at the tomb of Bibi Bariya, one of the wives of Mir Muhammad Hamdani,” Syed Aslam says Andrabi.
The other relics include a 350 word agreement, Khat-e-Irshad, signed by Hazrat Mir Mohammed Hamdani and Sheikh Noor ud din Noorani. It is written in Persian and is said to have stamps of both the great saints. “In that agreement Hazrat Mir Mohammed Hamdani RA before leaving Kashmir had put the responsibility of preaching Islam in Kashmir on Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani RA,” says Andrabi, president of Shah-i-Hamdan Research Foundation.
Besides, Khankah-i-Mualla, the shrines of Shah-i-Hamdan exist at Wachi Pulwama, Sopore, Tral and Ladakh. The shrine at Wachi houses a pair of sandals (Nalaan-i-Mubarak) of Shah-i-Hamdan.The patron saint of Kashmir, Hazrat Sheikh Noor ud din Noorani, popular as Nund Reshi and Hazrat Sheikh ul Alam was born in 779 Hijri (approx. 1378 CE) at Qoimoh, Kulgam and passed away in 842 Hijri,(1441 CE). He is buried at Charar-i-Sharief . The Charar-i-Sharief shrine was first built by King Zain ul Abi din, the Budshah.
It caught fire once, was rebuilt in 1724 and renovated in late fifties during Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammed’s rule. The present edifice was built in 1995 after the shrine caught fire in a major encounter between government forces and militants.
The relics available in the shrine include a carpet (Asun Sharief) made of date skin (khazir Dail), wooden staff of Hazrat Fatimah (RA), wooden staff of Hazrat Owais Qarni, Jama Mubarak of Shah-I Hamdan and some of the belongings of Nund Reshi including his wooden staff with silver handle, jama mubarak, wooden sandals and wooden rosary (Tasbee). Among the relics is also a jama Mubarak and Quran written by Syed Mohammed Aali Sahib, a saint resting nearby at Pakherpora.
The locals are, however not sure whether all these relics were saved in the blaze of 1995.Hazrat Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom (RA), popularly known as Makhdoom sahib, Sultan ul Arifeen and Mehboob Alam was born in 900 Hijri (1499 CE) and died in 984 Hijri (1583 CE). The shrine of Hazrat Mehboobul Alam houses the belongings of the saint which are however not displayed to public.
Though the original sources of the holy relics attributed to Hazrat Muhammed SAW, his companions, and even foreign sufi saints are not documented properly, it is believed that most of them were brought to Kashmir via the Silk Route and Mughal Road.
