Hazrat Bal is a revered site for Muslims located in the globally renowned city of Srinagar. This sacred place is about 10 kilometers from the central city. It is considered the holiest site in the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir.
In Urdu, “Hazrat” means “respectable/revered/sacred,” and in the Kashmiri language, “Bal” means “place/location.” Thus, Hazrat Bal translates to “a place that is highly revered by people.” The unique feature of this mosque is that it houses a sacred relic, a hair strand of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
According to traditions, it is said that in 1635, Syed Abdullah, a member of the Sayyid family from Medina, moved to Bijapur near Hyderabad in India. He brought the sacred hair with him. After Syed Abdullah’s passing, the sacred relic was inherited by his son, Syed Hamid. During the Mughal invasion of India, Syed Hamid’s properties were confiscated. Realizing that he could no longer protect the relic and fearing it would be taken from him, he had a dream or divine indication to entrust the relic to a trustworthy individual, Khwaja Noor-ud-Din Eishai, instead of giving it to the authorities, who, despite being Muslims, might not show proper reverence.
When the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb learned of the relic, he forcibly took it from Noor-ud-Din Eishai and sent it to the Ajmer Sharif shrine. Noor-ud-Din Eishai was imprisoned in Delhi for unofficially possessing sacred relics. Later, realizing his mistake, Aurangzeb ordered the relic to be returned to Noor-ud-Din Eishai and sent him to Kashmir. However, by then, Noor-ud-Din Eishai had passed away in prison. Consequently, the relic was returned to his family, who brought it, along with his body, to Srinagar.
Initially, the relic was kept at the Khanqah Naqshbandia in Srinagar for public viewing. However, due to space constraints at the Khanqah, the Mughal ruler Fazil Khan ordered the relic to be moved to Bagh Sadiqabad, and this location was dedicated as a shrine for the relic. Thus, this place became known as “Hazrat Bal.” The original structure, known as Sadiqabad, was built in 1700 by Noor-ud-Din Eishai’s daughter, Inayat Begum, with the help of architects from India and Kashmir. When the relic was brought here, the structure was expanded, and a mosque was built to the west and a large Khanqah to the east.
Since then, Noor-ud-Din Eishai’s family has been the custodians of the shrine, serving not as spiritual leaders but as guardians of the relic. In 1943, during Maharaja Hari Singh’s reign, Hazrat Bal came under the supervision of the Islamic Auqaf. During the 1947 partition, the relic remained in the Indian-administered region, leaving those on the other side deprived of visiting this sacred place.
On December 26, 1963, the relic was stolen in a conspiracy, sparking widespread protests across the state. A committee was formed by the government, and the protests intensified to the extent that on December 31, 1963, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru expressed concern over the missing relic on All India Radio and promised to find it. A few days later, on January 4, 1964, the relic was recovered. The details of who stole it and why remain unknown, but it was likely a political plot or conspiracy.
In 1968, under Sheikh Abdullah’s order, the Islamic Auqaf began constructing a new building in place of the old structure. The current building is entirely made of white marble, designed in the style of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina. This sacred site is also known as “Second Medina.” The sacred hair of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is kept in a glass box. Every year, on occasions like the Prophet’s birth anniversary, Miraj, and other significant events, it is displayed for public viewing, drawing people from all over the Kashmir Valley.
Hazrat Bal is a densely populated area, and Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah is also buried here.
References:
- “Tarikh-e-Hasan” (History of Hassan)
- “Aatish-e-Chinar” (Flame of the Chinar)
- “History of the City of Srinagar”
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