Makhdoom Sahib

The Dargah is located on the southern side of Hari Parbat Hill (Kohi Maran) in Srinagar city. The mosque, built in the name of the Sufi saint Makhdoom Sahib or Hazrat Sultan-Ul- Arifeen (R.A), is placed below the attractive Mughal Fort, the Hari Parbat Fort, is a structure with many pillars and thus a rare example of Mughal architectural style. The magnificent Mughal Fort is spread out on the hill. This fort gives a magnificent top view of Makhdoom Sahib Shrine and falls on the southern side of the hill.  The shrine is named after Sheikh Hamza Makhdoomi, who hailed from the Tujar Shareef which lies in Kashmir. He was from the Syed dynasty and was a scholar and a mystic Sufi saint. There is a Kashmiri saying “Mehanatas cha Mazooer” which translates to “Hard work pays off” and this shrine is the perfect example of the hard work that people do at this shrine. There are approximately 80 stairs that devotees take to reach the shrine and pray. Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom, entitled Mehboob-Ul-Alam, and Sultan-Ul-Arifeen, was born to Baba Usman, at Tujar Sharief, a village in Kashmir, of the Chandra-Vanshi Rajput family, a hereditary landlord, a scholar and a mystic saint of high order. Hazrat Baba Dawood Khaki was one of the pious and renowned companions of Hazrat Sultan-ul- Arifeen Makhdoom Saheb (R.A.). He was the chief Qazi of Kashmir and a scholar of great repute. It is said that Shah Hamdan, the great saint of Hamdan offered prayers at the platform where the present mosque of Baba Dawood Khaki stands now. Baba Dawood Khaki writes that the father of Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom(R.A) was among the chiefs of his own tribe and he was linked to a Kashmiri royal tribe namely ‘Chakoun’ and few relatives of Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom(R.A) were inhabitants of Kachi Hama, a village on the foot of a mountain far from Tujar. During his studies he used to meditate a lot. Baba Dawood opines that Hazrat Makhdoom did not rest during the night for years on end but remained engaged in prayers. He inherited the mysticism, and from childhood was inclined to the company of holy men, and to the truth.  He went to see Fatah Ullah (son of Hazrat Baba Ismial) the spiritual teacher of the Rena tribe, and learnt the Quran for a year in the monastery at Shamsi-Chak , he was enrolled into the seminary of Baba Ismial Kubrawi, as a student, for higher studies. He studied the Jurisprudence, Tradition, Logic, Philosophy, Ethics, and Mysticism. Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom passed away in the Hijri year 984 during the reign of Sultan Ali Shah Kochak. His colleague Tahir Rafique said his funeral prayer. He was buried near Hari Parbat (Koh-i- Maran). Thousands of people visit the shrine to pay their respects and receive blessings.   

 

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