Museum of Kashmir

This prayer has been recited every morning in Kashmir for over 500 years. Yes, every single morning and in almost all mosques of Kashmir. This prayer was constituted by Mir Syed Ali Hamdani, a Persian Muslim preacher who came to Kashmir in the 14th century. As hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris embraced Islam, he devised this prayer which was performed after every dawn prayer in mosques. Many historians suggest that it was to fulfil the spiritual need as well as a means for local Muslims to remember and recite Quranic prayers.

Islam, architecture and Kashmir are great indicators of the region's history. We take a look at the essential Kashmiri history; from the origins of Islam in Kashmir to the politics of empire and also the history of Shias in Kashmir.

Our guest is Sameer Hamdani. He is the Design Director at INTACH Kashmir, whose primary area of research is in the field of Islamic religious architecture in South Asia. He has widely written on the Muslim material culture of Kashmir. The Syncretic Traditions of Islamic Religious Architecture of Kashmir (Early 14th ‐ 18th Century) and Shi’ism in Kashmir: A history of Sunni‐Shia rivalry and reconciliation.

The language is in Kashmiri, Urdu and English.

0:00 - Uniqueness of Kashmir

1:42 - The First Muslims of Kashmir

4:45 - Syncretism of Kashmir's Architecture

11:19 - The Story of Jamia Masjid

14:08 - The Case of Pathar Masjid

15:30 - Khanqah - e - Nurbakhsiya

16:28 - Koh -e- Suleyman

18:07 - Koh -e- Maran

20:00 - Evolution of Khanqah

23:48 - Mullah Akhund Mosque

26:50 - The Mughal Invasion

28:20 - Architecture as Power

31:30 - The Shia Kashmir

34:50 - The Kashmiri Shias of Lahore

38:07 - The Persecution of Kashmiri Shias

39:10 - The Shia-Sunni Unity

44:38 - The Aali Masjid

This is a verse attributed to Mīr Sayyīd Alī Hamādanī, the Kubrāwiyyā saint from Hamadān who came to Kashmir during the 14th century. After fighting with the Turco-Mongol emperor Timur, he along with his followers visited the country three times and stayed for certain periods in which they not only spread the message of Islam but also established industries that continue to thrive to this day.

These Persian verses are part of the Chahal Asrar (the forty secrets) which are written in the Ghazal form. It is believed that one night Hamādanī visited and recited these Ghazals in the houses of his followers. Later in the morning, his followers collected these Ghazals.

Since that time, and until now, Chahal Asrar is recited by Kashmiris during Maulood - the day when the Prophet of Islam was born and in other religious occasions. This audio clip was provided by Mahoor Shaw and one of the people reciting in this clip is Molvi Muhammad Yasin Shah - the Muezzin of Kashmir's Grand Mosque Jamia Masjid for over 60 years.

This is one of most beautiful shruks - verses- written by Sheikh Noorudin Noorani (1377-1440). He was a preacher and a poet. His contributions and work towards Kashmir has accorded him a saintly status. He is known as Alamdar - the flag bearer of
Kashmiris.

I have had this recording in my phone since 2016 during a session at the Mirwaiz Manzil in Srinagar. I don’t know who  recited this beautiful kalaam but it’s been in my head ever since. I tried really hard to fix my broken phone which has this recording. Thankfully, I was able to recover it.

Hazrat Siddīqas tas durdānas
Yus awwal hyot sāhiban pānas sạ̄t

Umari Khattāb-as pahalwānasY
em jang kor shaitānas sạ̄t

Hazrat Usmānas ibni ‘Affānas
Yem kath kạr furqānas sạ̄t

Hazrat Shāhas sher-e yazdānas
Yem tsọt kheyi mahmānas sạ̄t

Rasūli khudāyas shāh-e sultānas
Yus ‘ummat panin heyi pānas sạ̄t

Nund Ryosh arz kari Shah-e Hamdānas
Tatiy jannatas hẏetam pānas sạ̄t (This verse is not in the recording)

Magarmal Bagh is a small neighbourhood nestled between the busy city centre of Srinagar - Lal Chowk and Batamaloo. It's hidden behind the recently built flyover and the cacophony of the city centre. It has been a witness to some tumultuous events in Kashmir's history over the century. One of them being the Magarmal Bagh Massacre that occurred on 19th of January, 1991 when Indian forces fired upon civilians in its market. At least 16 people were killed and scores were injured.

As part of our Red Square series, we speak to one of the survivors of the massacre. 

Music:

Cello Duet No. 1by Chief Boima is licensed under aAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

Cocaine Lovin' Orange County Kidsby Die Elektrischen is licensed under aAttribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.