Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 11: Hundreds of devotees thronged Makhdoom Sahib shrine in Srinagar today on the occasion of annual Urs of revered Sufi saint, Sultan-ul-Arifeen Hazrat Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom Sahib (RA).
Men, women and children were seen riding stairs from the Nowhatta and Rainawari Gurudwara side of the shrine to pay obeisance at the revered shrine.
Last night, devotees were engrossed in ‘Shab Khwani’ (nightlong prayers), which are held one night before the Urs, at the shrine.
The authorities had made elaborate arrangements for the devotees on the occasion.
The Sufi saint, who is popularly known as Makhdoom Sahib and Sultan-ul-Arifeen, is the most venerated sage of Srinagar and his followers, Muslims and non-Muslims, have been paying obeisance at the shrine for nearly 500 years now.
Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Party President, Member of Parliament Farooq Abdullah and Vice President Omar Abdullah have greeted people on the Annual Urs Observance of Mehboobul Alam, Sultan Ul Arifeen Sheikh Hamzah Makhdoomi (RA), hoping the day increases the prospects of peace and prosperity in Jammu and Kashmir.
Farooq said, “Kashmir’s contribution to Sufi mysticism in immense and great polymaths like Hazrat Sultan Ul Arifeen with unrivalled spiritual standing nurtured it from time to time. These great men were people of great devotion, selflessness and austerity.”
Apni Party President, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, on Monday, extended greetings to the people on the revered occasion of the annual Urs.
“On the auspicious occasion of the annual Urs of Hazrat Sultan-ul-Arifeen, I extend my greetings to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially the devotees of the Sufi saint who has been in the hearts of Kashmiris for centuries, as he spent his entire life spreading the teachings of Islam and spirituality”, Bukhari said in his message.
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