Hazratbal Shrine

The Hazratbal Shrine is a Muslim shrine in Srinagar, Jammu& Kashmir, India. It contains a relic believed by many Muslims of India to be a hair of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The name of the shrine comes from the Arabic word Hazrat, meaning holy or majestic, and the Kashmir word bal, meaning place.


Its situated on the left bank of the Dal Lake Srinagar and is considered to be Kashmir’s holiest Muslim Shrine. The scared hair (Moi-e-Muqqadas) of Mohammed is believed to be preserved here. The shrine is known by many names including Hazratbal, Assar-e-Sharief, Madinat-us-Sani, or simply Dargah Sharif.
The history of the shrine goes back to the early seventeenth century when the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan's Subedar, Sadiq Khan, laid out a garden here & constructed a palacial building, Ishrat Mahal or Pleasure House in 1623. However, the Emperor, during his visit in 1634, ordered the building to be converted into a prayer House with some additions & alterations. During the time of Aurangzeb, when MOI-e-Muqqadus arrived in Kashmir in 1699, it was first kept in the shrine of Naqashbad Sahib in the heart of the city. Since the place was found to be insufficient in view of the unprecedented rush of people who thronged the place to have a glimpse of the Moi-e-Muqqades, it was decided to shift the it to Hazratbal, then known as Sadiqabad. The construction of the present marble structure was started by the Muslim Auqaf Trust headed by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah in 1968 and completed in 1979. The Moi-e-Muqqadas is displayed on Various occassions related with the life of Prophet & his four holy companions.