Shaikh Nuruddin Rishi

He is the most celebrated Kashmiri Sufi having a widespread reputation. He founded the native order of the Sufis of the Valley called Rishi. Nund Rishi, also known as Sheikh Noor-ud-din, was a Kashmiri saint who belonged to the Rishi order. In various circles, he is also called as Alamdar-e-Kashmir and Sheikh-ul-Alam (these names were given by Mir Mohammad Hamdani for him) and is the patron saint of Kashmiris, highly revered by both Muslims and Hindus.He is known as Sahazanand among Kashmiri Hindus. He was born at Kaimuh(old name Katimusha), two miles to the west of Bijbihara which is 28 miles south-east of Srinagar, in 779 A.H., on the day of the ‘Id-ul-Azha. His father’s name was Shaikh Salar-ud-Din. His mother, Sadra, was called Sadra Moji or Sadra Deddi. In Kashmir, Moji means ‘mother’, and Deddi denotes ‘elderly’. Both the parents were well known for their piety. Shaikh Salar-ud-Din, whose pre-Islamic name was Salar-Sanz and who belonged to the family of the rajas of Kishtwar, embraced Islam at the hands of Yasman Rishi, the younger brother of Palasman and Khalasman Rishis. Of Yasman Rishi, it is said that he travelled far and wide. Later, he lived mostly in forests. At times he used to ride a tiger.

His daily food was a cup of wild goat’s milk. Sadra came of a high Rajput family, but her parents having died very early, she was brought up by her wet-nurse : and, in course of time, was married to a person of humble origin by whom she had two sons- Shush (Shishu) and Gundar (Gandharva). Her husband died after some years and she was left alone. By nature of a religious bent of mind, she came under the influence of Yasman Rishi and embraced Islam and was re-married, at the instance of her foster-father, and under the direction of Yasman Rishi, to Salar-ud-Din. Sadra Deddi, on her death, was burried at Kaimuh whose turban is preserved at this shrine, and Haidar-ud-Din, the son, Zai-Ded, the wife, and Zun Ded the daughter of Nur-ud-Din, are also burried at Kaimuh.

Shaikh Nuruddin Rishi’s religious passage and progress passes through three distinct phases. The first phase is that of an orphan contending resolutely to make a living and supplement his continuance in ‘earthly’ being. The second one is that of a hermit retreating to a cave at Gophbal near Kaimuh for twelve years with the purpose of recognizing the religious truth. In the final stage he parts with the ways of an anchorite to espouse moral principles of substantial and cogent character. The moral elements and values of asceticism found an orderly expression and expounding in a lot of Shaikh Nuruddin’s metrical compositions. His earlier verses carry impressions of Kashmiri Shaivite philosophy. However, a drift comes up in the Shaikh’s thought  following his meeting with Saiyid Mir Muhammad Hamadani.

It is noteworthy that Mir Muhammad Hamadani initiated Shaikh Nuruddin into the Kubrawi order at the latter’s own solicitation. But this act in no way left the Shaikh’s away over the Rishi movement ineffectual. In his khat-i-irshad, Saiyid Mir Muhammad Hamadani, while making a mention of Shaikh Nuruddin, uses the term Rishi and calls him a complete wali. This is indicative of the Kubrawi’s Sufi’s firm trust in the Kashmiri Sufi in continuing the specific mission of the Saiyid’s predecessors.

Works

He used his poetry as tool to spread the knowledge of Islam. His poetry is commonly known as Shrukhs. Tawhid, Risala, Ma’ad, human lust etc. are main subjects of his poetry. He vehemently criticized the so-called Mullas and other pseudo-scholars of Islam .

He was a man of innate foresight and intuitive knowledge. One of his most famous and oft quoted couplets is (Kashmiri:”Ann poshi teli yeli wann poshi”) meaning ‘Food will last as long as forests last  Lal Ded the famous Shaivite poetess of Kashmir was his contemporary. She had a great impact on his spiritual growth. He has in one of his poems prayed to God to grant him the same level of spiritual achievement as God had bestowed on Lal Ded. She had a great impact on his spiritual growth. He has in one of his poems prayed to God to grant him the same level of spiritual achievement as God had bestowed on Lal Ded. The saint’s attack on hypocrisy is interesting says he:

“By bowing down, thou shalt not become a Rishi; the pounder in the rice-

mill did not ever raise up its head.”

“By entering a cave, God cannot be attained: the mongoose and the rat

seldom come out of their holes”.

“By bathing, the mind will not be cleansed: The fish and the otter never

ascend the bank.”

“If God was just pleased by fasting, the indigent rarely cook food in pots.”

His sayings are preserved in the Nur-nama, commonly available in Kashmir. The Nur-nama also gives the life of the saint. It was written by Baba Nasib-ud-din Ghazi in Persian about two centuries after the death of Shaikh Nur-ud-din. Anecdotes of the life of this ‘chief of the Rishis’ are on the lips of the people throughout the valley.

The people of Kashmir regard him as the father of the nation.

The University of Kashmir has honored his name by creating the Shaikh-ul-Alam Chair.

Death

He died at the age of 63 years in the year of 1440 CE or 842 Hijri.

Reference:

Sufi,G.M.D (1996). Kashmir Under The Mughals. Kashir: Being A History Of Kashmir(pp.98-102) Delhi:Capital Publishing House.