Charari Sharief (variously spelled Char-e-Sharif, Charar i Shareef, etc.) is a town and a notified area committee in Budgam district in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, India. This town has an average elevation of 1,933 metres above mean sea level. Charari Sharief was given the status of ‘Block’ in January 2014. The town is divided into 10 Wards. Each ward has a municipal councillor.
This historical town is famous for the tomb of Sheikh Noor-u-din Noorani, who preached Islam through his poetry. Every year Urs is celebrated at Charar-i-Sharief. Thousands of people from all faiths visit the shrine. This is the only town in valley which was to be developed as a Model Town. In the year 1995, during the fierce encounter between Indian troops and Mujahideen, the whole town of Charari Sharief got burnt down. Approximately, 1500 residential houses were devastated in this fire. The town has since been rehabilitated.
Religious Significance of Charari Sharief
Chrar – e – Sharief was a Shrine holy to both Muslims and Hindus. This historical town is notable for the tomb of Sheikh Noor-u-din Noorani, who preached Islam through his poetry. The tomb of Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani is also popularly known as Alamdar-e-Kashmir or the flag-bearer of Kashmir. It is located around 28 km in the southwest of Srinagar at Charari Sharief.
Nothing could better exemplify the composite culture of Kashmir than the life of Sheikh Naruddin himself. The Sheikh was born as Nund Reshi or Sahazanand in 1377 AD. His ancestors came from Kishtwar and had migrated to the Valley. His father, Salar Sanz, a pious man, came under the spiritual influence of Sufi Saint. Yasman Reshi who arranged his marriage to Sadra Maji. For three days, the infant Nund is said to have refused to be breast-fed. The third day, the Yogini, Lal Ded (a very well known saint) entered the house and put the child’s mouth to her own breast.While leaving, she is said to have called the infant her spiritual heir.
While personifying the Hindu-Muslim culture of the Valley, Nund, later named Naruddin, ‘the light of faith’, fully believed in the immanence and transcendence of God, hoped for a society based on moral values and preached against indulgence. All his life he wore a coarse pheran. Within two days of his death in 1438 at Charar, nine lakh people are said to have gathered at the Shrine, including the King, Sultan Zainul Abdin.
He preached against communal hatred and wrote: “We belong to the same parents. Then why this difference? Let Hindus and Muslims together worship God alone. We came to this world like partners. We should have shared our joys and sorrows together.”
The area where the shrine is nestled belonged to Sangram Dar. Dar was a follower of Alamdar-e-Kashmir, who had constructed a mosque there. It was here where Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani would say his Friday prayers. Locals are of the opinion that following the death of Alamdar-e-Kashmir, his coffin, after flying some distance, descended at the site where the shrine is situated and where the great Sufi saint has been laid to rest.
Charari Sharief is considered as one of the most sacred Muslim shrines in the country. Every year, Urs is celebrated at Charari Sharief which draws thousands of devotees from various distant places.
Reference: Taken from
http://kashmirgateway.com/sufism-shrines/index.html
