Srinagar: The masjids and shrines across Kashmir reverberated with the recitation of the holy Quran on Thursday night as the devotees thronged various places of worship to offer nightlong prayers on the occasion of Shab-e-Qadr.
Muslims across the world observe the religious gathering of Shab-e-Qadr, known as the night of blessing and power on the 27th of Ramadhan every year.
The blessed night of Shab-e-Qadr is considered the most important night in the Islamic calendar where Muslims spend the whole night attending the religious gathering and praying all night till dawn.
The biggest congregation was held at Dargah Hazratbal shrine where thousands of people joined special prayers during the night and also listened to sermons on the teachings of Islam.
With the decline in COVID and the lifting of Covid restrictions, thousands of devotees participated in the night-long prayers across major religious places in Kashmir. Religious scholars gave sermons on the teaching of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and pressed upon the importance of charity during the holy month of Ramadhan.
Dargah Hazratbal shrine which hosted the largest gathering of devotees was full of hustle and bustle. People from across various districts had come to offer night-long prayers with their families.
“We arrived here in the morning along with our family. This night is the night of blessing and everyone comes to seek forgiveness from the Almighty. Families from various districts spend the night in special prayers with family and friends. Due to no Covid restriction for the first time since 2020, we were able to come along with family and be part of the holy gathering,” said Nusrat Shah, a female devotee from north Kashmir.
Officials said that special arrangements were put in place for the holy night across religious places in Kashmir. They said officials from district administration took stock of the arrangements and departments like SMC, SRTC, Traffic police and others were designated to provide services to devotees.
Habibullah Reshi, DGM JKRTC said they had pressed special buses on various routes across Kashmir to ferry devotees. He said that they had formulated a route plan along with district administration for Shab-e-Qadr and Jumat-ul-Vida.
“We have pressed over 20 Buses on the Hazratbal route. There will be around 10 buses in service during the night-long prayers around Hazratbal. We will press a total of 50 buses for Jumat-ul-vida. In addition to that, we also pressed electric buses and five buses, especially for ladies. All this was done in coordination with district administration for the ease of devotees,” Reshi said.
Officials said that in order to review the arrangements for Jamat-ul-Vida, Shab-e-Qadr, and Eid-ul-Fitr, a meeting of senior officers of District Administration was held at the DC Office Complex here today.
Senior officials from SMC, PDD, R&B PHE, JKSRTC, Health Services, Fire & Emergency Services, Traffic, and others were present to ensure all the facilities to people.
Congregational nightlong prayers were also held at all mosques and shrines in Srinagar including Masjid Jamiat-e-Ahlehadith Gawkadal; Asar-e-Sharif Janab Sahib Soura; Asar-e-Sharif Shehri Kalashpora; Ziarat-e-Makhdoom Sahib (RA), Khanqah-e-Maula and other Masjids and Shrines.
In south Kashmir, congregational nightlong prayers were held at Jamia Masjid Hanfia, Jamia Masjid Ahlihadith, Bait-ul-Muqaram and Rehat-Ded Masjid in Anantnag town. Nightlong prayers were also offered in Ziarat-e-Sharief Khiram; Kund, Aishmuqam and Bijbehara areas of the district.
In Kulgam, the biggest nightlong prayer gathering was seen in Jamia Masjid. Large congregational prayer gathering was also witnessed in Khankah Tral, Jamia Masjid Shopian and Jamia Masjid Pulwama.
The night holds special importance to Muslims across the world as the first verses of the Holy Quran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) during this night.
Meanwhile, authorities have decided not to allow Jumat-ul-Vida as well as Shab-e-Qadr prayers at historic Jamia Masjid here, Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid said on Wednesday.