Srinagar: Since March this year, the Covid-19 pandemic has been disrupting night-long celebrations on the occasion of Urs in prominent shrines of Kashmir valley, and now Dastgeer Sahib shrine in downtown Khanyar had to cut short the night-long prayers held on the eve of the annual Urs at the shrine on Thursday.
Earlier, the night-long prayers at the annual Urs of Dargah Hazratbal and Makhdoom Sahib shrines also remained affected due to the pandemic and social distancing norms in place.
The Hazrat Sheikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jeelani (RA) shrine at Khanyar will be marking its annual Urs on Friday after special prayers held during the past eleven days, upholding the centuries-old tradition of commemoration in the shrine. A large number of devotees participated in these prayers held at the shrine.
However, the main function of night-long prayers which is usually held during the intervening night of 10th and 11th as per the Islamic calendar will remain suspended this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Urs of the revered saint is usually celebrated in the fourth month of the Islamic Hijri calendar for eleven days, from 1st Rabi Us Sani to 11th of the same month.
The holy relics of the saint are displayed on the 11th day across certain shrines that host the relics, especially the Khanyar and Sarai Bala shrines of Dastgeer Sahib here in Srinagar city.
The shrine management of Dastgeer Sahib said on Thursday that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there will be no night-long prayers held at the shrine and as such, the shrine will remain closed for devotees from Thursday afternoon, up to Friday morning.
After which, they said, the holy relics will be displayed from the outer side of the shrine to devotees on Friday during all five prayers of the day, and subsequently on Saturday there will be no displaying of the relics in the interiors of the shrine to prevent flouting of social distancing norms, in the limited space available inside the shrine.
“The holy relics will be displayed only on the outer side of the shrine keeping in view the Covid-19 pandemic. During five prayers of the day, holy relics will be displayed as usual. The timing for each prayer during the day is 6:30 AM for Fajr, 2:15 PM for Zuhar on Friday, and the rest on 1:30 PM, 4:00 PM for Asr, and 7:30 PM at Isha on Saturday. For Magrib, it will go by the time of dusk accordingly,” they said.
The shrine management, led by the Sajada Nisheen, Khalid Hussain Geelani, advised people to follow all necessary precautions keeping in view the Covid-19 pandemic during their visit to the shrine.
The main function on the 11th of Rabi Us Sani every year usually draws thousands of devotees from across Kashmir valley to have a glimpse of the holy relics of the 11th-century saint, Hazrat Abdul Qadir Jeelani(RA), popularly known as Dastgeer Sahib (RA).

KALEEM GEELANI