Srinagar: ‘Shab-e-Barat’ was observed across the Kashmir valley with night-long prayers at major mosques and shrines, even as no congregation was allowed at the historic Jama Masjid here, officials said on Monday.
Devotees thronged mosques and shrines on Sunday night to pray and participate in Qur’an recitations while preachers and religious scholars highlighted the importance of the night and the teachings of Islam.
Shab-e-Barat is observed by Muslims on the intervening night of the 14th and 15th days of Sha’ban, the eighth month of the Islamic calendar.
The biggest congregation was held at the Hazratbal shrine which houses the holy relic of Prophet Mohammad (SAW).
However, no prayers were allowed at the Jama Masjid in the Nowhatta area of the city here, the officials said.
Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid, the managing body of the grand mosque, said night prayers were not allowed at the mosque and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was put under house-arrest.
“Once again, the gates of Jama Masjid Srinagar were forcibly closed by the authorities on the auspicious occasion of Shab-e-Barat while Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (was) put under house arrest, hence disallowing congregational prayers on Shab Baraat at Jamia Masjid,” the Anjuman said in a statement.
Condemning the action, it said in these days of the Islamic month of Sha’ban, preceding the holy month of Ramzan, when mosques are reverberating with prayers and religious ceremonies, the central Jama Masjid, the most important religious centre of the valley, is “silenced”.
