Dastgeer Sahib, Sufi shrine in Khanyar, Srinagar, India

Dastgeer Sahib is a Sufi shrine and mosque in Khanyar, Srinagar, covering about 740 square metres. Its interior has a traditional khatamband ceiling with crystal chandeliers and walls decorated with papier-mâché work. The shrine houses five graves and a relic known as Mouia Pak.

The Kashmir Encyclopedia holds that Syed Ghulam-ud-Din Azad, a descendant of Shah Sakhi Muhammad Fazil, founded the shrine in 1767 during the governorship of Noor Khan Bamzai. A merchant from Kandahar brought the relic known as Mouia Pak in 1806. Mir Husain Qadri financed construction between 1845 and 1854, and repairs after a fire in 1879 included gilding the spire's pointed ball.

The shrine serves as a living center where devotees gather to pray and honor the Sufi saint through daily rituals and observance. You will find people engaged in their spiritual practices, making this a working place of Islamic worship rather than simply a museum.

The shrine is located in the Khanyar neighborhood and opens daily to welcome both worshippers and visitors throughout the day. Modest dress is recommended when visiting, and it is helpful to be respectful of ongoing prayers and religious observances.

The relics are not manuscripts but a hair strand of Abdul Qadir Jeelani, called Mouia Pak, said to have been brought from Kandahar by a merchant in 1806, and an old Quran believed to be in the hand of Ali ibn Abi Talib in Kufi script. Both survived the 25 June 2012 fire inside a fireproof vault.