Sheikh Noor-ud-din Wali

Early life

Noor-ud-Din was born in 1377 in Khee Jogipora village near Qaimoh in today's Kulgam district of Kashmir to Salar Sanz and Sadra, also called Sadra Moji or Sadra Deddi. His grandfather Sheikh Salahuddin hailed from Rajput Royal Family Of Kishtwar. The legend has it that he refused to be breastfed by his mother after birth and it was Lalleshwari who breastfed him. His stepsons (Shash and Gundro) later tried to corrupt him into theft, but even when forced into burglary he refused to sin, reportedly composing a Kashmiri poem instead, In teenage years Noor-ud-Din was apprenticed to a couple of traders. He was married to Zai Ded who hailed from the village of Dadasara in Tral, they had three children (two sons, one daughter), but all died in infancy. He renounced the world after the death of her children and became a hermit.

By age 30, Noor-ud-Din “became sullen with worldly life” and turned to asceticism. He withdrew regularly to solitude (his mother even pointed to a local cave in Qaimoh as a meditation retreat, the “Fikri Taing” mound). Under the influence of the Kubrawiya (through his patronage of the Persian saint Syed Hussain Simnani), he embraced a life of self-denial. He converted many people to Islam throughout his life. Some figures include the first spiritual successor to his Rishi order, Hazrat Baba Bam ud-Din Rishi who were converted by Sheikh Noor ud-Din after a long discussion on idol worship and Sheikh ul-Alam convinced him enough to make him a Muslim. After Baba Bam ud-Din Rishi's death, The Cloak of Rishi order fell upon Sakhi Zain ud-Din Wali of Aishmuquam who became The Second Spiritual Successor, it is said The Holy Saint Sheikh Noor ud-Din once got to know of Zain ud-Din's illness when he was not a Muslim, The Holy Saint then told his mother that he would make dua for them if they accepted Islam, hence it was Zia Singh (later Sakhi Zain ud-Din Wali) who became Muslim with his mother and accepted Islam, after the supplications done by The Holy Saint Sheikh Noor ud-Din, Zai Singh was cured. After the death of Sakhi Zain ud-Din Wali. Following them were Baba Latif ud-Din who desired the friendship of the Holy Saint Sheikh Noor ud-Din, who denied his offer of friendship until he didn't accept Islam, after yielding, Baba Latif ud-Din accepted Islam and became the Third Spiritual Successor to Sheikh Noor ud-Din Noorani, following them was Baba Nasr ud-Din as The Fourth Spiritual Successor. "

Role in Kashmiri History and Sufism Noor-ud-Din is foundational to Kashmiri identity and Sufism. He is traditionally considered the founder of the local Rishi order (a syncretic Sufi tradition blending Islam with Kashmir's pre-Islamic mysticism). He and Lal Ded (Lalleshwari) are celebrated as Kashmir's two great saints, heralds of a vernacular, devotional culture. Bazaz notes that Kashmiris revere Nund Rishi as “Alamdār-i Kashmir” (“flag-bearer of Kashmir”) and “Shaikh al-‘Ālam” (“teacher of the world”). Indeed, tales of his life cross religious lines: even Hindus fondly call him Nund Lal and many Kashmiri Pandit families trace oral traditions to meetings with him. His poems have four to six lines each and revolve around religious themes, highlight moral principles, and often call for peace. He strived for Hindu–Muslim unity. One of his prominent poems is Ann poshi teli yeli wan poshi, which translates as "Food will thrive only as long as the woods survive".

Kashmiri poet Lal Ded was Noor-ud-Din's contemporary and had a great impact on his spiritual growth. Some scholars argue that he was her disciple, and associate his poetry with the Bhakti movement, although others disagree.

Noor-ud-Din witnessed several transmissions of Hinduism and Islam in the valley throughout his life, although he was actively involved in philosophical work and in writing Kashmiri poems. In his verses, he recalled some events, including the arrival of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani to Kashmir.

There have been several books published on him, most notably Kalam-e-Sheikh ul-Alam. In 2023 academic Abir Bazaz wrote a book on Nund Rishi named Nund Rishi: Poetry and Politics in medieval Kashmir on the life and poetry of Nund Rishi. In 2024 Renowned poet and Professor Shafi Shauq released a book named Nund where he discussed the poetry of Nund Rishi with translations in English.

Noor-ud-Din is also credited with translating the Quran into Kashmiri language.

In 2015, the University of Kashmir published an Urdu book titled "Kalam-i-Sheikh-ul-Alam", comprising about 300 shruks of Nund Rishi translated into Urdu by Ghulam Muhammad Shad.

Death Noor-ud-Din died in 1438 at the approximate age of 63. It is said in the local tradition that on the first two days of his death, over 900,000 people showed up to Charari Sharief for his funeral. Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin commissioned a tomb for his body at Charari Sharief. The Charar-e-Sharief shrine is visited by pilgrims to this day, especially on the eve of Noor-ud-Din's urs. His Urs was observed on 23 October 2022, this day has been declared a gazetted holiday by the government.

The Afghan governor, Atta Muhammad Khan, minted coins with Noor-ud-Din's name.

Noor-ud-Din's father, Sheikh Salar-Ud-Din, and two brothers, Kamal-Ud-Din and Jamal-Ud-Din, are buried near Dadasara while his wife is buried in Qaimoh.