page_title: Dal Lake
section_title: Hazratbal Shrine
hierarchical_section_title: Dal Lake / Uses and attractions / Hazratbal Shrine
caption_attribution_description: The Hazratbal Shrine across Dal Lake, Jammu and Kashmir.
context_page_description: Dal is a lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is an urban lake, which is the second largest in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is integral to tourism and recreation in Kashmir and is named the "Lake of Flowers", "Jewel in the crown of Kashmir" or "Srinagar's Jewel". The lake is also an important source for commercial operations in fishing and water plant harvesting.
  The shore line of the lake, about 15.5 kilometres, is encompassed by a boulevard lined with Mughal era gardens, parks, houseboats and hotels. Scenic views of the lake can be witnessed from the shore line Mughal gardens, such as Shalimar Bagh and Nishat Bagh built during the reign of Mughal Emperor Jahangir and from houseboats cruising along the lake in the colourful shikaras. During the winter season, the temperature sometimes reaches −11 °C, freezing the lake.
  The lake covers an area of 18 square kilometres and is part of a natural wetland which covers 21.1 square kilometres, including its floating gardens. The floating gardens, known as "Rad" in Kashmiri, blossom with lotus flowers during July and August.
context_section_description: The Hazratbal Shrine (Urdu: حضرت بل‎, literally: Majestic Place), also named Hazratbal, Assar-e-Sharief,  or simply Dargah Sharif, is a Muslim shrine situated on the left bank of the Dal and is considered to be Kashmir's holiest Muslim shrine. It contains a relic believed by many Kashmiri Muslims to be the Moi-e-Muqqadas, a hair from the head of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.  According to legend, the relic was first brought to India by Syed Abdullah, a descendant of Muhammad who left Medina and settled in Bijapur, near Hyderabad in 1635. When Syed Abdullah died, his son, Syed Hamid, inherited the relic. Following the Mughal conquest of the region, Syed Hamid was stripped of his family estates. Finding himself unable to care for the relic, he gave it as the most precious gift to his close Mureed and a wealthy Kashmiri businessman, Khwaja Nur-ud-Din Ishbari.
caption: Hazratbal shrine.
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