Hazrat Sheikh Noor ud-Din Noorani or Nund Rishi popularly as Hazrat Sheikh ul-Alam (RA) regarded as the patron saint of Kashmiris was the descendant of a Hindu Rajput family of Kishtawar, one of whose scions had migrated to Kashmir valley because of a family feud and settled down here for good. The Hazrat Sheikh’s father accepted Islam at the hands of Yasman Reshi, son of Palasma Reshi and his Hindu name Salar Sanz was changed to Sheikh Salar. Once Sheikh Salar and his wife, Sadr Mouj, were attending upon their spiritual guide when the well-known mystic, Lal Arifa, walked that way with a bunch of flowers in her hand. Yasman got it from her and handed it to Sadr Mouj, praying at the same time for the birth of a pious son to her. Traditions say that when Hazrat Sheikh ul-Alam (RA) (RA) was born he refused to suck milk from his mother’s breast. Lal Arifa once again appeared upon the scene and spoke to the new-born in a mystic language. “Thou wert not ashamed of being born, then how art Thou ashamed of sucking in the milk.” Thereupon the saint put her own breast into the child’s mouth and he avidly sucked it. When the Hazrat Sheikh (RA) gained maturity, he found himself in a complex religious atmosphere. Islam had entered Kashmir valley long before his birth but the mode of life of the new entrants to its fold was not yet purely Islamic. No doubt, its simple teaching had a great appeal for people wearied of the futile metaphysical discussions and theological hair-spletting yet its spirit was not fully imbibed by the new converts. In fact their life was a queer mixture of the new faith and the local religious traditions smacking of asceticism. The age-old tradition of reshism continued to inspire people even when they accepted Islam. The achievement of Mir Ali Hamdani (RA), who introduced Islam on a wide scale shortly before the birth of the Hazrat Sheikh Noor-ud-din (RA) was yet to be consolidated. The Hazrat Sheikh (RA) grew up in this complex religious atmosphere. Born with a religious temperament, his childhood and boyhood were characterized by extraordinary purity of mind and character. At the age of thirteen Hazrat Sheikh ul-Alam (RA) (RA) was married to a lady, Zai Ded, who bore him two children, a daughter Zooni and a son Hayder. He (RA) was then apprenticed to a couple of traders, one after the other, There, he felt disgusted with the ways of the world. He lost interest in life as normally lived. He decided upon renunciation, retired to caves for meditation at the age of thirty. After spending about twelve years in renunciation, retiring to a cave in Kaymuh (in Kulgam, Kashmir Valley), for meditation, he returned to a life which Islam considers ideal in nature. He then started giving attention to his wife, Zai Ded and two children, Hayder and Zooni. He expressed his displeasure with his renunciation of the world in the following verses:
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