Srinagar, Mar 13: Jumat-ul-Vida, the last Friday of the holy month of Ramzan, was observed across Jammu and Kashmir on Friday with thousands of devotees thronging mosques and shrines to offer congregational prayers.
The largest gathering was reported at the Hazratbal Shrine on the banks of Dal Lake, where officials estimated that around 80,000 worshippers participated in the prayers. Among the prominent personalities present at Hazratbal was former Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah.
Mosques and shrines across the Valley witnessed large congregations of faithful offering special prayers on the occasion. However, congregational prayers were not held at the historic Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta, Srinagar, as authorities kept the mosque closed for the seventh consecutive year.
Large gatherings were also reported from district and town headquarters across the Valley, where devotees participated in Alvida prayers marking the last Friday of Ramzan.
Earlier, Grand Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir Nasir-ul-Islam had announced that Jumat-ul-Vida would be observed on March 13, even though there remains a possibility of another Friday falling within the fasting month this year.
He said Eid-ul-Fitr is likely to be celebrated on March 20 (Friday) or March 21 (Saturday), depending on the sighting of the crescent moon. “After consultations with scholars, it was decided that Jumat-ul-Vida would be observed this week,” he said.
Following the announcement, the Jammu and Kashmir Government declared a public holiday on Friday. The order was issued by the General Administration Department on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq expressed grief over the continued closure of the historic Jamia Masjid on Jumat-ul-Vida. Drawing a parallel with the situation in Jerusalem, Mirwaiz said that the locking of the mosque during Ramzan was deeply painful.
In a post on X, Mirwaiz said that for the seventh year in a row, Muslims had been denied permission to offer prayers at the downtown mosque, which traditionally witnesses tens of thousands of worshippers on the last Friday of Ramzan.
“As Israel has forcibly shut the gates of Masjid al-Aqsa during Ramzan, a similar painful reality is witnessed here. Shame on those who lock the houses of Allah against the faithful,” he wrote.
The remarks came a day after Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid had expressed hope that authorities would allow congregational prayers at the historic mosque after nearly seven years.
