By Tajamul Islam,Agence India Press,
Sopore: Thousands of people in north Kashmir’s Sopore attended the last rites of prominent mystic and faith healer Abdul Ahad on Tuesday. Popularly known as Ahad Bub.
The saint passed away on Monday evening at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences after prolonged illness. He had been admitted in the Institute about a fortnight ago following complaint of chest pain. He had undergone CT scan.
Prominent mystic & faith healer Abdul Ahad Popularly known as Ahad Bub
Locally known as Ahad Bub, the saint attracted people of all faiths who believed he had mystical powers.
Thousands of people from different parts of the valley joined the Nimaz Jinazah of Ahad Bab at Sopore where he was later laid to rest this afternoon.
Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh Justice Nisar Ahmad Kakru and two senior judges from the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, politicians and police officers attended the funeral at the saint’s native village in Sopore.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti have expressed grief over the demise of Ahad sahib.
In condolence message, Mehbooba Mufti said Ahad Sahib made a huge contribution for the betterment of the society and his death creates a void that will be difficult to fill.
Ahad Bub, who did not wear any cloths and remained mostly confined to his house, would listen to the grievances of his followers and reply in sign language through his devotees.
Once a family man with a job in police, Abdal Sahib is said to have been transformed into Ahad Bub during a cosmic trance that came unannounced and left him permanently devoid of concern for food or safety.
In 2006, his house was attacked with a grenade injuring several people.
Ahad Sahib, a naked fakir, remained the living symbol of Kashmir’s tradition of mystic syncretism and, for his followers, a beacon in a landscape of seemingly relentless strife.
In conflict-scarred Sopore, people say the naked fakir once walked between army and militant crossfire, arriving before an astounded battalion without so much as a mark on his person. “He silently handed over a fistful of fired shells to the troops, turned and walked away.”
Ahad Bub hardly ever spoke to anyone and, if he did, he used an old dialect that almost no one could understand.
All day he would sit, nodding incessantly, his face in his hands, his disinterest in his surroundings absolute.