Deliverance from the Cross

by Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan

Page 146 of 177

Deliverance from the Cross — Page 146

came from all directions to pay their homage and made their offerings. The grant further shows that during the reign of Raja Gopadatta, Yuz Asaph came to Kashmir and lived, preached and died in the valley and is buried in the Khanyar quarter in Srinagar. 2 26 Mulla Nadiri, the first Muslim historian of Kashmir, who wrote in Persian, says that during the reign of Raja Gopadatta (49-109 A. D. ) Hazrat Yuz Asaph having come from the Holy Land to the holy valley proclaimed his prophethood. It was during this time that Sulaiman, a Persian, was deputed to repair the cracks in the tomb of the temple of Shankrachrya on Takht-i-Sulaiman (Throne of Solomon), the peak of a mountain near Srinagar. Sulaiman, the artisan, inscribed on one of the stones of the flank wall, enclosing the stairs: In these times Yuz Aseph proclaimed prophethood. On the other stones of the stairs he inscribed that Yus Aseph was Yusu, Prophet of the Bani-Israel. Mulla Nadiri further mentions that he saw in a book of Hindus that this prophet was really Hazrat Isa Ruhullah (the Spirit of God). He had also assumed the name of Yuz Aseph. He spent his life in this valley. After his death he was laid to rest in Mohalla Anzmarah, Khanyar (Tarikh-i- Kashmir, folio 69). 27 These inscriptions are still visible though in a mutilated condition. They were intact and had not been obliterated 26 Mysteries of Kashmir by Mohammed Yasin, Oxford. Princraft, India, New Delhi, pp. 12-13. 27 Ibid. , pp. 13-14 146