Berigam's Spiritual Heartbeat

For centuries, villagers have walked barefoot to the shrine of a forgotten saint who gave up everything for the valley's soul.

- Rayees Ahmad Kumar

In the village of Berigam, tucked between the foothills of South Kashmir and the serene orchards, there’s a tomb that draws crowds.

No royal lineage, no battlefield glories—just a saint who came, stayed, and never asked for attention.

His name was Syed Dawood Simnani [RA], and for the villagers, his memory is not a relic, but a rhythm.

He arrived from Simnan, a city of scholars in Persia, sometime in the late 14th century.

A cousin to Mir Syed Ali Hamadani [RA], the beloved Sufi who brought Islam’s deeper roots to Kashmir, Simnani came not with a caravan of 700 Sayyids, but with a quieter mission. He had been a judge, a learned man, but he left his title behind. He chose a village few had heard of. And he stayed.