The 813th Urs at Ajmer Sharif: Demystify the Historic Heritage of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (R.A) from Original Sources!

By Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam 6 January 2024 "Developing river-like generosity, Sun-like bounty, and Earth-like hospitality is the highest devotion to Almighty Allah.” Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Gharib Nawaz R.A ----- There is no denying the fact that Gharib Nawaz Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti RA is historically known as an epitome of communal harmony and inter-religious unity in India. On the occasion of his 813th Urs, Indian Prime Minister handed over a ceremonial ‘Chadar’ to be offered at Ajmer Sharif Dargah, even as controversy rages around a court case about the ceremony. As an annual tradition since 1947, an offering of Chadar is given by the prime minister at the Dargah during the death anniversary of the most prominent Sufi sage of Silsila Chishtiya in the Indian subcontinent. This writer is attending the ongoing 10-day Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (RA) in which the royal Mahfil is being held every night where the words of Chishti poets, especially Amir Khusro, the king of Sufiyana Kalams, are resonating. At the same time, the beautiful renditions of medieval spiritual luminaries like Meerabai and Kabir Das are also filling the ears of the divine lovers of Khwaja with great devotion. The most interesting scenery is that the royal Mahfil of Urs is being organized in the 800-year-old Mahfil Khana, also called Sima Khana of the Dargah which is still vibrant as a centre of attraction for the people of all hues and heritages. This Mahfil, which started on the first date of the month of Rajab of the Hijri calendar, continues till the 6th Rajab—the day of Qul Sharif. The royal Mahfil seems to be a refreshing remnant of the medieval era of Muslim emperors. The traditional royal entourage, which is called the hereditary Amla, is handling every ritual of the Mahfil. Dresses of the same style, from laying the floor and setting up the tents, putting up lanterns for lighting the gathering and reciting Al-Fateha, distributing the Tabarruk (food as a blessing) and carrying the Chaub, all the paraphernalia is present. The gathering is getting enthralled by the Qawwals like Asrar Hussain of the Shahi Qawwal Chowki of the Dargah. Apart from them, the families of the big Qawwals from all over the country, and the hereditary Qawwals, are presenting their Kalam every night here. Almost 200, 300 and 400-year old Persian and Brij Bhasa Kalams are being sung. Not only the Kalams of Muslim Sufi elders but also the Kalams of famous Bhakti tradition poets Meerabai and Kabir Das are being presented. This is the living example of Ganga Jamuna Tehzeeb—the composite culture the social fabric of Indian communities is known for. For instance—While we hear the enchanting verses of Amir Khusro such as “Ae Ri Sakhi More Piya Ghar Aaye.....O friend, my beloved has come home”, Meera's extremely devotional poem ...O Beloved, open your eyes, the maid is standing in your service since long” is also soothing the atmosphere of the large gathering of Sufi saint’s lovers. Kabir's verses which have also become the highlight of the Mahfil are an indelible mark of the Bhakti period, an era which ushered in binding Hindu and Muslim unity in India. Significantly, Amir Khusro's famous devotional poem for Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya “Jag Ujiaro Jagat Ujiaro” deports our memory back to the Vaishnav poet Tulsidas who used the description “Hai Parasiddh Jagat Ujiyara” (Your highness illuminates the world!). The 11th-century Sufi saint popularly known as “Khwaja Gharib Nawaz” (Benefactor of the Poor) Moinuddin Chishti RA founded the Chishti Sufi order in India after he was initiated into the Silsilah by his Master/Murshid Khwaja Usman Harwani or Haruni (1107 – 1220). Harwani was an early Sufi saint who came from Harwan in Iran to India as a successor to Khwaja Shareef Zandani, the 16th link in the Chishti Order. Today, traditionally the Urs of Ajmer Sharif is seen as the most significant congregation of shrine visitors who hail from all faith traditions, not just Islam. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and people of various other religions celebrate the Ajmer Sharif Urs. For, Khwaja Gharib Nawaz's humane compassion was for one and all. His message of peaceful reconciliation with all (Sulh-e-Kul) is the key to his widespread popularity. His harmonious teachings and traditions are glaring pieces of evidence. Based on the concept of Khidmat-e-Khalq (Service to Mankind), Chishti Silsila in Indian Sufism is actually a service-oriented spiritual lineage, and not just a shrine-based Sufism, established by Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (RA). He came to India after he had a sacred vision of the holy Prophet (peace be upon him) who exhorted him to go and preach saintliness and Islamic spirituality in the Indian subcontinent. Therefore, he is famously called Sultan-ul-Hind (Spiritual King of India) and Ataa-e-Rasool (the holy Prophet’s gift to this land). In Rajasthan, India, his resting place “Ajmer Sharif” stands out as the most sacred shrine or Dargah with its annual Urs being the largest Sufi congregation in the country. On every anniversary (Urs) of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, followers of all faith traditions throng the Dargah in Ajmer Sharif. Now the question is: How do we know and learn more about his life, sayings, teachings, and traditions? How authentic are the primary and secondary sources to acquaint ourselves with his legacy? Have our predecessors carefully preserved the rich tapestry of spiritual knowledge and written and oral transmissions from Khwaja Gharib Nawaz R.A? A recent research work in Urdu by Jamia Millia Islamia’s renowned Islamic scholar Dr Mufti Muhammad Mushtaq Tijarwi (Faculty at the Jamia’s Department of Islamic Studies) is a substantial source on this subject. Under the title “Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Ajmeri R.A: Hayaat-o-T’aleemat (Life and Teachings)”, the book is a valuable anthology that contains credible quotations and extensive references to different modern and pre-modern authors, bibliographers and chroniclers of the Chishti Sufi tradition in the Indian subcontinent. “Much has been written in the biographies of Hazrat Khwaja Ajmeri (RA). Some of these books are as crucial as basic references and primary sources. This book recently published by Suffa Academy, Jamia Moinuddin Chishti (Ajmer, Rajasthan) has been authored only after scrutiny and comprehensive study of all these key texts and other study materials, most of which have been published”, the author writes at the very outset. Documenting and commemorating the remarkable life and contributions of Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (RA), distinguished scholar Dr Mufti Mushtaq Tijarwi penned this book with a profound objective and a noble intent, as he told this writer. “I intended not only to carry out a dispassionate research work on the most prominent Sufi saint of India but also to highlight his significance and re-visit his historical legacy and thus pay a humble tribute to his extraordinary life and contributions. He notes in his “preface”: “Not that there was no Sufi saint in this country before the advent of Hazrat Khwaja. But Sufism (Tasawwuf) got momentum in India only with the commencement of the Chishtiyya Sufi lineage founded by Gharib Nawaz (RA).”It was only with the Chishtiyya Silsilah that numerous other prominent Sufi Orders from Arabia, Persia and Central Asia—such as Quadriyyah, Naqshbandiyya, Suhrawardiyya, Rifaiyya and Kubrawiyya—emerged in India. Significantly, most of these Sufi Orders were born outside the Indian sub-continent but they were well anchored and imbued in India’s local spiritual ethos, mainly due to Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz’s popularity among people of the country. Then within the Chishti Silsilah, several India-centric local Sufi Orders sprang up in different parts of India as organic branches of the Chishti Order. They were invented and popularised by Bengali, Kashmiri, Gujarati and Marathi Sufi Mystics who were imbued with the local culture, indigenous spiritual traditions, and vernacular languages. For instance, Silsilah Ashrafiyya-Chishtiyya, Qalandariyah-Chishtiyya Madariyya-Chishtiyya, Warsiyya-Chishtiyya, Inayatiyya-Chishtiyya are some of those Sufi Orders which sprang up from the original Chishti Sufi Order in India. Today, these local Silsilas have become enduring pillars of the global Chishti tradition in contemporary Sufi thought and practice. Dr Mushtaq Tijarwi’s devotion to preserving and promoting the teachings of Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (RA) through his profound scholarship in Indian Islamic history serves a noble purpose. Some of the important works, textbooks and historical accounts that he has discussed consistently in his book are important to note. These works continue to enlighten us about the life and teachings of Khwaja Gharib Nawaz and will inspire future generations and seekers of Sufi wisdom if translated into regional and global languages. Some of them are as follows: Ø Siyar ul Awliya by Ameer Khurd Kirmani (1309 – 1368). This is the most important and oldest historical biography of the Sufi saints including Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (RA). Most incidents of his lifetime have been recorded in this sizable book. Ø Siyar ul Arifeen by Sheikh Hamid Bin Fazlullah Jamali (d. 1535). This is the second most important and the oldest one after Siyar ul Awliya. Since both these books are closer to the times of Khwaja Ajmeri (RA), they are regarded as the most credible sources on his lifetime. Ø Siyar ul Aqtaab by Al-Hadiya Ibn Abdur Raheem Chishti Ø Futuh al-Salateen by Abdul Malik Usami (1311 – 1350) Ø Mir’atul Asraar by Sheikh Abdur Rahman Chishti (d. 1642) Ø Akhbar al-Akhyaar by Sheikh Abdul Haque Muhaddith Dehlvi (1551 – 1642) Ø Tareekh e Farishta by Muhammad Qasim Farishta (1570 – 1620) Ø Tareekh-us-Salaf by Maulana Khwaja Syyed Abdul Bari Moini Ajmeri Ø Moinul Arwaah by Nawab Muhammad Khadim Hasan Shah Ajmeri ----- A Regular Columnist with Newageislam.com, Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi is an Indo-Islamic scholar, Sufi poet and English-Arabic-Urdu-Hindi writer with a background in a leading Sufi Islamic seminary in India. He is currently serving as Head of International Affairs at Voice for Peace & Justice, Jammu & Kashmir. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-personalities/813th-urs-ajmer-historic-heritage-khwaja-moinuddin/d/134250 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism