Who was Moinuddin Chishti, the most important figure in the spread of Sufism in India?

Beginning of spiritual journey

Moinuddin was calved successful 1141 CE successful Sistan, a state successful Persia (Iran) which borders present-day Afghanistan. He is said to person been a descendent of Prophet Muhmmad.

Orphaned astatine the property of 14, Moinuddin’s spiritual travel was acceptable disconnected by a accidental brushwood with Ibrahim Qandozi, a wandering mystic. While breaking breadstuff with the aged mystic, Moinuddin asked whether determination was thing other to beingness isolated from loneliness, decease and destruction. Qandozi replied successful the affirmative but said that “each quality being indispensable marque an effort to observe and to acquisition this information for himself”. (Mehru Jaffer, The Book of Muinuddin Chishti, 2008).

This acceptable the young antheral connected a way of self-discovery and spirituality. By the property of 20, Moinuddin had travelled acold and wide studying theology, grammar, philosophy, ethics, and religion successful seminaries astatine Bukhara and Samarkand.

His travel yet led him to Khwaja Usman Harooni, a revered Sufi maestro of the Chishti order, adjacent Herat (present time Afghanistan). In Khwaja Usman, Moinuddin recovered a mentor, undergoing years of rigorous spiritual subject nether his guidance. He was yet initiated into the Chishti silsila (chain of spiritual descent), aft which his mentor near and acceptable Moinuddin connected his ain path.

Becoming Ajmer’s Garib Nawaz

While travelling successful Afghanistan, Moinuddin yet accepted Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki arsenic his archetypal follower. With Qutubuddin, helium moved to Multan wherever helium stayed for astir 5 years, studying Sanskrit and talking to Hindu scholars, and past to Lahore, wherever helium meditated astatine the shrine of student Ali Hujwiri.

From Lahore, Moinuddin travelled to Delhi and past Ajmer, the superior of the Chauhan kingdom. He was astir 50 erstwhile helium reached Ajmer (sometime successful 1191, according to Jaffer). While galore accidental that the metropolis was astatine its highest nether the regularisation of Prithviraj III during this time, the epoch of Chauhans successful what is present North India was soon going to travel to a bloody end.

After losing to the Muhammad of Ghor successful the Second Battle of Tarain (present-day Haryana) successful 1192, the Chauhan dynasty’s regularisation came to an end. The Muhammad of Ghor’s armies went connected a murderous rampage, sacking the Chauhan superior and leaving down a way of suffering successful its wake.  

Seeing the suffering successful Ajmer, Moinuddin decided to enactment connected and assistance the city’s people. With his wife, Bibi Ummatulla who helium met successful Ajmer, he built a mud hut successful the city, and began to service the needy. “The humble location of Bibi and Muinuddin made of mud soon became a refuge for each those without roof, structure oregon food, and for those seeking solace and peace. His generosity and astonishing acts of selflessness earned Muinuddin the rubric of Gharib Nawaz, oregon person of the poor,” Jaffer wrote.

For instance, “… for the stateless a large langarkhana, oregon unfastened kitchen, was supervised by Bibi. Here each quality being irrespective of religion oregon presumption was welcomed and fed,” she wrote.

Moinuddin interacted with Hindu sages and mystics arsenic well, noting however overmuch helium had successful communal with these radical who, similar him, were unafraid to explicit their utter devotion to their creator, and rejected the orthodoxy of the clergy. His teaching, emphasising connected equality, divine love, and serving humanity transcended sectarian boundaries astatine a clip erstwhile the subcontinent underwent Islamic conquest, and witnessed important governmental upheaval.

A transcendental legacy

Sufism emerged betwixt the seventh and 10th centuries CE arsenic a counterweight to the expanding worldliness of the expanding Muslim community. Sufis embraced a much ascetic and devotional signifier of Islam, and often engaged successful a assortment of mystical practices. Eventually, Sufi practitioners came to beryllium organised successful assorted orders which congregated astir the teachings of a definite teacher or wali.

The Chishti bid was founded successful the 10th period by Abu Ishaq Shami in the municipality of Chisht adjacent Herat. But it was Moinuddin and his disciples who led to its dispersed successful the subcontinent.

Among his astir salient disciples was Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (1173-1235), who established the Chishti bid basal successful Delhi. Kaki became a cardinal fig successful the region’s spiritual beingness arsenic the spiritual guru of Iltutmish, the 3rd Sultan of Delhi. The Qutub Minar is said to beryllium named aft Kaki, whose shrine lies successful Mehrauli, adjacent to the iconic structure.

Kaki’s disciple Baba Fariduddin (1173-1265) dispersed the Chishti order’s teachings successful Punjab. Baba Farid was fixed the sanction Ganj Shakr oregon ‘a treasure of sweetness’, by Moinuddin. Other notable disciples included Hamiduddin Nagauri, who served arsenic a spiritual person successful Nagaur.

Nizamuddin Auliya (1238-1325), whose teachings and shrine successful Delhi are celebrated to this day, and his successor Chirag Dehalvi (1274-1356) carried connected Moinuddin’s connection good aft Moinuddin’s passing successful 1236.

And the Chishti order’s power tin beryllium seen successful the patronage it received from rulers passim history. Among the Mughal emperors, Akbar successful peculiar is said to person revered Moinuddin. He made respective pilgrimages to the shrine, beautified Moinuddin’s mausoleum, and helped revive the metropolis of Ajmer.

“Pilgrimage to the shrine by members of the [Mughal] royal household made Ajmer truthful fashionable that the affluent and almighty soon crowded the municipality with much mosques, covered courts and countless guesthouses,” Jaffer wrote.

Khwaja Moinuddin’s teachings proceed to resonate successful India today. His accent connected love, compassion, and inclusivity resonated profoundly successful a portion that is religiously diverse. And his integration of Indian taste practices into Islamic spirituality helped span the spread betwixt communities.