TH Darimi

History of khaja -3 / Death of the Sultan

9 Gareeb Navas and Sultanul Hind



Khwaja Mueenuddeen Chisty(R) has two attributes, Gareeb Navas and Sultanul Hind. The first one stands for his kindness in feeding the poor and helping others in their hard times. Nobody went hungry from Khwaja's Darbar. He loved to feed people of all castes, creeds, religion. Nobody went empty handed. The needy were taken care of and the miserable were consoled and the heartbroken were restored back to spirit and the angry were made calm and the proud were made humble and whether you accepted Islam or not, you were treated as a family member and you were given the respect and love which is the right of each living being in the world. Khwaja(R) was so compassionate and loving though most often silent. The word Khwaja in Persian language means Master and Gareeb Nawaz means Patron of The Poor. Thus he is called with love by his disciples, devotees and lovers as Khwaja Gareeb Nawaz. He himself made it clear that the surest and quickest way to please Allah, and to evade the fire of hell is providing food and water to the hungry and thirsty, taking care of the needs of the poor and being there for those who were in misery.



According to Him, the best way to worship Allah was to provide relief to the poor, the humble and the oppressed and that there was no prayer higher than the prayer of service to those in need. To take care of the needs of the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the downtrodden, the miserable, the ailing and the damned were the utmost services.



The kindness of Khwaja (R) was not only that of material by his way of assistance was to provide them inner comfort also. He used to provide those who are in pain, depression and oppression consolation as well as to pray for them and do all that which is possible to lighten their hearts and free them as far as possible from anxiety and depression. Thus, it wasn’t just about doing a bit of charity but also to give his time, love and compassion to the needy. Thus, for Khwaja Garib Nawaz, the most important spiritual necessity was to live with compassion and never to look down upon another being.



Khwaja (R) wasn't ever any kind of ruler or ruling power in India. But he has been called Sultan of India. So, it may confuse and may it be questioned. It's clarification and interpretation is that he wasn't Sultan of the soil but he was Sultan of the soul of the people. He is considered as the first preacher and guide of Islamic spirituality which is called Sufism. He developed a spiritual way similar to way of Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jeelani(R) which is called Qadiriyya Thareeqah. This way is called Chishthiyya Thareeqa. It is considered as second large Thareeqah in the world and first large in Indian subcontinent.



Chishthiyya Thareeqah is based on utmost surrender to Allah and His will. It strives to earn a closeness to Allah. Khwaja(R) most often refers Allah as The Friend. He felt Him as a friend because he lived a life so pious, so compassionate, so spiritual which are drag him closer as a friend. He also taught this view among the Muslim community. He said that if you truly did love Allah, then Allah will walk with you solving your problems and consoling you in the griefs like a friend. He said: ‘The one who keeps his neck submitted to the will of Allah, Allah Almighty looks after him’. He was not insisting only these upon the disciples but it was clearly seen in his true life. His every moment was a prayer and every action and moment he lived was has to described as a prayer.



He believed in three things that each individual should practice apart from compassion, calm and positive submission to Allah. The first was that one should eat only less as that way one was always fasting. The empty stomach burst the thoughts of the creator. The second was to sleep less in order to pray. When one eats less and is experiencing continuous fasting, the body is always ready to be in a state of prayer and worship. Prayer and worship is mandatory for one to keep moving closer to Allah. So, if the fasting one fell asleep the tiredness will keep him away from the good deeds. The third is one should speak less. Speaking more seldom free from unwanted talks like gossip, slander and disparage.



10 great teachings of Khwaja (R)



Khwaja (R) taught us that the path to Allah, starts with fear, is followed by hope and then culminates with love. Fear of Allah keeps us away from all kind of evil things. His guidance for those who wanted to be on the right path is firstly to follow his philosophy, ideology, compassion and humanity. Then to follow following ten things. First one is the search for God and to try find Allah in every moment through every thought, word and action. Second one is to find a Master who could guide him or her. The Master would help the individual to move steadily on the right path and not get lost or confused between various ways of the material world and the world of illusions and duality. This master is Shaykh or Murshid in Islamic spiritual terminology.



Third one is to respect every being, irrespective of caste, creed, religion, financial position and also that as God has created every being, each being was to be treated with love, compassion and respect. The fourth one is to be in a perpetual state of surrender to Allah and His Will. To live a life of calm, happy, peaceful surrender and to lead a life away from anxieties and worries. The fifth thing is to love all beings. Without love there is no God and without God there is nothing thus everything starts and ends with love. Love is the source of energy. Give love to all and have love from all. The sixth one is to be pious. It is Thaqwa in Islamic concept. Taqwa is a concept that is interpreted by Islamic Scholars as God consciousness. Taqwa means also piousness, fear of God, love for God, and self restraint. Having Taqwa allows a person to be constantly aware of both God's presence and a reminder of their relationship and responsibility to God as His creation and servant. The scholars explain that the way to taqwa is through obedience of God, avoiding disobedience, and striving to stay away from doubtful matters. It was reported that Umar bin Khattab asked Ubayy ibn Ka'b about Taqwa. Ubay said, 'Have you ever walked on a path that has thorns on it?' Umar said, 'Yes.' Ubayy asked, 'What did you do then?' to which Umar replied, 'I rolled up my sleeves and struggled.' Ubayy said, 'That is taqwa, to protect oneself from sin through life's dangerous journey so that one can successfully complete the journey unscathed by sin.'



The seventh one is perseverance and consistency in the spiritual strives. On the right path, if you don’t have the stubbornness the satan will take up the opportunity to deveate the seeker of spirituality. Thus one needs to be very keen to keep spiritual priority and then focus on the Destination. The eighth thing is to be able to eat less and sleep less. Gluttony and sloth have made seekers of spirituality lose their path. It is now also medically proven that to eat moderately is beneficial for every human. However, the purpose of not being overfull is that feeling some hunger will create compassion in the heart for the hungry. Eat that much to satisfy the appetite, not the desire. Appetite has a limit, desires have no limit. Eating moderately helps build stamina and immunity which are required to stave off diseases and illnesses. Sleeping moderately also is beneficial for the health. The organs have a cycle of repair and replenishment which take place during sleep. To have adequate sleep is beneficial and to oversleep is detrimental.



The ninth one is seclusion. It means to be alone away from worldly matters for at least a perticular time. It does mean in Sufi terms khalwat. It is a kind of isolation, that can only be prescribed by the shaikh. It is said that the shortest time limit for khalwat is 40 days, as Allah appointed to Prophet Moosa(A) to make him ready to receive the divine revelation. It is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an as 'And remember We appointed forty nights for Moses' (Surah al-Baqarah, 51). Imam Muslim narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) made seclusion in the cave of Hira for one complete month. Its aim is to clean the heart of connection to this world of material pleasures, and to bring it to a state of remembrance of Allah, Almighty and Exalted. In it countless visions occur, and it elevates the murid to a state of knowing the self, and from there to a state of knowing Allah.



Seclusion requires the seeker to disconnect himself from people and to disengage himself from all material interactions for a set period of time. His heart must be engaged only in Allah’s remembrance, and his mind relaxed from daily concerns. All this must take place under the guidance of a gnostic shaikh. As he will teach us if we forget, and to remind us if we are heedless, and to throw out of the heart all gossip and whispers of the ego. The shaikh orders the murid to seclude himself in a room where he will be served every day only with what is necessary for survival. Then he will teach his tongue the way of reciting Dhikr, until he will be engaged with that recitation. The shaikh will support his murid in opening the Vision of the Divine Presence in the heart. Whatever happens to the murid during the seclusion, he must tell his shaikh, and he must conceal it from anyone other than the shaikh.



The tenth thing required is prayers and fasting. Prayers of gratitude and prayers of repentance and prayers of remembrance and prayers of oneness and it could mean formal prayers or chanting glory names of Allah. But prayers is mandatory and when one goes deep into prayers automatically the need to eat goes down and as one goes deeper into prayers, food itself becomes an obstacle and thus with prayers follows natural fasting.



The life and mission of Khwaja(R) have been of an exceptional character as compared with any other Sufi Saint in India. His simple teaching penetrated even a stony heart, his affectionate look silenced the fiercest of his enemies. His matchless piety and blessings knew no distinction and his spiritual Power amazed and defeated even his bitterest enimies who came to harm him. They were inspired instead to embrace Islam and became his devotees. Khwaja Mueenuddeen Chishty(R) followed a gentle kindness strictly throughout his mission. It was the reason that he popularly known as ‘Gharib Nawaz’ which means the one who shows kindness to the poor. This was later reinforced by succeeding Chishti Sufis, who became religious pioneers in national integration in the country.



The teachings of Khwaja(R) have been recorded in several books on mysticism. The essence of his teaching are:



1- Closest to Allah is one who possesses the following three qualities: Magnanimity of the river, Kindness of the sun and Humility of the earth. A friend of Allah must have affection like the Sun. When the sun rises, it is beneficial to all irrespective of whether they are Muslim, Christian, or Hindu. A friend of Allah must be generous like a river. We all get water from the river to quench our thirst. It does not discriminate whether we are good or bad or whether we are a relation or a stranger. A friend of Allah must display the hospitality like the earth.



2- Noblest of charecters is possessed by one who is: Bountiful in poverty, Content in hunger, Cheerful in grief and
Friendly in hostility.



3- Surest way to keep off the internal punishment in the hell is: To feed the hungry, To redress the agrieved and To help the distressed.



4- The heart of a lover is like a furnace of love. Whatever goes into it is burnt to nothingness because there is no fire like the fire of love.



5- The way of love is such that no trace remains of the one who sets out to it.



6- From the lips of an ‘Arif (one who knows Allah) one hears only the remembrance (dhikr) of Allah.



7- The first sign of an ‘Arif is that (s)he begins to despise possessions and wealth.



8- The noise of the lover is only while he has not seen his Beloved. Once he sees the beloved, he becomes calm and quiet, just as the rivers are boisterous before they join the ocean, but when they do so, there are becalmed forever.



9- The Enlightened becomes perfect only when all else is removed from in-between him and the Friend (Allah). Either he remains or the Friend.



10- The Enlightened is one who does not keep anything dear to his heart except the remembrance of Allah.



11- There are four cardinal virtues of the individual self Refraining from begging in the state of poverty, Showing the attitude of being well-fed when feeling hungry, Maintaining a cheerfulness in the time of sorrow and befriending the enemy.



He said as giving the summary of his lifelong mission: “Love all and hate none. Mere talk of peace will avail you naught. Mere talk of Allah and religion will not take you far. Bring out all of the latent powers of your being, and reveal the full magnificence of your immortal self. Be surcharged with peace and joy, and scatter them wherever you are and wherever you go. Be a blazing fire of truth, and be a soothing balm of peace. With your spiritual light, dispel the darkness of ignorance; and spread goodwill, peace, and harmony among the people. Never seek any help, charity, or favours from anybody except Allah. Never go to the courts of kings, but never refuse to bless and help the needy and the poor, the widow, and the orphan, if they come to your door. To serve the people is your mission. Carry it out dutifully and courageously, so that I, as your Pir-o-Murshid, may not be ashamed of any shortcomings on your part before Allah almighty and our holy predecessors in the Sufi order (Silsilah) on the Day of Judgment”



11 Death of the Sultan



On Monday the sixth of Rajab in 627 AH (21 May 1230 AH) Khwaja (R) closed the door of his tenement and instructed his attending devotees not to disturb him that night. Throughout the night the people outside heard a mystic sound emerge from it, a sound of ecstacy. At the approach of dawn, all was silent. When the door remained closed at the time of morning prayers, his devotees and disciples thought this was strange. The door was opened, and there he lay died. The following sentence in Arabic was radiantly glittering on his forehead: 'hada habeebullah matha fee hubbillah' (He was a beloved of God and he died in the love of God).



After his death a dargah (shrine or tomb) was erected in the south-west corner of the city by Iltutmish, Sultan of Delhi, and later enlarged and devoloped by the Mughal Emperor Humayan. Further renovations and additions were made by his successors. Honoured by members of all social classes, the tomb was treated with great respect by the era's most important Sunni rulers. Sultan Iltutmish paid a famous visit to the tomb in 1232 to commemorate the memory(Uroos) of the saint. In a similar way, the later Mughal Emperor Akbar visited the shrine no less than fourteen times during his reign. He also made a pilgrimage to this tomb in 1566, with his Hindu consort, Mariam-uz-Zamani barefoot in the hopes of having sons born to them. He also reconstructed the tomb's sanctorum in 1579 AD. Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Jahanara later renovated the structure of dargah.



To seek blessings for new conquests, fulfilment of vows, and the birth of sons , Akbar the Mughal ruler(1542 - 1605) is said to have visited this shrine fouteen times, sometimes two or three times in a year and as a mark of respect visited, sometimes, barefooted. When Salim (Jahangir) was born, Akbar, went on foot from Agra to Ajmer to offer his thanks-giving’s to the Khwaja (R). Mughal Emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan visited Ajmer several times and lavished their bounty on the residents of this sacred city. Jahangir too used to walk in Ajmer barefooted. Jahanara Begum (1614 - 1681), the talented daughter of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, considered herself a spiritual disciple of Khwaja Mueenuddeen Chisty (R) and never slept on a cot while in the city of Ajmeer. She wrote a biography of Khwaja Mueenuddeen Chisty (R) titled Mu'nisul-Arwaḥ (confidante of souls). Her biography of Khwaja (R) is highly regarded for its authenticity and literary quality. In it, she regarded him as having initiated her spiritually four centuries after his death.



It is narrated by some historians that the Mughal ruler Auragseb Alamgir (1618 – 1707) after coming into power, immediately paid a visit to pay homage to the Holy Saint Hazrat Khwaja Mueenuddeen Chisty(R) at Ajmer. It was his routine to say Assalamu Alaikum to the resting place of the Saint in the grave. If a reply to his salutation came from the grave, he would believe that the real and exact grave was located there. Otherwise he would order the shrine to be demolished. When he approached the Holy Shrine of Sultanul Hind, in his usual way he loudly addressed the grave with salam. There was no reply. He again after a few moments repeated his salam and again there was no response. He said that if his salutations were not answered one more time, he would demolish the shrine. After a pause the reply came from the Mazar Sharif of Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (R), He said: 'Walaikum Assalam Ya Alamgir; Is a reply essential when a Saint is busy in his prayer with divine Allah?'. Peace is upon you Ya Alamgir'. On shocking reply Alamgir bowed down and begged for mercy and forgiveness. Alamgir offered prayer and being a true devotee of the Khwaja (R) he built a Mosque just near the Dargah Sharif of Khwaja Garib Nawaz (R) which is now known as Alamgiri Mosque.



Khwaja (R) is the author of several books including ‘Anisul Arwah’,(giving details of his 28 meetings with his spiritual teacher Sheikh Usman Harooni) and ’Dalil-ul-Arifeen’ , ‘Ganj-i- Asrar’, ‘Bahrul Haqaiq’, ‘Malfuzat-i- Khawaja Moinuddin’, ‘Asrarul Wasileen’, ‘Risala Wajudia’ , ‘Dewan I Moinuddin Chisty’.



12 Chishti Order



The Chishti Order (or Chishti Silsilah or Chishtiya) was initiated by Abu Ishaq Shami, around 930 AD, in Chist, which is a small town in the Herat province of Afghanistan. He is believed to be the first in the Chishti Silsila (Lineage). Chishty Order was introduced and popularised in the Indian subcontinent by Khwaja (R) after he settled in Ajmer.
Chishti Order is one of the four initial orders of Sufism. The other three were Suhrawardi, Qadiri, and Naqshbandi. The Chishty Order emphasises the principles of love, devotion, charity and Generosity for social upliftment and egalitarianism between religions. One of the defining characteristics of the Order is to avoid materialism and the company of powerful and rich people. It believes in the doctrine of ‘Wahadat-al-Wajud’. It emphasises the idea of unity with God.
The Chishti Order is known to involve ‘Sama’ in practice. Sama aims to invoke divinity by losing oneself in music and poetry. This music is generally known as Qawwali.



The Dhikr, or the five fundamental religious practices to be followed by a Chishty are the following: 1 Dhikr-e-Jali: Sitting in a defined posture at a prescribed time and loudly chanting the names of Allah. 2 Dhikr-e-Khafi: Silently reciting the name of Allah. 3 Pas-e-Anfas: Breathing exercise of Chistiya Silsilah. 4 Muraqabah: A meditative practice in which one observes his heart and soul and gets knowledge of his relation with his creator. 5 Chilla: Prayer, penance and contemplation in a state of solitude.