Ajmer Sharif and Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti

News: An Ajmer court recently accepted a petition by the Hindu Sena, which claims that a  Shiva temple lies beneath the Ajmer Sharif dargah.

About Ajmer Sharif

• It is the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, the revered Sufi saint from Persia.
• The shrine was built by Mughal King Humayun.
• The white marble dome of Chishti’s shrine, as seen today, was built in 1532.
• It is an example of Indo-Islamic architecture.
• The shrine has been visited by rulers like Muhammad bin Tughlaq, Sher Shah Suri, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb.
• The death anniversary of Moinuddin Chishti is called the Urs Sharif festival.

About Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti

Early life

• He was born in Sijistan (modern-day Sistan) in Iran in 1141-42 CE.
• By 20, Moinuddin had traveled widely, studying various subjects in Bukhara and Samarkand. He later met Khwaja Usman Harooni, a Sufi master, who became his mentor.
• After years of spiritual training, Moinuddin was initiated into the Chishti order and set on his own path.

Journey in India

• He arrived in Delhi Sultanate during the reign of the sultan Iltutmish.
• After Muizuddin Muhammad bin Sam defeated Prithviraj Chauhan in the Second Battle of Tarain (1192) and established rule in Delhi, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti began living and preaching in Ajmer.

Chishti Order (Chishtiya):

• The Chishti order was founded in the 10th century by Abu Ishaq Shami in the town of Chisht near Herat in Afghanistan.
• In India, Chishtiya Order was founded by Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti
• Chistis renounced material possessions as distractions from focusing on God and avoided involvement with the secular state.
• Disciples of Khwaja Moin-Uddin Chishti, like Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, Fareeduddin Ganj-e-Shakar, Nizamuddin Auliya, and Naseeruddin Charagh, spread and popularized Chishti teachings.

Other major Sufi Orders in India:

Suhrawardi Order:

• It was established in India by Sheikh Bahauddin Zakariya.
• Unlike the Chishti saints, the Suhrawardis maintained close ties with the state. They accepted gifts, jagirs from sultans.

Naqshbandi Order:

• In India, this order was established by Khwaja Bahauddin Naqshbandi.
• From the beginning, this Order’s mystics stressed the Shariat’s observance and denounced all innovations or biddat.

The Qadri order

• This order was popular in Punjab and founded in the 14th century by Sheikh Abdul Qadir of Badaun.
• Sheikh Abdul Qadir and his sons were supporters of the Mughals under Akbar.