Ajmer’s Garib Nawaz

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Sadia Dehlvi [1]

Sufi orders are like spiritual families who follow the teachings of the founding Master. According to the Quran, all of humanity shall be raised for the Final Judgment with their respective imams. A Sufi Master is obligated to protect the disciple in this world and in the Hereafter. I find tremendous solace in the belief that when God’s decrees are pronounced, one shall be under the banner and protection of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer.
On the 6th of Rajab, one of the four sacred months in the Islamic calendar that corresponds to 18th of June falls the Urs, the death anniversary of Khwaja Gharib Nawaz, symbolising his union with God. Each year, I join hundreds of thousands of Khwaja’s lovers to make the annual pilgrimage. I queue for long hours through the night waiting to touch Khwaja’s threshold to seek his blessings.
Born in Sistan, Khwaja grew up in Khurasan where his parents had migrated. Orphaned at an early age, the young lad earned his living from an orchard inherited from his father. One day as he tended to the fruit trees, Khwaja saw the Sufi Ibrahim Qunduzi pass by and requested that he rest under the shade of a tree in his garden. After eating some grapes, the Sufi took some seeds out of his mouth and placed them in Khwaja’s mouth. It created an illuminating spiritual experience for Khwaja who sold all his possessions and embraced the mystic path.
After spending some years in Samarqand and Bukhara, the Sufi aspirant sought guidance from Shaykh Usman of Harwan, the Master who soon appointed young Khwaja as his spiritual successor. Together they travelled to Mecca and Madina where Shaykh Usman prayed for his disciple’s success. While they stood under the canopy of the Kaaba, a heavenly voice proclaimed, “O Moinuddin, I am pleased with you and have accepted you. Ask for whatever you desire and it shall be granted”. Khwaja replied, “O Allah, accept those murid, followers who follow me and those who descend from me”. The Divine voice replied in affirmation of the plea for Khwaja would often say, “I will not step into paradise without those who follow me and my spiritual successors”.
The title of Gharib Nawaz, Patron of the Poor, was bestowed on Khwaja in Madina. Once while offering greetings and salutations to Prophet Mohammad saying, “As salaam o alayka ya Rasul Allah”, he heard the reply, “Va alaikum as salaam ya Gharib Nawaz”. While in the Prophet’s city, Khwaja received inspiration in his heart to settle in the Indian town of Ajmer, a place he had not heard of till then.
Khwaja first set out for Baghdad where he met with leading Sufis of the time. He then travelled to Herat through Hamdhan, by which time his fame began to attract large crowds. In search of solitude, Khwaja left for Ghazna from where he reached Lahore, spending 40 days meditating at the dargah of Usman Ali ibn Hujwiri, popularly known as Datta Ganj Baksh.
Finally Khwaja arrived in Ajmer where he established the first Chishti centre in the subcontinent. He laid down the principles of the Chishti Order, preaching one must develop “ocean-like generosity, sun-like bounty and earth-like humility”. Khwaja defined the highest form of devotion thus: “Redressing the misery of those in distress, fulfilling the needs of the helpless and feeding the hungry”. He stressed on the renunciation of wealth, encouraged self-vigil and prayer, and respect for all religions. The mystic’s belief in the Oneness of God defined his humanitarian approach to life.
Khwaja did not differentiate between love, the lover and the beloved. He believed that while the Hajjis, pilgrims, walked around the Kaaba, those with Divine knowledge circled the heart, for God resides in the hearts of those who love Him. Khwaja’s inclusive message of peace and brotherhood brought hundreds of thousands to the fold of Islam. He had a great fondness for music, and sama mehfils held at his khanqah attracted both mystics and commoners.
Khwaja died on 6 Rajab 633 Hijri/1236 AD; his mortal remains were buried in Ajmer. That night various people dreamt of Prophet Mohammad saying, “I have come to receive Moinuddin al Hasan, the friend of Allah”. And it is said that these words appeared on Khwaja’s forehead: “The Lover of Allah died in the love of Allah”.

— Sadia Dehlvi is a Delhi-based writer and author of Sufism: The Heart of Islam. She can be contacted at sadiafeedback@gmail.com [2]