The Chishti order in India

Founded by Khwaja Abu Ishaq Shami Chishti, the Chishti order derives its name from the village of Chisht in Afghanistan. It was introduced in india by Moinuddin Chisti in Lahore (Punjab) and Ajmer (Rajasthan) sometime in the middle of 12th century CE. Order is primarily followed in Afghanistan and Indian subcontinent. It was the first of the four main Sufi orders (Chishti, Qadiriyya, Suhrawardiyya and Naqshbandi) to be established in this region.

Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti was eighth in the line of succession from the founder of the Chishti Order, Abu Ishq Shami and established the Order in India. There are now several branches of the order, which has been the most prominent South Asian Sufi brotherhood since the 12th century.

Though, arising in Afghanistan and spreading into Khurasan (modern day Iran), the Chistis’ major sphere of influence was India, where they wielded an immeasurable effect on the native population. Their emphasis on charity, social uplifting and generosity, combined with Islam’s egalitarian nature, was one of the most important factors contributing to Muslim rule in India, which lasted over eight hundred years.

Saints of the Chishti Order

Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (1142–1236 )

He was a Sufi preacher from Sistan in Persia ,who eventually ended up settling in the Indian subcontinent in the early 13th-century, where he promulgated the famous Chishtiyya order of Sunni mysticism. He is said to be the direct descendant of Muhammad Prophet and he settled in Ajmer to preach the principles of Sufism to all who wished to learn them.

He had a massive following and even today, people irrespective of their religions are adopting his principles of Sufism. Every year, his death anniversary is celebrated in Ajmer at his tomb when thousands of believers gather to pay respect to this great Sufi saint.

Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (1173-1235)

He was the disciple of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and later proceeded to become his first spiritual successor. On his master's wishes, Kaki moved to Delhi during the reign of Iltutmish in the early 13th century. He is credited for establishing the order of Chisti Sufi Mysticism in Delhi, which was previously confined to Ajmer and Nagpur.

He continued and developed the traditional ideas of universal brotherhood and charity within the Chishti order, a new dimension of Islam started opening up in India which had hitherto not been present. He was known for his ideologies of unity and extreme charity and was also very well regarded by the Sultans of the time.

He forms an important part of the Sufi movement which attracted many people to Islam in India in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. People of every religion, like Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, etc. visit his Dargah every week. Upon his death, a dargah was built in Mehrauli and in time it came to garner even more followers than he had when he were alive.

Baba Farid (1173-1265)

Farīduddīn Ganjshakar or Baba Farid, was an 12th-century Punjabi Muslim preacher and mystic who went on to become "one of the most revered and distinguished Muslim mystics" of the medieval period. His poetry and verses became a big part of both Sufi and Sikh literature.

He was a great disciple of Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki. He spent most of his time in Hansi and Ajodhan (in modern Haryana and the Punjab, respectively). He was deeply respected in Delhi and was surrounded by a large number of people whenever he visited Delhi. His outlook was so broad and humane that some of his verses are later found quoted in the Adi-Granth of the Sikhs. He avoided the company of the Sultan and the Amirs.

He used to say, “Every darvesh who makes friends with the nobles will end badly”. Baba Farid raised the chisti order of the Sufis to the status of an all India organisation through his mysticism and religious acts.

Nizamuddin Auliya (1238 - 1325)

Nizamuddin Auliya (d. 1325) a chief successor of Baba Farid was undoubtedly the most famous Chishti saint at Delhi under whom the Chishtis reached their high water mark. He lived and worked at Delhi for fifty years during a period of great political upheaval—end of Balban's dynasty and the rise to power of Alauddin Khalji, the troubled period following the death of Alauddin, and the rise of the Tughlaqs. He survived through these repeated changes of dynasties and rulers because of the Chishti philosophy of staying away from politics, and not associating with rulers and nobles.

Nizamuddin Auliya, like his predecessors, stressed love as a means of realizing God. For him his love of God implied a love of humanity. His vision of the world was marked by a highly evolved sense of religious pluralism and kindness. It is claimed by the 14th century historiographer Ziauddin Barani that his influence on the Muslims of Delhi was such that a paradigm shift was effected in their outlook towards worldly matters. People began to be inclined towards mysticism and prayers and remaining aloof from the world.