Wisaal

TOI Editor, *Learning with the Times: Chishti order of Sufism started from Afghanistan* - Times Of India - India
Monday, June 22, 2009

When is the Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti held?
The 797th Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, also known as Gharibnawaz, is going to be held from 25th to 30th of June at Ajmer, depending on the sighting of the moon.

The Urs is held from 1st to 6th day of Rajab, which is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. Being a lunar calendar the months begin only when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted.

What is Urs?
Urs is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint. It is observed at the saint's dargah or tomb. The word Urs is derived from the Arabic word for wedding. It is believed that the relationship between sufi saints and God was of divine love. Hence their death is considered as 'wisaal' or union. That is why their death is celebrated rather than mourned.

The Urs of other Sufi saints like Nizamuddin Auliya and Khwaja Bandanawaz Gesu Daraz is also celebrated at their respective tombs in Delhi and Gulbarga. The programmes include recitations from the Quran, devotional music (qawwalis) and holding a mela (fair). People from different faiths commonly attend the Urs.

Who was Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti?
Moinuddin Chishti was born in 1141 in Iran. According to legend, he renounced his material belongings after coming in contact with Shaikh Ibrahim Qunduzi, a revered Sufi of that time. He visited nearly all the great centres of Muslim culture and acquainted himself with important trends in Muslim religious life. Later he became a disciple of the Chishti saint Uthman Haruni and accompanied him in his extensive travels of the Middle East, visiting Mecca and Medina.

His followers believe that after a dream in which Prophet Muhammad blessed him, he turned towards India. Following a brief stay in Lahore he finally settled down in Ajmer. During the reign of Emperor Akbar, who revered the Sufis, Ajmer emerged as an important centre of pilgrimage in India.

What is the Chishti order of Sufism?
The Chishti Order is a Sufi order which arose from Chisht, a small town near Herat, in western Afghanistan. It was founded by Abu Ishaq Shami in about 930 CE (Christian Era). Before returning to western Asia he trained and deputed the son of local emir, Abu Ahmad Abdal, under whose leadership the Chishtiyya flourished as a regional mystical order. Moinuddin Chishti is credited with laying its foundations in India.

Other famous saints of the Chishti Order are Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, Fariduddin Ganjshakar, Nizamuddin Auliya and Alauddin Ali Ahmed Sabir Kalyari.

What is Sufism?
Sufism is one of the mystical orders that grew out of Islam. Classical Sufi scholars define it as a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God.

Sufism became prominent during the period of early Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 CE).

The Sufi movement has spread to several continents over a millennium. It has considerable following in India and Kashmir is a prominent base.

[Picture: Janati Darwaza. Photo from http://www.dargahajmer.com/v_photo.htm]