Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti

About Chisti Silsila

• It comes under the Ba-shara order which means they were bound by Islamic laws, unlike Be-Shara.
  • Be-shara (literally means without laws) were the Sufi Saints who did not follow Islamic laws and lived like wanderers.
  • Due to constant wandering, Be-shara were also called Baba and Mast Kalandar.
• Founded by Abu Ishaq Shami at Chisti-i-sharif in Afghanistan.
• It was established in India by Khwaja Moin-ud-din Chisti in 1192, just after the death of Prithvi Raj Chauhan.
• Other prominent Saints in this silsila were: 
  • Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (Died in 1235 in Delhi, Contemporary of Iltutmish)
  • Nizamuddin Auliya (Also known as Mehboob-e-Ilahi) (died in 1335 in Delhi. His disciple was Amir Khusaro, the parrot of India and Father of Qawwali)
  • Nasruddin Chiragh-i-Delhi (14th century, After him, Chisti Silsila declined.)

Features  Chishti tradition

• Saints of this order mingled with people freely and led austere lives.
• They stressed the importance of keeping a distance from worldly power (including Kings and Emperors too).
• Chishti practice is also notable for Sama: evoking the divine presence by listening to and losing oneself in a form of music and poetry, most usually Qawwali.
• The Sufis accepted unsolicited grants and donations from the political elites.
  • The Sultans in turn set up charitable trusts (auqaf ) as endowments for hospices and granted tax-free land (inam).

• The Chishtis accepted donations in cash and kind. 
  • Rather than accumulate donations, they preferred to use these fully on immediate requirements such as food, clothes, living quarters and ritual necessities (such as sama‘)

About Dargah Sharif,

• The Dargah shrine has Chisti’s grave.
• It has been constructed with white marble in different stages and styles.
• Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq and Akbar were the ones who paid homage and expanded the structure significantly.