Khwaja Gharib Nawaz

All Praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may His blessings and peace be forever upon our Beloved Holy Prophet Sayyidina Muhammad al-Mustafa (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam).

Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz, Mawlana Mu‘inuddin Hasan Chishti (Rahamtullahu ‘alayh) is a descendant of the Ahl al-Bayt, the Family of our Beloved Holy Prophet Sayyidina Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam). His father Giyathuddin Hasan traces his ancestry to Sayyidina Imam Husayn ibn ‘Ali (Rady Allahu ‘Anhu) while his mother Bibi Mah-e-Noor traces her ancestry to Sayyidina Imam Hasan ibn ‘Ali (Rady Allahu ‘Anhu). Thus he is both Hasani and Husayni.

He is the greatest Shaykh al-Islam of India. He is one of the four greatest sufi saints of all times.

He is the Qutb ul-Ghawth (the axis of spiritual help) of the Chishtiyya tariqa which is a spiritual path leading to Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta‘ala).

Naib Rasul fi’l-Hind (the Prophet’s foremost representative in India).
Ata-e Rasul (Gift of the Prophet, Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam, for the whole of humanity).
Qutb-e-mashayikh bahr-o-barr (the Spiritual axis of the spiritual masters of land and sea).
Khwaja-e-Khwajgan (the Spiritual master of the spiritual masters).
Sultan-ul-Hind (the Spiritual sovereign of India).
Dalil-ul-‘Arifin (Proof of the ‘Arifin, knowers of Allah’s Attributes).
Ashraf-ul-Awliya (the most Noble of the sufi saints).
Hind al-Wali (the saint of India).
Panah-e-bekasan (the Shelter of the helpless), and
Gharib Nawaz (the Patron of the poor).

He is truly Gharib Nawaz. Till to-day, exactly 800 years after he passed ahead, food is cooked at his dargah (shrine) in Ajmer, India and distributed to the poor two times every day. One deg (cauldron) in which the food is cooked is so huge that a person goes down it on a ladder to fetch food from it. This deg (cauldron) is perhaps the largest in the world.

At the age of nine, he committed the Holy Qur’an to memory and was orphaned at the age of 14.

A derwesh, Hazrat Ibrahim Qunduzi (Rahmatullahi ‘alayhi) once visited him and gave him a piece of cake. When he ate it, he underwent a spiritual transformation and decided to give himself up wholly for the work of the religion of Islam.

He set out in search of religious knowledge. From the age of 15 to 20, he studied at Samarqand and Bukhara.

At Harun in Iraq, he became a disciple of a great sufi saint, Hazrat Khwaja Usman Haruni (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) (526-617 A.H).

Hazrat Khwaja Usman Haruni (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh), thrice asked him to recite Surah al-Ikhlas (a chapter of the Holy Qur’an) 1000 times. Then he prayed for one day and one night, and he saw the ‘Arsh (Throne of Allah), as well as the “taht ath-thara (the bottom of the earth). Allahu Akbar! (Allah is Supremely Great). Then he gave some dinars in charity to the poor.

Some of the countries and cities he travelled to are the Hejaz, Syria, Afghanistan, Samarqand, Ghazni, Multan and Lahore. He spent 20 years in travels with his shaykh who bestowed upon him the khilafat in Baghdad at the age of 52. The Muslim Khilafat is alive and well. The Khilafat of RasulAllah (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) is on the hearts of all the believing Muslims while the khilafat of the AwliyaAllah (Friends of Allah) is on the hearts of all their muridin (disciples). MaashaaAllah.

At Masjid an-Nabawi in Madina, he heard the voice of our Beloved Holy Prophet Sayyidina Muhammad al-Mustafa (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) instructing him to go to Ajmer in India to spread Islam.

On his way to Ajmer, he spent 40 days in spiritual retreat in the worship and remembrance (dhikr) of Allah at the dargah (shrine) of another great sufi saint, Data Ganj Bakhsh ‘Ali al-Hujwiri (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) in Lahore. When he left, he recited this couplet in his praise which has been engraved there.

Ganj Bakhsh-e Faize ‘Alam Mazhar-e Nur-e-Khuda
Naqisan ra Pir-e-kamil kamilan ra Rahnuma

He is the bestower of the treasure reflecting Divine Light for the salvation of mankind.
To the unworthy he is a perfect guide, while for prefect guides themselves, he is still a guide.

Only a WaliAllah (Friend of Allah) can truly recognize the stature of another WaliAllah!

The king there, Raja Prithviraj wanted him removed and put many obstacles in his way including magic but Khwaja sahib (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) overcame them all with the help of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta‘ala). The end result was that even some of the courtiers of the king accepted Islam as they were impressed by the piety and God-given spiritual powers of such a noble soul.

One day, he came in a dream to Sultan Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Ghori of Afghanistan and told him to proceed to India where he would become king. Shahab-ud-Din Ghori was inspired by this. Shahab-ud-Din Ghori’s army defeated Raja Prithviraj in the Battle of Tarain. The prediction of Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) came true. Shahab-ud-Din Ghori became a murid (disciple) of Khwaja sahib.

Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) became his murid. Awliya Allah (Friends of Allah) are his muridin.

When Shams-ud-Din Altamash was only 12 years old, Khwaja sahib predicted that he would one day become king of Delhi. His prediction was fulfilled as he became king of Delhi in 607 A.H.

Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) wrote a book called Kanzul Asrar so that Sultan Shams-ud-Din Altamash could learn spiritual secrets from it which he did. Khwaja sahib turned kings into spiritual masters.

This task accomplished, Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) finally settled down in Ajmer as instructed by his shaykh, Hazrat Khwaja Usman Haruni (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh). He loves his shaykh and he wants everyone to love their shaykh.

He has been called a symbol of love, harmony and truth. He was a helper of humanity, irrespective of religion, caste or creed.

The emphasis in his teaching is to obtain qurb Ilallah (nearness to Allah) with Ta‘atillah (obedience to the Commands of Allah) and Ta‘atir-Rasul (obedience to our Beloved Holy Prophet Sayyidina Muhammad al-Mustafa, Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam), through juhd (spiritual exertion), zuhd (renunciation) and tark ash-shahawaat (abandonment of passion and lust).

As an exceptionally outstanding sufi master without any material resources, he converted thousands of people in India to Islam, only Allah knows the exact number. He did this with the help of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta‘ala), with the blessings of RasulAllah (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam), and with the du‘a of his parents and of his shaykh, and through his exemplary character and humble yet dignified nature.

One of his well-known miracles is that people who went for Hajj saw him in Makkah while he was still in Ajmer. He also performed many other well-known astounding and astonishing miracles (karaamaat), too numerous to mention.

Anis-ul-Arwah in which he has recorded the discourses of his shaykh, Hazrat Khwaja Usman Haruni (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh).
Kanzul Asrar for the guidance of Sultan Shams-ud-Din Altamash.
Kashful Asrar, a book on the sufi tradition.
Hadith-ul-Ma‘arif, which is a rare manuscript.
Diwan-e-Mu‘in, a collection of his poems.

A naat (eulogy) in praise of RasulAllah (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) has been attributed to him as well as a manqabat (religious poem) in praise of Gawth al-A‘zam Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (Rady Allahu ‘Anhu). Many manqabats (religious poems) and qawwalis have been composed in his honour.

Haadha Habibullahi maata fee Hubbillahi
He is the Beloved of Allah who left this world in the love of Allah

His ‘Urs (Anniversary) to celebrate his achievements in spreading Islam and promoting piety is celebrated every year on that day at his dargah (shrine) in Ajmer, as well as in countries all over the world where his muhibbin (loving disciples) reside.

Some well-known Mughal Emperors of India held Khwaja sahib in such high esteem that they walked many miles on foot to visit his dargah (shrine) in Ajmer.

Even non-Muslims of various religions consider him to be such a great man of God, possessing such great spiritual powers and such a noble soul that they visit his dargah (shrine) in the hope that their problems would be solved just by obtaining the blessings of visiting him.

Mawlana Mu‘inuddin Chishti (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh)’s well-known successors are:

Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, in Delhi (1173-1235 C.E)
Hazrat Baba Fariduddin Mas‘ud Ganj-e-Shakar, in Pakpattan (1173-1266 C.E)
Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya, in Delhi (1238-1325 C.E)
Hazrat Nasiruddin Chirag-e Delhi, (1274-1356 C.E).

Khwaja sahib’s Chishtiyya tariqa which is a spiritual path leading to Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta‘ala) has muhibbin (loving disciples) all over the world. Those muhibbin who are mukhlisin (sincerely pure) and who work Lillah (only for the sake of Allah) achieve spiritual progress and go on to become mashayikh (spiritual masters).

The Chishtiyya silsila (spiritual chain) has continued to produce one big shaykh after another from Khwaja sahib’s time to this day, Al-Hamdu Lillah (All Praise is for Allah). They have inherited the legacy of Khwaja sahib of promoting piety. Al-Hamdu Lillah (All Praise is for Allah).

References: Various biographies of Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) in written and oral tradition.

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	MUSLIM SCHOOL OF RIGHT GUIDANCE

HAZRAT KHWAJA GHARIB NAWAZ MAWLANA MU‘INUDDIN CHISHTI (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh)

HAZRAT KHWAJA GHARIB NAWAZ
MAWLANA MU‘INUDDIN CHISHTI
(Rahmatullahi ‘alayh)