Garib Nawab ”Benifector of Poor” is most famous Sufi Saint of Indian Sub-Continent. Hazrat was born in Chishti in Sistan region of East Persia. From his childhood Hazrat was different from other people of his era and kept himself busy in prayers and mediation. Once Hazrat was watering his plants, a revered
Sufi Saint Sheikh Ibrahim Qunduzi RA came to his orchard, Hazrat approached him and offered some fruits. In return Sheikh Ibrahim RA gave him a piece of bread and asked him to eat it. After eating the bread Hazrat Khawaja Garib Nawaz RA got enlighted and found himself in a strange world. Then he left Bukhara in search of Knowledge and higher education. There he became Mureed of Usman Harooni RA and latter attended seminars at different places and acquired religions learning from the eminent scholars of his age. Hazrat visited all the great cultures of Muslim culture and also Makkah Mukahrama and Madina Munawarah. Hazrat came India after a dream in which he was blessed to do so by Holy Prophet (SAW). After a brief stay at Lahore, he reached Ajmer along with Sultan Shahaab-ud-Din Muhammad Gori and settled down there.
Mausoleum of Auliya Hind Hazrat Khawaja Gareeb Nawaz MoinuDin Chishti RA is a Symbol of communal harmony in Indian Sub-Continent. Benefactor of the poor Hazrat Before coming to India Hazrat had acquried knolwdge from Bukhara, where he had became Mureed of Hazrat Usman Harooni.
At Ajmer sharief Hazrat faced a tough time, but Hazrat never gave up and put forward his mission of truth and honesty. During the mission of Deen Hazrat had several miracles ( Karamat ). People followed Hazrat in large numbers. Hazrat intrepreted religion in terms of human service and advised his disciples ” to develop river like generosity, Sun like affection and Earth like hospitality. The highest form of devotion according to Hazrat was, to redress the misery of those in distress and to fullfill the needs of helpless and to feed the hungry.
At Ajmer sharief Hazrat intrepreted religion in terms of human service and advised his disciples ” to develop River like generosity, Sun-like affection and Earth like hospitality”. The highest form of devotion according to Hazrat was to redress the misery of those in distress and to fullfill the needs of helpless and to feed the hungry. Today hundreds of thousands of people Muslims, Hindus,Sikhs and
others from Indian Sub-Continent and other parts of world assemble at
his Dargah on the occaion of his Urs. When Hazrat had got enlightened and found himself in a strange world and left for Bukhara and Samrkand in search of Knowledge and higher education. He became Mureed (disciple) of Usman Harooni. Both travelled extensively to Makkah e Mukarama and Madina e Munawarah and Middle East.
Hazrat Moinudin (RA) turned towards India, reputedly after a dream in which Hazrat e Muhammad (SAW) blessed him to do so and after brief stay at Lahore, reached Ajmer with Sultan Shahab-ud-Din Mohd Gori and settled there. He attracted a large following there. Hazrat practiced the Sufi Sulh-e-Kul, a concept to promote understanding between Muslims and Non Muslims. Hazrat Khawaja\ Gareeb Nawaz authored books Anis al-Arwah and Dalil al Arifin. Followers of Hazrat Moinud Din Chishti (RA) used to take water from Ana Sagar Lake and would catch fish some times. These activities angered the then Raja Prithvi Raj Chauhan. He orderd the removal of Darvesh and his companions from Ajmer.
Raja’s priests mobbed and attacked Hazrat MoinudDin Chishti RA with the
aim of killing him, but all attackers either lost sense or eye sight and others ran away. When Raja noticed this he became perturb and disheartned. He ordered ban on use of water of Ana Sagar to Saint and Muslims. When companions of Hazrat tried to take water they were stopped by Military posted there and they conveyed the matter to Hazrat (RA). Khawaja Gareeb Nawaz took a tumbler and went down towards Ana Sagar, a solider came across , he prevented him taking water from the
Ana Sagar. Hazrat looked at his face with his miraculous eyes. The solider could not tolerate, he became nervous and fell down on ground unconscious and dropped his sword from his hand. Hazrat (RA) absorbed and fetched the whole water of Ajmer city in the tumbler including Ana Sagar. All sources of water for the city mysteriously disappeared. Even the milk of nursing mothers and animals dried up.
The miracle caused a great change in the sentiments ans ambitions of the
public. People got angry with Raja and embraced Islam in large numbers. At Last Raja personally went to the Hazrat Gareeb Nawaz (RA) and apologised to the Saint and water facality was restored. Hazrat (RA) travelled large parts of
subcontinent and preached Islam. It was due to his honesty and spirituality that people in infinity embraced Islam. Hazrat always worked for spreading Islam through his teachings of love, sympathy and brotherhood.
While travelling to Iraq the young Muīn al-Dīn encountered in the district of Nishapur the famous Sunni saint and mystic Ḵh̲wāj̲a ʿUt̲h̲mān (d. c. 1200), who initiated the willing seeker into his circle of disciples.[3] Accompanying his spiritual guide for over twenty years on the latter’s journeys from region to region, Muʿīn al-Dīn also continued his own independent spiritual travels during the time period.It was on his independent wanderings that Muʿīn al-Dīn encountered many of the most notable Sunni mystics of the era, including Abdul-Qadir Gilani (d. 1166) and Najmuddin Kubra (d. 1221), as well as Naj̲īb al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Ḳāhir Suhrawardī, Abū Saʿīd Tabrīzī, and ʿAbd al-Waḥid G̲h̲aznawī (all d. c. 1230), all of whom were destined to become some of the most highly venerated saints in the Sunni tradition. Due to Muʿīn al-Dīn’s subsequent visits to “nearly all the great centers of Muslim culture in those days,” including Bukhara, Samarkand, Nishapur, Baghdad, Tabriz, Isfahan, Balkh, Ghazni, Astarabad, and many others, the preacher and mystic eventually “acquainted himself with almost every important trend in Muslim religious life in the middle ages.
Arriving in India Hazrat (RA) stayed some time at Lahore was he visited Several shrines preached Right path to people & then visited this part. According to the various chronicles, Muʿīn al-Dīn’s tolerant and compassionate behavior towards the local population seems to have been one of the major reasons behind conversion to Islam at his hand.
—-( The author a freelance writes on social and religious issues. His views are personal)
