Mazra’a Chisht o Bukhara o Iraq o Ajmer Kaun Si Kasht Pey Barsaa Nahi Jhala Teyra? * The lands of Chisht, Bukhara, Iraq and Ajmer Upon which lands did your blessings not fall? Imam Ala Hazrat Ahmad Raza Khan Alayhi Rahma BRIEF BIOGRAPHY:

Birth Name: Moinuddin Chishti

Born in: the year 536AH in Sijistan, Iran In depth:

Khwaja Moinudeen Chishti Alayhi Rahma was born in the year 536AH in Sijistan, Iran as the son of Khwaja Ghyasuddin Chishti who was a very pious and influential man. He was a direct descendant through both his parents, of Hazrat Ali (RA). His birth was a time of chaos and great upheavals in both India and the Muslim Empire as a whole, and so he was orphaned at the tender age of fourteen. Thus raised in the same condition as Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

But soon there reached a point where social evils, moral degradations and personal tragedy stirred something deep within his young mind, and he began to turn towards the spiritual life. Once when watering his father’s garden, he came across a dervish, Hazrat Ibrahim Qanduzi (RA). He was deeply affected by the saint’s holy manner, and Hazrat Ibrahim Qanduzi (RA)’s presence transformed Khwaja Moinudeen Chishti (RA)’s inner being. His eyes were opened to the ultimate realities of the spiritual world and so he began his spiritual journey by renouncing all material things. He sold his father’s garden, all his possessions and distributed the money amongst the poor.

Still at a young age, he arrived at the great centres of learning in Samarkand and Bukhara, Uzbekistan, where he swiftly became a Hhafiz and distinguished Alim. But still unsatisfied with this, he began a strict regime of prayers, meditations, fasting and self-renunciation which continued for years and grew more intense and vigorous until Allah granted him the exalted rank of sainthood. He used to fast for seven days and nights, breaking fast on the eighth with a small crust of bread soaked in water. At this point, he felt the need for a Sheikh, or spiritual guide, feeling the truth of the Qur’anic injunction, “O ye who believe! Be mindful of your duty towards Allah, and seek a means of approach unto Him, and strive in his way in order that ye may succeed.” (5:35) . He himself used to state, “Success is not possible without a guide.” He travelled extensively throughout the near East, and finally found a spiritual guide in Hazrat Khwaja Uthman Haruni (RA).

In the twenty years he spent under his Murshid (spiritual leader)’s guidance, he attained perfection in tasawwuf and was awarded the Khilafat-e-Azam by Khwaja Uthman (RA). He offered many pilgrimages both with his Murshid and alone. It was during one of these, while in Madinah Sharif, that he was directed spiritually by Rasulallah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to go to India and spread Islam there.

Once, in Madinah Sharif, Hazrat Khwaja Moinudeen Chisti (RA) was paying his respects at the Darbar of Sayyiduna Rasulallah , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. While he was doing so, a voice was heard saying, “Wa Alaikumus Salam Ya Qutbul Masha’ikh-e-bahro barr (Peace be upon you also, O the Head of the Pious of the Earth and the Sea).” On hearing this, his Murshid said to him, “Now indeed you have reached perfection.” After a full 20 years of hard training in Islamic mysticism under his great Murshid, Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin (RA) was bestowed with Khilafat in the Chistiya Silsila. His Murshid, after advising him, handed over his Asa Mubarak (Sacred Staff), wooden sandals and Musallah (prayer mat) to Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin (RA), saying that those Tabarukaat (relics) had come down from Sayyiduna Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in succession.