Chishtiya
The Chistis are an important Sufi (Islamic mystic) silsilah (order). Each order consists of murids (disciples) of a particular sheikh or pir (spiritual master). Khwaja Abu Ishaq of Syria (d. 940) started the order in Chist village, Syria. The founder of the order in India, Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti, came from Sajistan in eastern Iran in 1190 CE and set up a khanqah (hospice) at Ajmer, India. Known as the Garib Nawaz (Showing Kindness to the Poor), he attracted many followers, and his disciples, such as Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Khaki and Shaikh Fariduddin, further popularized the Chisti order. Sheikh Nizamuddin Auliya (1236–1325) of Delhi, who witnessed the reigns of seven sultans, attracted both Muslims and non-Muslims to the order. The Chistis further expanded to areas of South Asia such as Sind, Punjab, Rajsthan, Bengal, Bihar, and Deccan.
The early Chisti saints were revered because of their religious tolerance, adoption of indigenous traditions, use of local languages, and egalitarianism. The miracles that were attributed to them strongly appealed to the common people. Although there was no digression from the shariʿa or Islamic holy law, these saints allowed certain deviations. For example, there were sama or musical gatherings for personal union with God. A strong dislike for any form of political patronage and a dependence on God for livelihood were hallmarks of the Chisti saints. There was an emphasis on wahdat al-wujud (unity of being). The name of God was recited both aloud and in silence (dhikr jahri, dhikr khafi).
The proliferation of Chisti branches such as Nagauriya, Sabiriya, Nizamiya, Gaudri Shahi, and Zahuri began in the sixteenth century and continues today. There have been obvious changes in Chisti doctrine, and some of the earlier traditions like noninvolvement in politics and nonpossession of property have been given up. Nizami Chisti Hazarat Inayat Khan (d. 1927) established centers in the United States and Britain to propagate the message of universalism. Sayed Khwaja Habib Ali Shah of Hyderabad, India, inspired the South African branch. The Gaudri Shahi/Zahuri branch, established by Zahurul Hasan Sharib Gudri Shah Baba (1914–1996) of Ajmer and presently headed by Inam Hasan, has centers in Britain and the United States. Websites for the orders feature discussions, online discourses, qawwalis (a form of musical chorus, where one singer begins the songs and the followers recite), and so forth. The urs, a festival celebrating the anniversary of a saint's death, is held where the saint is buried, and the dargah (saint's tomb) attracts both Muslims and non-Muslims in the Indian subcontinent.
Further Reading
Earnst, Carl W., and Bruce B. Lawrence. (2001) Burnt Hearts: The Chishti Sufi Order in South Asia and Beyond. Richmond, Surrey, U.K.: Curzon Press.
Trimingham, J. Spencer. (1971) The Sufi Orders of Islam. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press.
Wilson, Peter Lambon, and Nasrollah Pourjavady. (1987) Drunken Universe: An Anthology of Persian Sufi Poetry. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press.
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