Today (the 6th of Rajab 1432 A.H.) is the death anniversary [Urs] of Hazrat Khwaja Moin-ud-din Hasan Chishti, may Allah sanctify his innermost being. Thus, we wish to honor one of the chief mystics of Islam by sharing a few anecdotes from his venerable life for the spiritual edification of our readers. These accounts were excerpted from The Sufi Saints of the India Subcontinent by Dr. Zahurul Hassan Sharib. May the great Master [Khwaja] of Ajmer continue to inspire us toward the Real Absolute (Allah, the Exatled), Amin.
Hazrat Khwaja Moin-ud-din Hasan Chishti
“Hazrat Khwaja Moin-ud-din Hasan Chishti is one of the most outstanding saints of the Indian subcontinent, and indeed an international spiritual inspiration. In his personality, there is a complete blending of greatness and grace, meditation and action, precept and practice, the indifference of the mystic and the idealism of a saint.
The sources of his power may be traced to his own exceptional endowments. Throughout his life, he exhibited the noble traits of character which are so peculiar to the august house of Prophet Mohammed, to which he belonged. On the paternal side, he traced his descent from Hazrat Imam Husain and is thus a Husaini, but from the maternal side, he was related to Hazrat Imam Hasan which makes him a Hasani. He is also closely related to Hazrat Shaikh Mohi-ud-din Abd-ul-Qadir of Jilan, better known as Ghous-ul-Azam, Piran-e-Pir.
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Names and titles
His name is Moin-ud-din Hasan. Some assert that his full name is Moin-ud-din, but his parents, affectionately, addressed him only as “Hasan.”
He is invoked and addressed by various titles, chief amongst which are:
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Qutb-ul-Mashaikh Barro Behr (Lord of the land and the sea)
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Habib Allah (Beloved of God)
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Ata-e-Rasul (Gift of the Prophet)
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Khwaja-e-Ajmer (Khwaja of Ajmer)
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Khwaja-e-Buzurg (Great Khwaja)
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Hind-ul-Wali (Saint of India)
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Gharib Nawaz (Patron of the Poor)
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Sultan-ul-Hind (Spiritual Sovereign of India)
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Naib-e-Rasul-fil-Hind (Deputy of the Prophet in India)
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Aftab-e-Jahan (Sun of the World)
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Panah-e-Bakasan (Shelter of the Helpless)
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Daleel-ul-Arefeen (Argument of the Enlightened)
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Initiation as a disciple a second time
Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz himself describes the details of his being initiated as a spiritual disciple a second time in the following words:
I, Moin-ud-din Hasan of Sanjar, well-wisher of all the faithful, had the honour of meeting His Holiness Hazrat Khwaja Usman of Haroon in the mosque of Khwaja Junaid in Baghdad. His Holiness was surrounded by inspired dervishes.
When this humble being bowed low in due deference, my spiritual guide and teacher Hazrat Khwaja Usman of Haroon asked me to offer two genuflections. I did. Then His Holiness asked me to sit with my face towards the Ka’ba. He asked me, next, to recite Sura Baqara (Sura Heifer). I did as I was asked to do.
Further, His Holiness commanded me to recite benedictions to the Holy Prophet Mohammed twenty-one times. I obeyed. Then His Holiness stood up, and holding my hand in his, lifted his face towards the sky and said to me: ‘Come, let me cause thee to reach God.’
Subsequently, taking out a miqraz [scissors], turned it around on the head of this humble being and placed on my head the four-edged cap and bestowed on me the robe. Then he asked me to sit. I sat. He addressed me thus: ‘It is the custom with us that a new entrant has to go through asceticism for one day and night.’ I obeyed.
The next day, when I attended upon him, His Holiness asked me to sit down and recite Sura Ikhlas (Purity of Faith) four thousand times. I did that. He asked me, next, to look towards the sky. I did. His Holiness asked me: ‘How far dost thou see?’ I replied: ‘Up to the Great Throne.’
Next, he asked me to look towards the ground. I did, he asked me: ‘How far dost thou see?’ I replied: ‘Up to the antipodes [i.e. the opposite side of the earth].’ Next, he asked me to recite Sura Ikhlas (Purity of Faith), again, a thousand times. I did. He asked me to look towards the sky again. I did. He asked me: ‘How far dost thou see now?’ I replied: ‘Up to the Great Hidden.’ He asked me next to close my eyes. I did. He asked me to open my eyes. I did.
Then, showing his two fingers, he asked me: ‘What does thou see therein?’ I replied: ‘Eighteen thousand worlds.’ Later, pointing towards a brick ahead, he asked me to pick it up. When I did, I found a handful of dinars therein. He said to me: ‘Go and distribute them amongst the needy and the poor.’ I complied. When I went to him subsequently, he said to me: ‘Live in our company for some time.’ I replied: ‘I am at your service, Sir.’
Khwaja Gharib Nawaz accompanied his spiritual guide and teacher wherever he went. They left Baghdad for Mecca, and on their way, they stayed for some time in Falooja. About the visit to Mecca, Khwaja Gharib Nawaz himself says:
Having reached Mecca, we were honoured by the glorious vision of the Ka’ba and by going around it. My spiritual guide and teacher here, too, took my hand in his and entrusted it to God Almighty. He prayed for my humble self in the Ka’ba. A voice was heard to the effect that: ‘We have accepted Moin-ud-din.’
Then we reached Medina. We offered our respects at the Court of the Holy Prophet Mohammed. My spiritual guide and teacher said to me: ‘Make thy respectful salaam.’ I offered my reverential salaams. A voice came out saying: ‘Peace be on you also, O Head of the Pious of the Earth and the Sea.’ On hearing this, my spiritual guide said to me: ‘Now indeed thou hast reached perfection.’
Leaving Medina, they stopped in Oosh, Badakhshan, and Bukhara on their way to Baghdad. After staying in Baghdad for some time, Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz once again accompanied his spiritual guide and teacher on his tours and travels, visiting Oosh, Sewistan, and Damascus.
Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz met Hazrat Moin-ud-din Abdul Qadir of Jilan in Gail a second time in AH 581/ Ad 1185 and stayed with him for fifty-seven days” (The Sufi Saints of the Indian Subcontient, 1-6).
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We humbly beseech the reader to remember this Sufi saint par excellence by reading special Fatiah today in his honor, feeding people consecrated food, and giving charity in his name for Gharib Nawaz is “the Protector of the Poor.” May Allah illuminate his noble mausoleum, Amin.
