3

Origin and Evolution of Chishti Dargahs

in South Asia
A Preliminary Exploration 1

Atia Rabbi Nizami and Mumtaz Khan

Introduction
The history of Islam in South Asia cannot be comprehended fully
without the role and activities of Sufi saints. They have been looked
upon by a number of people as exemplars of spiritual excellence. These
saints gained wider popularity with the sequel that their Dargahs2 have
emerged as centers of pilgrimage. It needs emphasis that while each
religion has its own places of worship like temples, masjids, churches,
gurudwaras etc. but Sufi Dargahs transcend the barriers of religion.
Despite their being largely Islamic in nature, they are considered sacred
by all and thus may be considered multi-religious in nature. People
irrespective of their religion, caste, colour or gender goes there and
finds solace.
The study of sacred place and pilgrimage occupies an important
place in the field of cultural geography. A large number of scholars in
the allied fields of history, anthropology, sociology, architecture and
religious studies (Hawley and Wulff, 1996; Malville and Saraswati, 2008;
Schomer and McLeod, 1987; Sinha, 2006) have produced voluminous
literature on the sacred places of Hindu religion which is of considerable
interest for the geographers. Moreover, geographers (both Indian and
36 | Jamia Geographical Studies

foreigners) like Sopher (1968), Bhardwaj (1973), Stoddard (1968),

Stoddard and Morinus (1997), Watson (1961) and others (NGJI 1987;
Patnaik, 2006; Singh and Khan, 2002; Singh and Singh, 2008; and Sinha
2006) have done important work on the places of Hindu pilgrimage in
India. Furthermore, there is enough literature produced by scholars in
allied fields on Sufi mystics and their shrines (Ahmad, 1962; Aquil, 2005;
Chisti, 2000, 2004; Christian, 1989; Digby, 2001; Eaton, 1973, 1997; Green,
2005; Habib, 1946; Sharib, 2006; Shushtery, 2006; Siddiqi, 1989; Subhan,
1970; Suvorova, 2004; Troll, 1989). In this context, S.M. Bhardwaj’s paper
(1998) acquires a place of distinction in the geographical study of Non-
Hajj pilgrimage in Islam. Surprisingly, Indian geographers with a few
exceptions (Akhtar, 2011; Khan and Nizami, 2008, 2009; Khan and
Akhtar, 2009; Nizami, 2010 and Raza, 1967) have almost entirely
neglected the sacred places of Muslim pilgrimage.
Sufis and their Dargahs have played a tremendous role in the social
integration of multi-cultural groups in South Asia. In this context, the
understanding of philosophy of Sufism, its arrival and spread in South
Asia becomes important. Furthermore, various Sufi silsilahs,3 though
part of the same system, have their own distinctive features and areas
of influence (Taneja, 2003; Trimingham, 1973). However, Chishtia
silsilah, which is the most popular and widespread among these,
occupies a distinct place. The present study, therefore, attempts to study
the origin and evolution of Chishti Dargahs in South Asia. It follows
the broader conceptual framework of cultural geography having
temporal emphasis. However, prior to it a brief note concerning Sufism
and its geographical manifestation in the form of Dargahs is essential.

Sufism and Geography of Dargahs

The term Sufism which has become popular over the ages has a
wide range of meanings. It is believed to be originated from the Arabic
letters—sa, wa and fa. However, there is no consensus among the
scholars regarding its origin. While some scholars trace its origin from
safa, which means purity; others believe it to be from the Arabic word
safawe, which means those who are selected. Some think that it is derived
from the word saf, which means line or row implying those early
Muslims who stood in the first row in prayer or holy war. Yet some
others assume that the origin of the word Sufism is from suf, which
means wool and implies to the people who are interested in the inner
knowledge and cared less about their outer appearances and often wear
a garment made of wool.
Sufism has evoked considerable interest among scholars in the
world (Ahmad, 1986; Ali, 1991; Arberry, 1935, 1950; Askari, 1976; Brill,
1984; Burckhardt, 1990; Chaudhary, 1998; Currim and Michell, 2004;
 Origin and Evolution of Chishti Dargahs in South Asia | 37

Digby, 1986a; Eaton, 1973, 1974, 1997; Frembgen, 2004; Green, 2004,
2008; Haq, 1975; Hermansen, 1997; Islam, 2002; Jafri, and Reifeld, 2006;
Khan and Ram, 2003b; Lings, 1975; Metcalf, 1984; Mojadeddi, 2001;
Nicholson, 1963, 1998; Nizami, 1957, 1983, 1997; Rastogi, 1982; Rizvi,
1978; Schimmel, 1975; Subhan, 1970). In fact, it is a way of life, which
cannot be explained theoretically but understood only through
participation and practice. The Sufi is one who has submitted himself
to the will of God, and constantly strives for ‘fana’ i.e., annihilation or
complete merger of oneself with the Almighty. The essence of Sufism
is complete sacrifice of the self and the abolition of one’s ego. Sufism
distinguishes spirituality from religion and transcends beyond the
borders of religions. The important attributes that have contributed to
wide acceptance of Sufis are their love for the humanity, purity of mind
and perfection in their conduct.
From the times immemorial, the concern of religious mystics had
been a quest for reality but all genuine mystics found their experiences
inexpressible and indescribable. Although some of the scholars claim
that it is a very ancient tradition, yet a large number of authorities believe
that it started from the Prophet himself. In Sept., 622 when Prophet
Mohammad (SAW), migrated from Mecca to Medina (popularly named
as hijrat) some of his companions who dwelt in Medina masjid practiced
poverty and self-mortification. They were called Ahl-al-Suffa or Ashab-
i-Suffa or the first Sufis.
The Sufis consider themselves as travellers, faring upon a way
(raah, tariqah) which was staked out, but on which, a guide (a Pir o
Murshid), was indispensable. For initiation into Sufi esoteric an aspirant
has to turn to a guide, Sheikh, Pir or a Murshid. He is first required to
take a vow of obedience (bait) to his Pir. The administration of such a
vow makes him as his murid or disciple. The path shown by the Pir
leads the traveller away from self to attain goal or destination known
as marifat (quosis).4 These efforts lead the wayfarer to dispose him for
flooding in the mystical graces. These mystical graces have been defined
subtly which can be learnt only by familiarity with the practices and
writings of the silsilah.
A Sufi attains the mystical states5 by performing certain acts of
devotion like salat (daily rituals), tilawat (recitation of Quran), award (a
set of worship forms), mujahada (acts involving self mortification) and
dhikr (remembering God through particular breath controls).
The influence of Sufi saints in South Asia was so pervasive that
within a short span of time the entire country was studded with their
khanqahs, jamat-khanas and zawiyas. 6 Sufi shrines at the levels of
subcontinent, regional and local have been thoroughly studied by
scholars from their own disciplinary perspectives (Christian, 1989;
Currim and Michell, 2004; Davidson, 1946; Digby, 2001; Eaton, 1973,
38 | Jamia Geographical Studies

1997; Gold, 2005; Kumar, 1987; Raza, 1967; Schwartzberg, 1982; Siddiqi,
1989; Subhan, 1970; Troll, 1989). In this context, it needs emphasis that
geography of Dargahs, having immense potentialities, may become a
vitally important sub-field of cultural geography. Unfortunately, it has
been grossly neglected so far. Dargahs of Sufi saints present a significant
landscape feature in the sacred topography of any region. The sacred
landscape of Dargah and its evolutionary process, the symbolism,
soundscape, rituals, the system of Piri-Muridi, the power to attract
pilgrims and experiential landscape of pilgrims may be some of the
important questions in the geographical studies of Dargahs (Akhtar,
2011; Nizami, 2010).
There is a debate in cultural geography about the authorship of
cultural landscape. But Sufi religious texts and oral history does not
leave the question of authorship open for disputation. They provide
definite names of the historical personalities (Sufis) with divine powers
who have played a significant role in the creation of religious landscape
in India.
Moreover, Dargah, in fact, is an important signifying system
encoded with religious and mystical symbols. To decode the signs and
symbols embedded in the landscape of Dargah to comprehend their
meanings is also a fascinating area in the study of geography of Dargahs.

Evolution of Chishti Dargahs

In order to understand fully the sacred landscape of Dargahs, the
origin and evolution of various silsilahs is a prerequisite. However, this
is a challenging task. Since we are concerned here only with the Chishtia
silsilah a brief note regarding the times and the system is in order here.
In the Islamic history of South Asia, Chishtis were the most
esteemed during the thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries. In their
lifetime as well as after their death they have been looked upon as
exemplars of piety and objects of veneration. Some of these saints gained
greater popularity among the masses with the result that their Dargahs
have emerged as places of pilgrimage. A voluminous literature
regarding the Chishtia silsilah has been produced by scholars (Aquil,
1995-96, 1997-98, 2005; Chisti, 2000; Digby, 1986a, 1986b; Ernst, and
Lawrence, 2002; Habib, 1950; Kandhalvi, 2006; Khan and Ram, 2003a;
Moinul, 1974; Nizami, 1980; Rasool, 1990).
Of all the Sufi silsilahs, which includes the mystic orders and their
sub-branches in the world, only four (Chishtia, Qadiria, Suhrawardia
and Naqshbandia) are more popular in South Asia and had influenced
the religious life and thought of the people. Despite the fact that two
prominent Sufi orders–the Chishtia and the Suhrawardia, were
introduced in the country simultaneously but the Chishtis gained more
 Origin and Evolution of Chishti Dargahs in South Asia | 39

success and popularity.

Medieval records tell us a number of instances of territorial
distributions. In Maktubat-e-Ashraf, Syed Ashraf Jehangir Simnani says
that Hansi was the friendly frontier between the Chishtis and the
Suhrawardis. Contrary to confronting situations between the two
silsilahs elsewhere in the Islamic world, there were friendly relations
between them in South Asia and the spirit of mutual trust and
accommodation is fully evident.7
The success of a silsilah largely depends upon the Sheikh’s ability
to adjust and adapt in the mental and emotional milieu of the people of
a particular region. The reason behind the Chishti success in the country
was the same. They understood the Indian condition and the religious
aspirations of the people. They adopted many Hindu customs and
Buddhist practices like bowing before the Sheikh, presenting water to
the visitors, circulating zanbil8, shaving the head of new entrants to the
mystic circle, audition parties (Sama),9 the chillah-i-makus10 (Nizami,
1978:178). It may be pointed out that because of these local adaptations
the appeal of the Chishti’s in a non–Muslim environment was
tremendous.
As the head of the silsilah a Pir used to send his khalifahs to various
provinces which were called the wilayats. 11 These khalifahs in turn
appointed the subordinate khalifahs to qasbahs and cities, with a
difference that sometimes the second or third stage khalifah may return
to the place of his central authority or the Pir (head of the silsilah). Here
the distribution or the expansion is not on the basis of the physical
characteristics of that area but the spiritual influence or attraction of
the Pir towards that particular area (Nizami, 1978:175). However, in
some cases it may also be found that the distribution of Dargahs is
concentrated around the Dargahs of prominent Sufis e.g. a number of
Khwaja Gharib Nawaz’s disciple are buried in Ajmer district.
Having this brief introductory note it becomes essential to evaluate
the source of data, method employed and their limitations.

Source of Data
For tracing the evolution of Chishti Dargahs the following sources
were taped and relevant information was collected: (i) Early religious
and literary works which included Maktubat (correspondence of the
Sheikh) (Muneri, 1898), Malfuzat (converzation and discourses of the
Sheikh) (Auliya, 1895; Chishti, 1888, 1890) and Tazkirat (compiled anecdotes
of the Sheikh) (Kamboh, 1960; Mirza, 1895; Sarraj, 1963), (ii) Earlier
manuscripts both published and unpublished, (iii) Hagiographical
accounts, (iv) Books and research publications, (v) Genealogical
epigraphs found in various shrines of Chishti Dargahs.
40 | Jamia Geographical Studies

Limitations of the Data

Although we have attempted to arrange the evolution of Chishti
Dargahs genealogically in South Asia yet because of the inherent
limitations of the data it becomes very difficult to comprehensively
understand the process historically.
1. It is almost impossible to find the exhaustive list of disciples of
each and every Pir in various stages. Although we have found
the names of prominent disciples in various texts but cannot
rule out the possibilities of existence of other lesser known
disciples.
2. The problem becomes more complex because of the fact that
sometimes disciples had initiated themselves in two or more
Sufi orders.
3. Another type of problem is related with the textual description
of a Pir and his Dargah. In some cases instead of giving the
name of the place, the region (e.g. Malwa) is mentioned in the
text. So it becomes difficult to locate the exact place of the
Dargah.
4. A major problem relates with the fact that sometimes it is not
at all possible to trace the place of shrines.
5. Because of difficulty of converting Islamic into Gregorian
calendars it becomes difficult to exactly know the exact year of
saint’s death.

Method
It must be admitted, at the outset, that tracing the evolution of
Chishti Dargahs is an extremely difficult task. There are enough
historical evidences, during the late medieval period, regarding the
emperors or kings, their genealogies and encounters for the expansion
of their political territories. However, Sufi saints who were engrossed
in their spiritual journey were hardly noticed by the political chronicles.
On the other hand they themselves were not much interested in the
affairs. Consequently, there is dearth of knowledge about their
genealogies, movements and activities.
Generally speaking, there is lack of records of their arrival at a
particular place, or the establishment of khanqahs or date of their death.
In the absence of it, even if we had the information only of the year of
their death we could have approximately charted the evolution of
Dargahs in South Asia. But even this preliminary data is not available
for most of the Sufi saints. It may be pointed out that of all the Sufi
saints (216) we could find the year of death of only 35 per cent.
Under such a precarious situation, we had no option but to
 Origin and Evolution of Chishti Dargahs in South Asia | 41

approach the problem from a different route. We have tried to

understand the process of evolution or diffusion of Chishtia silsilah
through the method of spiritual genealogy. As has been explained earlier
when a Sufi saint achieves his spiritual goal a number of disciples seek
his guidance in their own spiritual journey. The Sheikh or Pir gives his
khilafat to some of them and asks them to go and settle in various places.
These khalifahs, in their turn later on themselves becomes Pirs and have
their own disciples who are similarly dispatched to some other places.
This process goes on and ultimately we get a temporally evolved
distribution of Dargahs in the entire country.
We have followed this procedure to trace the evolution of Chishti
Dargahs in South Asia (Table 3.2). However, to trace the spiritual
genealogy of Khwaja Saheb to its roots we have followed another
method wherein, only the name of Pir (not the disciples) is followed.
Consequently, we reached to Khwaja Abu Ishaq Shami Chishti, the
founder of the Chishtia silsilah at Chisht (Table 1). Following the same
method, the spiritual genealogy of the founder himself is traced.
However, the backward linkages of the founder (including himself)
are represented differently (within bars) because it passes through
various silsilahs and Sufis to reach its ultimate source i.e. the Prophet
himself (Table 3.1).
Furthermore, it also needs emphasis that we have deliberately
avoided to show the political boundaries of various countries of South
Asia in our maps for two reasons. First, during the arrival and spread
of the Sufi silsilahs in the region political boundaries were too fluid and
fluctuating having hardly any influence on the movement of Sufis who
used to settle wherever they liked. Secondly, despite strict visa
restrictions, varying according to political climate, the followers of these
saints have reverence for their Dargahs even if they could not visit them.

Ajmer Sharif: The Parent Dargah of Chishtia Silsilah

Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (R.A.), the originator of Chishtia silsilah
in South Asia arrived in India and decided to settle at Ajmer. During
his early days, he used to reside in a cave, at the hilltop near Ana Sagar,
which is presently known as Chillah Khwaja Sahib. Later on, he shifted
towards the valley by the side of jhalra (a natural water spring) where
his shrine is presently situated. It may be emphasised that Khwaja Sahib
and his sacred Dargah continues to attract the attention of both
hagiographers and scholars alike (Begg, 1960, 1972; Chishti, 2004; Currie,
1989; Dhaul, 2001, 2004; Kazmi, 1998; Khan, 2004; Khan and Nizami,
2009; Khan, 1925; Mani, 1952, 1998; Moini, 1989, 2004; Nizami, 2010;
Sharib, 1961, 1980, 2003, 2007).
During his stay in Ajmer, Khwaja Sahib initiated many disciples
42 | Jamia Geographical Studies

Table 3.1: Genealogical Roots of Chishtia Silsilah

Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

Hazrat Ali
Hazrat Ali Ibn
ibn Talib
Talib (R.A.)
(R.A.)

Hazrat Hasan Basri (R.A.)

Abdul Wahid ibn Zaid (Zaidia)

Fuzail ibn Iyad (Iyadia)

Ibrahim ibn Adham (Adhamia)

Huzaifah al Maarshi

Khwaja Hubaira (Hubairia)

Ilu Mimshad Dinawari

Khwaja Abu Ishaq Shami Chishti (Chishtia)

Abu Ahmad Abdal Chishti

Abu Mohammad Muqtadi

Khwaja Abu Yusuf Nasiruddin Simnani

Khwaja Maudood Chishti

Khwaja Haji Sharif Zandani

Khwaja Usmaan Harooni

Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti

 Origin and Evolution of Chishti Dargahs in South Asia | 43

in Chishtia silsilah and dispatched them to various wilayats (provinces).

Likewise, these khalifahs later on appointed subordinate khalifahs for
qasbahs and cities. As a result, a hierarchy of saints was established in
the country (Table 3.2). In this regard, the chief saint at the centre (Ajmer)
stood at the apex of the whole system and controlled a network of
khanqahs spread over the country. In other words, it may be emphasized
that in this way Ajmer became the parent centre and the highest place
of reverence for the Chishtia silsila. It needs emphasis that Khwaja Sahib
is often referred to as Sultan-ul-Hind, by the common people. The
political terminology intruded in the folk perceptions out of reverence.
Moreover, some of the prominent Sufi saints of this silsilah and their
Dargahs have also been studied by scholars in considerable details
(Begg, 1972; Dhaul, 2006; Ernst, 2004; Habib, 1946; Nizami, 1955, 1991a,
1991b).

Evolution in Stage I
All those places where Dargahs belonging to the khalifahs of
Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (R.A.) are located may be considered as
the principal centers during the first stage of evolutionary process. The
major centres of this stage besides Ajmer are Delhi, Herat, Kannauj,
Multan, Banaras and Ahmedabad. A conspicuous feature of this stage
is that out of 24 as many as 10 disciples of Khwaja Sahib have their
Dargahs in Ajmer itself. Moreover, the second cluster of Dargahs is
found in Delhi where as many as five Dargahs including his principal
successor Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (R.A.) is located. It is
interesting to note that one of Khwaja Sahib’s disciples, Sheikh
Wajihuddin Khurasani’s shrine is in Herat.
A close look at the extent of diffusion of Chishti shrines in this
stage reveals that except Herat, all other places are located within the
radius of seventy kilometers and with a couple of exceptions are found
in the Indo-Gangetic plain (Fig. 3.1). It may be emphasized that out of
24 khalifahs of Khwaja Sahib who had their Dargahs in nine different
places (including Ajmer) only two (Delhi and Nagaur) became the
principal centre from which the Sufis of Stage II trace their origin.

Evolution in Stage II
From these two principal centres (Delhi and Nagaur) the evolution
of Sufi shrines took place in this stage (Fig. 3.2). A close perusal of table
3.2 reveals that from Nagaur the khalifah of Sufi Hamiduddin Nagori
(his son) remained in Nagaur itself. However, from the second principal
centre Delhi, diffusion is more widespread. While Dargah of three
khalifahs of Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (R.A.) are in Delhi itself
others are found in Pakpatan, Neharwal, Zafrabad, Sarwar, and Nagaur.
 Table – 3.2 Spiritual Genealogy of Chishti Sufis

KHWAJA MOINUDDIN HASAN CHISHTI (Ajmer)

SHAIKH AHMAD NIYAZULLAH GHULAM KHWAJA SHAIKH MOHD. MOHD. SULTAN ABU BIBI HAFIZ KHWAJA KEWAN KHWAJA KHWAJA KHWAJA KHWAJA AHMAD SUFI YAQOOB SHAIKH SHAIKH SHAMSUDDIN KHWAJA ABDULLAH
IMADUDDIN SAHEB KUFI KHURASANI HADI TURK BURHANUDDIN AHMAD MOHSIN SULEMAN MASOOD JAMAL QUTUBUDDIN ASFAR MOHD. YAADGAR ABDULLAH WAJIHUDDIN KHAN HAMIDUDDIN KHAN WAJIHUDDIN AHMAD FUKHARI HASSAN SHAH JOGI
NAQI (Ajmer) (Ajmer) (Ajmer) (Ajmer) (Ajmer) (Ajmer) KARSHAKI GHAZIR (Ajmer) BAKHTIYAR QANDHARI ZAHID TURK REHMAN BIYABANI KHURASANI GHAZALI NAGORI (Multan) (Multan) KABULI (Ahmedabad) KHAYAT AJAY PAL
MASHAQI (Ajmer) (Ajmer) KAKI (Delhi) (Delhi) (Delhi) (Delhi) (Delhi) (Herat) (Kannauj) (Nagore) (Banaras) (Ahmedabad) (Ahmedabad)
(Ajmer)

SHAIKH BADARUDDIN SHAH SHAIKH SHAIKH QAZI HAMIDUDDIN SHAIKH SHAIKH ZIAUDDIN SULTAN SHAIKH FARIDUDDIN KHWAJA FAKHRUDDIN SHAIKH FARIDUDDIN
GHAZNAVI (Delhi) KHIZR MEHMOOD NIZAMUDDIN ABU NAGORI SUWALI (Delhi) BURHANUDDIN RUMI (N.A.) SHAMSUDDIN MASOOD GANJ –E- ABUL KHAIR (Sarwar) NAGORI (Nagore)
(Rome) (Neharwal) MOID (Delhi) BALKHI (N.A.) ALTAMASH (Jafrabad) SHAKAR (Pakpatan)

MAULANA IMAMUDDIN BADAL (Delhi) KHWAJA ZIAUDDIN

KHWAJA MEHMOOD MOINA SHAIKH AHMAD NAKSHABI (Badaun)
DOZ (Delhi) NEHARWANI (Badaun)
MAULANA SHAHABUDDIN AASHIQ (Delhi)

SHAIKH SHIKH SHAIKH SHAIKH SHAIKH SHAIKH SYED SYED MOHAMMAD SHAIKH SHAIKH SHAIKH SHAIKH SHAIKH IMAM SHAIKH SHAIKH KHWAJA SHAIKH
SHAIKH IMAMUDDIN (N.A.) MUNTAKHABUDDIN ZAR BADARUDDIN NAJIBUDDIN NIZAMUDDIN DAUD MOHAMMAD MEHMOOD KIRMANI IBN SYED JAMALUDDIN YAQOOB BADARUDDIN ALLAUDDIN ALI UL HAQ ZAKARIA BURHANUDDIN ALLAUDDIN ALAUDDIN
ZARI BAKSH (Dayalpur) MUTAWAKKIL AULIYA (Delhi) PALHI NESHAPURI KIRMANI MEHMOOD KIRMANI HANSVI (Ghayab ho ISHAQ (Pakpatan) (Sialkot) (Sind) MEHMOOD ABUL (Dayalpur) AHMAD SABIR
(Daulatabad) (Delhi) (Delhi) (Gujrat) (Delhi) (Delhi) (Hansi) gaye they) (Pakpatan) KHAIR BALKHI (Kaliyar)
SHAIKH TAJUDDIN IMAM (N.A.) (Delhi)

SHAIKH SHAMSUDDIN TURK

PANIPATI (Panipat)
MAULANA MAULANA SHAIKH KHWAJA MAULANA NIZAMUDDIN KARIMUDDIN SHAIKH KHWAJA KHWAJA MAULANA KHWAJA SHAIKH MAULANA KHWAJA SHAIKH SHAIKH MAULANA
QASIM WAJIHUDDIN QUTUBUDDIN SHAMSUDDIN KHWAJA NAQSHBANDI SAMARQANDI MUGHEESUDDIN AZIZUL UMAR ALLAUDDIN MOINUDDIN AMIR WAJIHUDDIN SHAMSUDDIN SHAMSUDDIN KAMALUDDIN BURHANUDDIN
SHAIKH JALALUDDIN MEHMOOD
(Delhi) YUSUF MUNAWWAR DHANI MOOSA (Bihar) (Satgaon) (Ujjain) MILLAT (Delhi) NELLI (Delhi) QARI (Delhi) KHUSRO PAHELI (Delhi) (Delhi) YAHYA (Delhi) (Malwa) GHARIB
KABIRUL AULIYA (Panipat)
(Chanderi) (Hansi) (Jafrabad) (Punjab) (Delhi) (Delhi) (Daulatabad)

SHAIKH NASIRUDDIN MAULANA AMIR HASAN IBN ALA KHWAJA QAZI MAULANA MAULANA MAULANA BU ALI SHAH SHAH MAULANA MIR SYED SHAIKH KHWAJA ABU
CHIRAG-E-DELHI (Delhi) SIRAJUDDIN SANJARI DEHLVI HISAMUDDIN MOHIUDDIN FAKHRUDDIN HISAMUDDIN SYED QALANDAR BARQALLAH SHIHABUDDIN IBRAHIM SIRAJUDDIN BAKAR CHISHTI
MAULANA SHAIKH AHMAD ABDUL HAQ
USMAAN (Daulatabad) SOKHTA KASHANI (Delhi) ZARADI (Delhi) MULTANI HUSSAIN (Panipat) (Gujarat) IMAM (Delhi) (Delhi) AKHI (Gaur) (Delhi)
SHAMSUDDIN RADAULI (Radauli)
(Pandua) (Sambhar) (Neharwal) (Neharwal)
(Delhi)
SHAIKH RUKUNUDDIN (Delhi) SHAIKH ALLAUDDIN LAHORI SHAIKH MOHAMMAD ARIF (Radauli)
SHAIKH SYED SHAH SHAIKH SHAIKH SHAIKH SHAIKH SYED ALLAUDDIN SHAIKH SHAIKH QAZI SHAIKH MAULANA SHAIKH QAZI (Pandua)
HUSSAIN BARQALLAH WAJIHUDDIN KAMALUDDIN MUGHISUDDIN MASOOD (Sandila) DANIYAL ZIANUDDIN QAWWAMUDDIN KHWAJGI MUTAWAKKIL MOHAMMAD
(Neharwal) GUJRATI YUSUF (Malwa) (Ujjain) (Delhi) (Solarah) CHIRAG ALI (Lucknow) (Kalpi) KANTURI SAWI (Iraj) SHAIKH MOHAMMAD (N.A.)
MASOOD BAK (Delhi)
(Delhi) (Chanderi) (Delhi) (Behraich)

SHAIKH KHWAJA QAZI SHAIKH MOHAMMAD SHAIKH MIR SYED SHAIKH SHAIKH SYED SHAIKH MOHAMMAD QAZI MOHAMMAD SYED ASHRAF JAHANGIR SHAIKH NOOR
AHMAD SIRAJUDDIN SIRAJ-E- ABDUL JAFAR MAKKI SIRHINDI SADARUDDIN JALALUDDIN QUTUBUDDIN KAMALUDDIN MOHAMMAD MUTAWWAKIL KANTURI SAADI (Delhi) SIMNANI (Kachocha) QUTUB-E-ALAM SHAIKH BUDH SHAIKH ABDUL
THANESARI AULIYA MUQTADI (Sirhind) AHMAD TABIB HAQUDDIN MUNNAWAR ALLAMA GUJRATI GESU DARAZ (Kantur) (Pandua) (N.A.) QUDDUS (Gangoh)
(Kalpi) (Ahmedabad) (Delhi) DULHA (Delhi) JAHANIYAN (Hansi) (Delhi) (Gulbarga)
(Ochcha)

SHAIKH ALAM-UL-HAQ (Patan) SHAIKH ABDUL SHAIKH FATHULLAH (Oudh) SHAIKH TAJUDDIN SHEY SADEED ALLAH SYED ABDUL MAALI KHWAJA IKHTIYARUDDIN SHAIKH SYED SHAMSUDDIN SHAH JALAL SHAH ALAM SHAIKH JALALUDDIN
SHAIKH SHAIKH PIR
FATEH (Jaunpur) NOORUDDIN SAWAR (N.A.) (Gulberga) UMAR (Iraj) HISAMUDDIN TAHIR (Ranthambore) GUJRATI (N.A.) (Ahmedabad) MANSOOR (N.A.) MEHMOOD THANESARI
(N.A.) (Narnaul) (Manakpur) (N.A.) (Thanesar)

SHAIKH MEHMOOD AL MAROOF BA RAJAN (Patan) SHAIKH PIYARE (Maltah) SHAIKH SALAR SARMAST (N.A.)
SHAIKH SHAIKH SHAIKH SHAIKH QUTUBUDDIN SHAIKH NIZAMUDDIN BALKHI (Balkh)
QASIM MOHAMMAD DARWESH SHAIKH SHAH ALAM SHAIKH KALU SHAIKH RAJI (N.A.)
SHAIKH JAMAL AL HAQ AL MAROOF BA JUMMAN (Ahmedabad) (Oudh) ISA (Jaunpur) MOHAMMAD SHAH JALAL GUJRATI (N.A.) SHAIKH HUSSAIN SARMAST (N.A.) SAYEEDO (Manakpur) (Manakpur) HAMID SHAH
(Faizabad) SHAIKH HAMID SHAIKH ABU SAEED (Gangoh)
(Manakpur) (Manakpur)
(N.A.)
 Table – 3.2 Spiritual Genealogy of Chishti Sufis

SHAIKH HASAN MOHAMMAD (Ahmedabad) SHAIKH MOHAMMAD (Kannauj) SHAIKH ISMAIL (N.A.)
SHAIKH MOHAMMAD SADIQ (Gangoh)
SHAIKH ABDUL
SHAIKH ALLAHDAD SHAIKH SHAIKH HASAN
SHAIKH SAADULLAH (N.A.) KHWAJA KHANOON (Gwalior) REHMAN (N.A.)
SHAIKH SHAMSUDDIN MOHAMMAD (Ahmedabad) (Jaunpur) DANIYAL TAHIR JAUNPURI
SHAIKH MOHAMMAD DAWOOD (Gangoh)
(N.A.) (Delhi)

SHAIKH YAHYA MADANI (Medina) JUDA MAJAD SHAIKH ABDUL HAQ (N.A.) SHAIKH NIZAMUDDIN NARNOLI (N.A.) SHAIKH MAROOF (N.A.)
SHAH ABDUL MAALE (Amethi)
SHAIKH NIZAMUDDIN
SHAIKH RUKUNUDDIN AHMAD SHAIKH KALIMULLAH AMBETHVI (N.A.)
MOHAMMAD SYED MIRAN SHAH BHIKE
(Ahmedabad) SHAHJAHANABADI (Delhi) (Kohram)

MOHAMMAD SALIM (Ropar)

SHAIKH HUSAMUDDIN SHAIKH JAMALUDDIN SANI SHAIKH NIZAMUDDIN SHAIKH SHAH SHAIKH SHAH
MOHAMMAD FARAQ URF JUMMAN AURANGABADI YUSUFUDDIN SHARFUDDIN SYED MOHAMMAD AZAM (N.A.)
(Ahmedabad) (Ahmedabad) (Aurangabad) (Hyderabad) (Hyderabad)

HAFIZ MOOSA (Manakpur)

SHAIKH RUKUNUDDIN AHMAD SHAIKH RASHEEDUDDIN SHAIKH FAKHRUDDIN FAKHRE JAHAN IBN
SANI (Ahmedabad) MAUDOOD (Shahpur) NIZAMUDDIN AURANGABADI (Delhi) HAFIZ MOHAMMAD HUSSAIN (Jaipur)

SHAH NASIRUDDIN (Firozabad)

SHAIKH NOOR MOHAMMAD SHAH NIYAZ AHMAD
MAHRAWI (Mahar) (Bareli)

SHAH MOHAMMAD MOHAMMAD AAQIL HAFIZ JAMAL (Multan) SHAH NOOR MAULUDI ABDUL LATIF MAULUDI NAIMUL SHAH SAMSUL HAQ MAULANA FAKHRE MAULUDI MOHAMMAD SYED NIZAMUDDIN
SULEMAN (TAUNSA) (Chachran, Punjab) HUSSAIN (Bareli) KHAN ULOOM (Samarqand) KHAN BUKHARI (Kabul) (Lucknow) ALAM (Shahjahanpur) HUSSAIN (Mecca) HUSSAIN (Bareli)
KHUDABAKSH (Multan)
SYED MOHIUDDIN (Bareli)

SHAMSUDDIN HAJI NAJMUDDIN ALLAH BAKSH MOHAMMAD ALI

(Siyal, Punjab) (Fatehpur, Jhunjuna) (Taunsa) (Khairabad)

MEHAR ALI SHAH GHULAM HAIDER ALI SHAH HAFIZ MOOSA AHSAN-US-ZAMA HAFIZ MOHAMMAD ASLAM
(Golarah, Punjab) (Jalalpur, Punjab) (Taunsa) (Khairabad) (N.A.)
46 | Jamia Geographical Studies

Fig. 3.1
Origin and Evolution of Chishti Dargahs in South Asia | 47

Fig. 3.2
48 | Jamia Geographical Studies

Surprisingly, Shah Khizr, another khalifah chose Rome as his permanent

residence. However, in the couple of cases (Sheikh Burhanuddin Balkhi
and Sheikh Ziauddn Rumi) we could not find the place of their shrines.

Evolution in Stage III

There are only two centres in Stage II from where the Sufis of
Stage III trace their origin and became the parent centres. These centres
are Delhi, Nagaur and Pakpatan (Fig. 3.3). Delhi was under the guidance
of two prominent khalifahs of Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki:
Sheikh Badaruddin Ghaznavi and Qazi Hamiduddin Nagori. Maulana
Imamuddin Badal, disciple of Sheikh Badaruddin Ghaznavi is buried
in Delhi. On the other hand Qazi Hamiduddin Nagori had two disciples
Khwaja Mehmood Moina Doz, who stayed in Delhi and Sheikh Ahmad
Neharwani, went to Badaun. In Nagaur, Sheikh Fariduddin Nagori had
his shrine as well as khanqah. From here, he sent his disciple Khwaja
Ziauddin Nakshabi to Badaun. Pakpatan where Sheikh Fariduddin
Masood Ganj-e-Shakar, the principal spiritual khalifah of Khwaja
Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (R.A.) initiated a number of disciples. He
carried on the work of the silsilah with distinction, ease and grace. His
efforts made the silsilah spread far and wide. He sent his khalifahs in
different parts of Indian sub-continent mostly in the Indo-Gangetic
plains. His disciples went to Dayalpur (2), Gujrat (Pakistan), Sialkot,
Hansi, Pakpatan (2), Kaliyar, Delhi (6) and Badaun. However, one of
his khalifah went to as far as Daulatabad. It is said that Sheikh Yaqoob,
one of his khalifah was lost. On the other hand, we could not find the
exact place of Dargah of Sheikh Zakariya because it is mentioned in the
text that he went to Sind. Out of 19 khalifahs in this stage, only 3 became
the principal khalifahs from where the Sufis of fourth stage trace their
origin.

Evolution in Stage IV
All the Sufis of this stage trace their origin from three principal
centers of Stage III (Fig. 4). While two of them (Hazrat Nizamuddin
Auliya (R.A.) and Maulana Imamuddin Badal) belonged to Delhi and
one (Hazrat Alauddin Ahmad Sabir (R.A.) from Kaliyar. Maulana
Shihabuddin Aashiq, the only khalifah of Maulana Imamuddin stayed
in Delhi. Both Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Hazrat Alauddin Ahmad
Sabir have a distinct place in the Annals of Chishtia Silsilah. Besides
their spiritual attainments, they are also credited with starting two
distinct sub-branches of Nizamia and Sabiria.
It may be pointed that the efforts made by Hazrat Nizamuddin
Auliya, the principal anointed khalifah of Baba Farid, transformed the
silsilah into an all India movement. In fact, it was under his supervision
Origin and Evolution of Chishti Dargahs in South Asia | 49

Fig. 3.3
50 | Jamia Geographical Studies

Fig. 3.4
 Origin and Evolution of Chishti Dargahs in South Asia | 51

that Chishtia silsilah reached its watermark (Nizami, 1978:195).

“According to Mohammad Ghaus Shattari he sent 700 spiritually gifted
khalifahs to different cities of the country” (Nizami, 1991a:158). Although
it is impossible to trace their names in the text, Figure 3.4 clearly shows
that as many as 15 of his disciples are buried in Delhi, in most of the
cases in the nearby areas of the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya.
In fact, it would be interesting to note that the place called Chabutra-e-
Yaran (platform for friends) is the same place where during his lifetime
Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya used to sit with his friends. It has graves of
his friends and contemporary Sufis.
Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya sent his disciples in various parts of
the country. During his days Delhi reached its zenith and pinnacle of
glory. His disciples moved towards Gujrat (Pakistan) in the west,
Daulatabad in the south, and Pandua and Gaur in the east. Some of
them also went to Hansi, Chanderi, Zafrabad, Satgaon, Ujjain, and
Panipat. However, in some cases only the names of the region like
Punjab, Bihar and Malwa are mentioned in text for the destination of
the disciples. Hence the exact location of the shrines is not known to
us. However, two disciples of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya went to
Neharwal near Patan in Ahmedabad, which is not located on the map.
Hazrat Alauddin Ahmad Sabir of Kaliyar was a saint of the highest
order. In fact, Sheikh Shamsuddin Turk Panipati had the distinction of
being appointed by him as his khalifah. His Dargah is in Panipat.
Unfortunately, the contemporary historians had not written about
Hazrat Alauddin Ahmad Sabir (Nizami, 1998:144). This paucity of
information in the texts for such a great saint is the most puzzling aspects
of the sources.

Evolution in Stage V
All those places which trace their origin from the saints of Stage
IV becomes the principal centre in Stage V. Of the 27 khalifahs located
in the twelve places, only Delhi, Panipat and Gaur became the principal
centres from where the diffusion took place in this stage (Fig. 3.5). In
this stage, Delhi retained two khalifahs, Sheikh Ruknuddin, a disciple
of Maulana Shihabuddin Imam of Delhi and Hazrat Nasir-u-ddin
Chiragh, disciple of Sheikh Nizamuddin Auliya (Delhi). Sheikh
Ruknuddin is the only one who resided in Delhi with his Pir. On the
other hand, Hazrat Nasir-u-ddin Chiragh like his Pir sent his disciples
in different parts of the sub-continent e.g. Neharwal, Kalpi, Ahmedabad,
Chanderi, Sirhind, Ujjain, Kachocha, Sandila, Solarah, Hansi, Lucknow,
Gulberga, Iraj, Kantur and Behraich. Some of his khalifahs also remained
in Delhi, including the premises of the Dargah of their Pir.
In Panipat, the other primary centre in stage IV, Sheikh
52 | Jamia Geographical Studies

Fig. 3.5
 Origin and Evolution of Chishti Dargahs in South Asia | 53

Shamsuddin Turk Panipati had only one disciple, Sheikh Jalaluddin

Mehmood Kabirul Auliya, who remained at the same place. From Gaur,
the third principal centre of fourth stage, Sheikh Sirajuddin Akhi sent
his disciple Sheikh Alauddin Asad Lahori to Pandua where his shrine
is built.

Evolution in Stage VI
Out of 27 khalifahs residing in nineteen places in the Stage V the
following six became the principal centres from where Sufis of sixth
stage trace their origin: Pandua, Panipat, Ahmedabad, Hansi, Gulbarga,
and Delhi (Table 3.2). It must be emphasized that this stage represents
a distinct departure from all the previous stages. With the decision of
Hazrat Nasir-u-ddin Chiragh, to bury all the insignia received as a
symbol of anointment from his own Pir, with his body. He did not
appoint any of his successors to take the responsibility of the entire
country. He told that a number of his khalifahs would be able to do
excellent work in their respective regions. Thus, from this period
onward the provincial khanqahs became more prominent. From Pandua,
one of the disciples of Sheikh Alauddin Asad Lahori went to Kachocha
and the other remained in Pandua itself. From Panipat, Sheikh
Jalaluddin Mehmood Kabirul Auliya sent his two disciples to Delhi
and Radauli. From Ahmedabad, diffusion is towards Patan and from
Hansi towards Narnaul. However, the genealogical chain of Syed
Mohammad Gesu Daraz in this stage is in Gulberga itself. In the case
of Delhi as the principal centre the silsilah of Qazi Abdul Muqtadi went
towards Jaunpur where as the chain of Sheikh Ruknuddin remained in
Delhi only. Moreover, Qazi Abdul Saadi sent his khalifah Khwaja
Ikhtiyaruddin to Iraj, the place that we could not locate.

Evolution in Stage VII

Out of seven Pirs residing in six places in the Stage VI three became
principal centres from where the evolution took place in Stage VII. From
Pandua, Sheikh Noor Qutub-e-Alam sent his three khalifahs to
Manakpur, Ranthambore and Ahmedabad (Table 3.2). Besides these, it
is mentioned that one of his disciples Shah Jalal Gujrati was murdered.
However, no further details are available in the texts. From Radauli,
Sheikh Ahmad Abdul Haq’s khalifah Sheikh Mohammad Arif remained
in the same place. Similarly in Patan, Shaikh Alam ul Haq’s disciple
Sheikh Mehmood Al Maroof Ba Rajan also remained there. Apart from
these in some cases only the name of the saints are available but the
place of shrine is not found. These are Sheikh Piyare, the disciple of
Sheikh Sadeed Allah. Sheikh Salar Sarmast the disciple of Khwaja
Ikhtiyaruddin of Iraj and Sheikh Tajuddin Imam disciple of Sheikh
54 | Jamia Geographical Studies

Fig. 3.6
 Origin and Evolution of Chishti Dargahs in South Asia | 55

Imamuddin. Another type of case relates to Sheikh Fatahullah, the

khalifah of Sheikh Sadaruddin Ahmad Tabib of Delhi whose exact place
of shrine is not known. From Oudh (a region) in Gangetic Plains, he
sent his two disciples to Jaunpur and Faizabad but the third Sheikh
Qasim remained in Oudh (place not known).

Evolution in Stage VIII

Out of five principal centres in Stage VII there are only two
(Manakpur and Patan) from where the centres of Stage VIII trace their
origin. Surprisingly, all the four disciples, Raji Hamid Shah, Sheikh
Sayeedo, Sheikh Kalu and Shah Alam remained in the same place
Manakpur. On the other hand from Patan, Sheikh Mehmood Al Maroof
Ba Rajan sent his disciple to Ahmedabad (Table 3.2). However, place of
shrine of Sheikh Mohammad disciple of Sheikh Mohammad Arif of
Stage VII and Sheikh Hussain Sarmast disciple of Sheikh Salar Sarmast
is not known.

Evolution in Stage IX
Out of the seven Pirs residing in two places in the Stage VIII the
disciples in Stage IX trace their origin from two Pirs. Raji Hamid Shah
from Manakpur sent his disciples one each to Delhi and Jaunpur (Table
3.2). However, place of shrine of one of his disciple Sheikh Daniyal is
not known. Moreover, Ahmedabad is the place of shrine of Pir Sheikh
Jamal Al Maroof Ba Jumman as well as his murid Sheikh Hasan
Mohammad. In another case the place of shrine of Sheikh Ismail, the
disciple of Sheikh Hussain Sarmast is also not known. Similarly, the
place of shrines of two khalifahs of Mohammad Arif of Radauli (Sheikh
Mohammad and Sheikh Budh) is not available.

Evolution in Stage X
From the three principal centres in the Stage IX (Ahmedabad, Delhi
and Jaunpur) only Ahmedabad became the principal centre from where
the diffusion took place in Stage X. In a peculiar case, it was not possible
to locate the place of shrine of Sheikh Mohammad in the Stage VIII. But
his disciple went to Gangoh which also became another principal centre
in Stage IX from where one disciple Sheikh Jalaluddin Mehmood
Thanesari trace his origin in Stage X. In Ahmedabad, Sheikh Hasan
Mohammad’s disciple stayed in the same city (Table 3.2). Apart from
these two, Sheikh Mohammad of Stage X who went to Malwa (place of
shrine unknown) had a disciple (Sheikh Saadullah) whose place of
shrine also could not be located. Sheikh Allahdad of Jaunpur (Stage IX)
had a disciple (Sheikh Maroof) whose place of shrine is not known to
56 | Jamia Geographical Studies

us. However, in the case of Sheikh Ismail, his disciple Sheikh Khwaja
Khanoon went to Gwalior. His shrine is a very famous pilgrimage centre
there. However, Sheikh Budh (place of shrine unknown) of Stage IX
had two disciples (Sheikh Mansoor and Sheikh Pir) but we could not
find the place of their shrines.

Evolution in Stage XI
Both the principal centres (Thanesar and Ahmedabad) of Stage X
became the centres from where diffusion took place in Stage XI.
Surprizingly, both the disciples of Sheikh Jalaluddin Mehmood
Thanesari (Thanesar) and Sheikh Shamsuddin Mohammad
(Ahmedabad) went out of the country to Balkh (Sheikh Nizamuddin
Balkhi) and Medina (Sheikh Yahya Madani) (Table 3.2). However,
Sheikh Khwaja Khanoon of Gwalior sent his disciple Sheikh
Nizamuddin Narnauli to Narnaul. Furthermore, in the cases related to
the disciples of Sheikh Maroof (Sheikh Nizamuddin Ambethwi), Sheikh
Pir (Sheikh Qutubuddin) and Sheikh Saadullah (Juda Majad Sheikh
Abdul Haq) of Stage X, the place of shrines could not be traced in the
Stage XI.

Evolution in Stage XII

From the three principal centres (Balkh, Medina and Narnaul) in
Stage XI three khalifahs were sent to three places. However, two of them
became the parent centres from where the diffusion took place in Stage
XII. From Medina, Sheikh Yahya Madani sent his two disciples to Delhi
and Ahmedabad (Table 3.2). On the other hand, Sheikh Nizamuddin
Balkhi sent his disciples to Gangoh. However, one more Sheikh
Qutubuddin emerges in this stage but neither we could find the place
of his shrine nor of his khalifah’s (Sheikh Hamid).

Evolution in Stage XIII

All the centres in this stage trace their origin from the three
principal centers of Stage XII: Gangoh, Ahmedabad and Delhi (Table
3.2). Instead of diffusion outside the city in this stage there is diffusion
within the cities. Sheikh Abu Saeed’s disciple Sheikh Mohammad Sadiq
resided in Gangoh. Sheikh Ruknuddin Ahmad’s disciple Sheikh
Hisamuddin Mohammad Farooq also remained in Ahmedabad.
Although Sheikh Kalimullah Shahjehanabadi’s disciple Sheikh
Nizamuddin Aurangabadi went to Aurangabad, but we could not found
the place of shrine of Sheikh Abdul Rehman, disciple of Sheikh Hamid
in this stage.
 Origin and Evolution of Chishti Dargahs in South Asia | 57

Evolution in Stage XIV

All those places, which trace their origin in the Stage XIII and had
extended the silsilah became the principal centres in the Stage XIV. These
are Gangoh, Ahmedabad and Aurangabad (Table 3.2). Gangoh is the
same province where after the death of his Pir (Sheikh Mohammad
Sadiq) Sheikh Dawood remained there. The second principal centre,
Ahmedabad, which was under the guidance of Sheikh Hisamuddin
Mohammad Farrukh in the previous stage was entrusted by him to
Sheikh Ruknuddin Ahmad in this stage. While his another disciple
Sheikh Rasheeduddin Mandood went to Shahpur in present day
Maharashtra. From the third centre, Aurangabad, Sheikh Nizamuddin
Aurangabadi sent his khalifah Sheikh Fakhruddin Fakhre Jahan to Delhi
whose shrine is in Mehrauli near the main mausoleum of Khwaja
Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki.

Evolution in Stage XV
Out of three principal centres of Ahmedabad, Gangoh and
Aurangabad in Stage XIV, four disciples went to three different places
from which two (Delhi and Gangoh) became the principal centres from
where the places in Stage XV trace their origin. From Delhi Sheikh
Fakhruddin sent his two disciples to Bareli and Mahar (Pakistan) and
from Gangoh Sheikh Mohammad Dawood sent his disciples to Amethi
(Table 3.2).

Evolution in Stage XVI

Out of the two principal centres of Stage XV three disciples went
to three different places (Bareli, Mahar and Amethi) which became the
principal centre in Stage XVI. Out of these three, Bareli the province of
Sheikh Niyaz Ahamd became a prominent centre from where diffusion
took place not only in the country but also abroad. Samarqand, Kabul,
Lucknow, Shahjehanpur, Mecca and Bareli are the places, which trace
their origin from Bareli (Table 3.2). On the other hand from the second
principal centre Amethi, Shah Abul Male sent his disciple Mohammad
Syed Miran Shah Bhike to Kohram. From the third principal centre of
Mahar (Pakistan) Sheikh Noor Mohammad Maharvi sent his disciples
to Chachran, Multan and Taunsa to spread the chain of Chishti’s in the
sub-continent.

Evolution in Stage XVII

In the Stage XVI out of eleven disciples who went to ten places,
four (Kohram, Bareli, Multan and Taunsa) became the principal centres
for the Stage XVII. From Kohram, Mohammad Syed Miran Shah Bhike
58 | Jamia Geographical Studies

sent his khalifah Mohammad Salim to Ropar. On the other hand, Shah
Mohammad Sulaiman from Taunsa sent his khalifahs to Siyal, Fatehpur,
and Khairabad while fourth (Mohammad Ali) remained in the same
place. Moreover, in both Bareli and Multan, the shrine of the Pirs as
well as their disciples is in the same place (Table 3.2).

Evolution in Stage XVIII

Out of the four principal centres in Stage XVII seven disciples went
to different places. From these, four places became principal centres in
Stage XVIII. From the principal centre of Siyal two disciples of Sheikh
Shamsuddin went to Golarah (place could not be traced) and Jalalpur.
From Fatehpur disciple of Haji Najmuddin went to Amroha. On the
other hand at both Taunsa and Khairabad the disciples remained in
the same towns (Table 3.2).

Evolution in Stage XIX

Surprisingly, in this stage the place of shrine of Syed Mohammad
Azam was not available hence the evolution in this could not be traced.
But one of his disciple went to Manakpur. He died in 1832 and his
shrine is also at the same city (Table 3.2).

Evolution in Stage XX
This stage has only one principal centre at Manakpur which was
under the guidance of Hafiz Musa and he sent his disciple Hafiz
Mohammad Hussain to Jaipur.

Evolution in Stage XXI

This stage had Jaipur as its principal centre. From here Hafiz
Mohammad Hussain sent his disciple Shah Nasiruddin to Firozabad.
He died in 1878 and his shrine is at the same place

Distribution of Chishti Dargahs

From the eternal chain of the Chishtia silsilah, about 172 shrines
have been marked to give an idea of the distribution of the Chishti
Dargahs in South Asia. Despite innumerable problems relative to the
names of Pirs and exactly locating their shrines, we have been able to
locate the maximum number of places of Sufi shrines in South Asia. A
close perusal of Fig. 3.6 reveals that the major concentration of Chishti
shrines is found in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia. Stretching
from Peshawar in the west to Pandua in the east, they are concentrated
in an elliptical shaped belt. A striking feature of this distribution is the
 Origin and Evolution of Chishti Dargahs in South Asia | 59

fact that as many as forty Dargahs are found in Delhi. One probable
reason behind this concentration seems that out of four spiritual
successors of Khwaja Sahib, three had their khanqahs and Dargahs in
Delhi. Traditionally, it is considered most auspicious to be buried near
the shrine of a pious saint. Hence, a number of murids had their final
resting place near the shrine of great Sufi saints. The Indo-Gangetic
Plains seems to be fully concentrated with these Dargahs and can be
correlated with the fact that this was a fertile agricultural land where
the population is dense.
In the present day Pakistan the major places where Chishti shrines
exists are Peshawar, Wazirabad, Gujarat, Bahawalpur, Sialkot, Lahore,
Kasur, Pakpatan and Multan. The last two are the most renowned
having the shrines of early Chishti Sufis, including Baba Farid. Baba
Farid’s role in changing a number of communities from the stage of
pastoralism to agriculture is duely acknowledged. During 13th and 14th
century, Chishti’s were the most influential order in South Asia. This
was the time when the expansion of the Chishti order reached its zenith.
The maximum diffusion of Sufi saints and establishment of their shrines
took place during the time of Sheikh Fariduddin Masood Ganj-e-Shakar
(Pakpatan), Sheikh Nizamuddin Auliya (Delhi) and Sheikh Nasir-u-
ddin Chiragh (Delhi). Because of Baba Farid’s influence and popularity,
Pakpatan became a major centre and a large number of Dargahs are
found in that area.
However, in the Indian Punjab there are seven Chishti shrines in
Jalandhar, Sirhind and Ropar. Another area of concentration of Chishti
Dargahs is in the Gangetic Plains, specifically the present Uttar Pradesh.
The places where Chishti shrines are found are: Amroha, Jaunpur,
Lucknow, Khairabad, Manakpur, Kalpi, Kachocha, and Zafrabad. This
is also one of the most densely populated regions in the country. We
are not correlating the distribution of Dargahs with the proportion of
Muslim population for the simple reason that Sufis never tried to settle
in Muslim dominated areas. In fact, it is because of them that a large
number of persons became Muslims. Moreover, the modern states of
Rajasthan and Gujarat also have a sizable number of Dargahs.
Towards the eastern fringe of the main belt places like Pandua,
Gaur and Taunsa became more prominent. However, a small group of
Dargah is concentrated in Deccan around the centres of Burhanpur,
Daulatabad, Shahpur, Aurangabad and Satgaon. The southern most
Dargah at Gulberga seems to be strange. Since the Sufi saint of Gulberga
was a very prominent figure, he might have been responsible in sending
a large number of his disciples to other nearby places. But we could not
find it in the texts that were available to us.
60 | Jamia Geographical Studies

Concluding Remarks
On the basis of the above analysis it can be fairly concluded that,
broadly speaking, in the initial stages evolution of Dargahs took a
distinct pattern wherein expansion took place rapidly and most of the
region was covered by the time of Hazrat Nasir-u-ddin Chiragh the
last khalifah of the entire sub continent. However, after the emergence
of provincial centers diffusion took place in the immediate neighbouring
areas. Generally, it was more or less short distance migration of Sufis.
It needs emphasis that because of the limitations of both the source
of data and the appropriate method, this study fails to satisfy the overall
parameters of the historical evolution of Dargahs. However, in the
absence of any other alternative we have tried to trace the diffusion of
Chishti Dargahs in South Asia. Although the use of present
methodology has provided us sufficient material but it may be
considered only as a preliminary exploration which needs further
probing.

Acknowledgements
The authors express their thankfulness to Shri Jai Pal Singh for
having gone through a previous draft of the paper and making valuable
suggestions; and Mr Aqueel Ahmad Najam for his help in preparing
the maps.

Notes
1. A previous draft of the paper was presented at Second International Indian
Geography Congress, of NAGI, organized by the Department of
Geography, J. R. N. Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University, Rajasthan, INDIA,
from Feb. 29 to March 2, 2008.
2. A Dargah is a Sufi shrine built over the grave of a revered religious figure
often a Sufi saint. Shrines are found in many Muslim communities
throughout the world and called by many names. The term Dargah is
common in Persian influenced Islamic World notably in Iran and South
Asia. Dargahs are often associated with Sufi meeting rooms and hostels
known as khanqahs.
3. Silsilah in Sufism is basically a chain of spiritual descent wherein the rituals
are transmitted from the founder of the order to the present disciples. All
of them trace their origin from the Prophet through the founder of their
silsilahs.
4. For reaching the goal or destination a Sufi traveller has to pass through
the following stages (muqamat) which includes repentance (tauba), fear of
Lord (wara), detachment (zuhud), poverty (faqa), patience (sabr), trust or
self surrender (tawakkul) and contentment (rida).
 Origin and Evolution of Chishti Dargahs in South Asia | 61

5. On the basis of Abunasr Sarraj (1963), Cyprian Rice distinguishes the

following mystical phases or graces: Muraqaba (literally, watching or
observation, in this case, of one’s own inner consciousness), qurb
(realization of the nearness of God), mahabba (love), fear (both filial as
well as reverential), ummid (hope), shauq (longing, yearning), uns (a state
of loving familiarity with God), itminan (a sense of security and serene
dependence), mushahada (contemplation), yaqin (certainity)(Rice, 1964:56).
6. A Khanqah is a spacious building, which provides special accommodation
for every visitor and inmate whereas the jamaatkhanah was a large room
where all disciples slept, prayed and studied on the floor. The Chishti
saints built jamaatkhanahs and the Suhrawardis constructed khanqahs.
Common people were unable to appreciate the difference between these
and used the word khanqahs for both of them. The zawiyas are smaller
places where mystics lived and prayed but unlike the inmates of khanqahs
and jamaatkhanahs did not aim at establishing any vital contact with the
world outside (Nizami, 1978:175).
7. Mir Khurd in Siyar-ul-Auliya has described about two such situations of
mutual understanding, which were resolved by saints of two silsilahs.
When Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (R.A.) reached Multan,
Qabacha Beg (Governor of Multan) requested him to settle there
permanently. Sheikh Bahauddin Zakariya went to see Qutub Sahib with
an intuition. He conveyed his desire to leave Multan in a mystical manner
by placing his shoes in the direction of Delhi. Qutub Sahib understood
the symbolic gesture and took no time in quitting Multan (Khurd, 1914:
61). Another situation described by Mir Khurd is about hundred years
after Qutub Sahib left Multan when Sultan Mubarak Khilji requested
Sheikh Ruknuddin Multani – the grandson of Sheikh Bahauddin Zakariya,
to set up a khanqah in Delhi in order to turn away the public eye from
Sheikh Nizamuddin Auliya (R.A.) but he refused to interfere in the
spiritual jurisdiction of his contemporary Chishti (Khurd, 1914:136).
8. Zanbil is literally a basket made of palm leaves, technically a bag hung
around the neck or across the shoulder for collecting food by means of
begging (Khan, 2009:465).
9. A spiritual concert; a public recital of poetry typically accompanied by
music, as a part of Sufi dhikr.
10. Chillah-e-makus is one of the Sufi practices in which one has to tie his feet
with a rope and gets his body lowered in a well and offers prayers in this
posture for 40 nights. This practice was probably borrowed from Sadhus
whom it is said that they have their heads downwards suspended from
bough of a tree or a suitable framework and pray (Nizami, 1978:177).
11. Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Muneri has discussed at some length the
significance of the concept of wilayat and the position of wali in his letters.
(Muneri, 1898:24)
62 | Jamia Geographical Studies

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