KHAWAJA MOINUDDIN CHISHTI

• Chishtī Muʿīn al-Dīn Ḥasan Sijzī (1142–1236 CE), known more commonly as Muʿīn al-Dīn Chishtī or Moinuddin Chishti or Khwājā Ghareeb Nawaz, or reverently as a Shaykh Muʿīn al-Dīn or Muʿīn al-Dīn or Khwājā Muʿīn al-Dīn

Preaching in India

• According to the various chronicles, Muʿīn al-Dīn’s Akhalaqs and compassionate behavior towards the local population seems to have been one of the major reasons behind conversion to Islam at his hand.
• It is said that more than 90lakhs peoples entered Islam on His hands by his teachings.

Early Life

• During his childhood he showed early promise of a marvellous personality, displaying rare piety and sacrifice for others.
• On the occasion of a certain Eid, when he was still a child, Hazrat Moinuddin Chisti (ra), richly attired, was going to Idgah to offer his prayers. On the way, he saw a blind child dressed in torn clothing. Deeply moved, he gave the child his own clothes and accompanied him to the Idgah. When only three or four years old, rather than playing with children of his age, he would invite these children to eat with him.
• Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti (ra) was brought up in Khorasan and received his early education at home. When he was nine years old, he committed the Holy Quran to memory. Subsequently, he was admitted to a Maktab, where he concentrated primarily on the hadis and fiqh (jurisprudence), and completed his education very early.

SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

Spiritual Journey

In those days, Baghdad, Samarkand, and Bukhara were celebrated centres of Islamic learning. From Khorasan he proceeded to Samarkand and then to Bukhara, where he pursued higher studies.[4] He stayed there for about five years, from 544 AH/1150AD up to 550 AH/1155AH continuing his education up to the age of twenty. He counted among his teachers the two outstanding scholars of his time, namely, Maulana Husamuddin of Bukhara (ra) and Maulana Sharfuddin (ra).

When Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti (ra) had acquired the best knowledge and wisdom of the time, he travelled widely in search of a spiritual guide who could provide him with the best spiritual guidance.

He reached Iraq in 551 AH/1156 AD where he met the renowned saint Hazrat Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (ra), better known as al-Ghawth al-A'zam, in Baghdad for the first time.

• He followed the precepts of the Holy Prophet ﷺ in everyday life. Fear of God would cause him to tremble and weep and the dread of the last resting place, the grave, also dominated his thoughts. Sometimes he felt in an elevated mood and was then so much absorbed and lost in meditation that he was quite unmindful of what was going on around him. At other times, he was consumed by a pensive mood, and then he would close the door of his tenement in order to devote himself to contemplation.
• He had a forgiving nature and showed love, regard, and respect to all, irrespective of caste, creed, or religion. He was cosmopolitan in outlook, and a man of generous disposition, taking pleasure in helping the poor and the needy.
• He was reowned for His hospitality
• Upon his langar (free distribution of food). He himself ate very little, fasting throughout the year, and wore patched clothes. Very fond of prayers, he would read the Quran twice a day. He took no rest or respite for seventy long years and was very particular about his ablutions.
• He showed utmost concern for the well-being of his spiritual disciples.