| The Urs celebrations of the great Muslim Sufi saint | | | | learning and later became a disciple of the Sufi saint |
| Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti at Ajmer are famous all | | | | Uthman Haruni of the Chishtiyyah, which takes its |
| over the world - not only among Sufis or other | | | | origin from the town of Chisht Sharif located east of |
| Muslims. Sufism (also referred to as tasawwuf) is the | | | | Afghanistan's Herat. |
| inner, mystical dimension of Islam, which focuses on | | | | After having a dream of Prophet Mohammad blessing |
| direct knowledge of God and the experience of | | | | him to spread the message in India, Khwaja |
| mystical union or direct communication with ultimate | | | | Muinuddin visited Lahore and prayed at the dargah of |
| reality. One can hardly overemphasise the importance | | | | Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh Usman Ali Hujwiri, which |
| of Sufi Islam as the key channel for Hindu-Muslim | | | | had become the practice of Sufi saints coming to the |
| interaction in South Asia throughout the centuries, | | | | Indian subcontinent. Leaving Lahore, Khwaja Muinuddin |
| which resulted in an extremely fruitful | | | | reached Ajmer along with Mohammad of Ghor, and |
| cross-fertilisation of ideas, thoughts, sciences, and | | | | settled down there, thus firmly establishing the Chishti |
| arts - and there is no place in South Asia where this | | | | Sufi Silsilah (chain) in South Asia. |
| is more evident than in Rajasthan's Ajmer and even | | | | The times of Khwaja Muinuddin, who is popularly |
| more so during the Urs festivities. | | | | known as 'Gharib Nawaz' ('Benefactor of the Poor'), |
| The Indian city of Ajmer is often reverently referred | | | | are considered to be the Golden Age of Sufism in |
| to as 'Ajmer Sharif' ('Ajmer the Noble') and 'Madinat | | | | South Asia. Within decades, the Chistiyyah order |
| al-Hind' ('Medina of India') since it is home to the | | | | spread its roots across the Indian subcontinent. |
| dargah (shrine) of Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, which | | | | The Dargah Sharif in Ajmer is the place where the |
| makes the city the most important centre of ziyarat | | | | saint's mortal remains lie buried. Situated at the foot |
| (Muslim pilgrimage) in South Asia. | | | | of Taragarh, the complex consists of several white |
| Ajmer is a city of half a million souls located in the | | | | marble buildings arranged around courtyards, a |
| heart of India's Rajasthan state. Surrounded by the | | | | massive gate donated by the Nizam of Hyderabad, a |
| Aravalli Mountains, Ajmer, earlier known as Ajaymeru | | | | mosque donated by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, |
| (in Sanskrit meaning 'Invincible Mountain'), and its | | | | the Akbari Mosque, and the domed tomb of the |
| fertile valleys are protected from the nearby sands | | | | saint. |
| of the Thar Desert. The green oasis has been an | | | | Khwaja Muinuddin is credited with saying: "He indeed |
| important settlement site for thousands of years and | | | | is a true devotee blessed with the love of God, who |
| its fortress Taragarh is claimed to be one of the | | | | is gifted with the following three attributes: River-like |
| oldest hill forts of India, if not the world. | | | | charity, i.e. his sense of charity has no limits and is |
| The city itself was founded in the first millennium CE | | | | equally beneficial to all the creatures of God who |
| by the Chauhan Dynasty. During their rule repeated | | | | approach him; Sun-like affection, i.e. his affection may |
| waves of Turkic invasions swept across India. Ajmer | | | | be extended indiscriminately to all like sunlight; and |
| was finally conquered by Mohammad of Ghor, who | | | | Earth-like hospitality, i.e. his loving embrace may be |
| laid the foundation for the Delhi Sultanate, in 1193. | | | | open to all like that of the Earth." |
| Throughout its history the city changed hands many | | | | According to Khwaja Muinuddin, the highest form of |
| times: Mughals, Marwaris, Mewaris, Marathas, and, | | | | devotion was "to redress the misery of those in |
| lastly, the British East India Company. That is why | | | | distress - to fulfill the needs of the helpless and to |
| one finds the city today as an atmospheric potpourri | | | | feed the hungry." |
| of Turkic, Mughal, Rajasthani, British colonial, and | | | | Inside the dargah, langar (communal food) is prepared |
| modern architecture. | | | | in two massive cauldrons, called Degs, and distributed |
| One of Ajmer's famed historical remnants is the | | | | to the devotees as tabarruk (blessed food). Often a |
| Adhai Din ka Jhopra (literally translated as | | | | mixture of rice, sugar, ghee, dried fruits, and spices is |
| 'Two-and-a-Half-Days Hut'). The original structure was | | | | cooked for the public. Wealthy pilgrims sponsor the |
| a Jain temple that was converted by the Delhi | | | | Degs and distribute the food to the poor, thus |
| Sultanate into one of the most stunning mosques in | | | | accumulating merit. |
| all of South Asia. | | | | Food has a strong symbolism in Sufism. Sugar and |
| Consisting of a quadrangle with a front screen wall of | | | | other sweet foods represent the sweetness of |
| seven pointed arches, the mosque is considered as a | | | | piety. Salt and other salty foods symbolize purity. |
| masterpiece of the fusion of Indian and Islamic | | | | Pronouncing 'bismillah' during the baking of bread, the |
| architecture. None of its forty heavily embellished | | | | bread is imbued with baraka (spiritual power), which is |
| columns that support the roof are alike. The mosque | | | | transferred to those who later share the bread. |
| is also noted for its beautiful calligraphy in the Nashk | | | | The accompanying mela (fair) of Khwaja Muinuddin's |
| and Kufic scripts. | | | | Urs caters to a wide variety of needs and interests. |
| In Ajmer one feels the city's deep-running historic | | | | All over the huge fair religious paraphernalia, books, |
| roots at every of its corners. Traditional crafts and | | | | rosaries, prayer caps, embroidered carpets, and so |
| trades that have since vanished in most parts of | | | | on, are on sale. Many entertainment opportunities are |
| India continue to remain popular in Ajmer. For | | | | available to the general public as well. Children whirl |
| example, the ear cleaners continue to ply their trade, | | | | happily in merry-go-rounds, magicians attract large |
| wearing their peculiar headgear and carrying their | | | | crowds, stalls of sweetmeats entice the hungry, |
| small shoulder bag that holds their ear-cleaning | | | | while others dance devoutly in the Dhamaal to the |
| utensils. | | | | heavy beat of drums. |
| Walking along the labyrinthine bazaar streets of | | | | In front of the dargah and at other locations in the |
| Ajmer, one cannot fail to be enchanted by the shops | | | | city where mehfils are held, professional singers called |
| and stalls brimming with arts and handicrafts created | | | | qawwals praise the saint in their characteristic |
| by the skillful local artisans: woollen textiles, hosiery, | | | | high-pitched voices. People gather around the them |
| ornaments, bangles, gold and silver jewelery, bangles, | | | | and listen attentively. The term qawwal takes its |
| hand-embroidered items, leather belts, bags, and | | | | origin from the Arabic word 'qaul' (an 'utterance of |
| footwear, brass utensils, woodcrafts, ittar (perfume), | | | | the prophet') and denotes somebody who often |
| etc. | | | | repeats a qaul; what the qawwals sing is known as |
| The crowds of pilgrims arriving in Ajmer swell during | | | | qawwali. |
| the Urs festival that occurs every year at the | | | | Groups of qawwals often consist of a lead singer, |
| beginning of the Islamic month Rajab, when about | | | | one or two side singers, one or two harmoniums, and |
| one million pilgrims from far and wide, Muslims as well | | | | two percussionists, one playing the tabla and the |
| as Hindus and others, visit the dargah - all seeking the | | | | other the dholak. There is also a chorus of several |
| Khwaja's guidance and intercession. | | | | men who repeat key verses, and who aid and abet |
| The Urs festival commemorates Khwaja Muinuddin's | | | | percussion by hand-clapping. Qawwalis mostly begin |
| symbolic union with God. The expression Urs (an | | | | gently and build steadily to very high energy levels |
| Arabic word meaning 'wedding') refers to the death | | | | that induce hypnotic states among the musicians as |
| anniversary of a Sufi saint in South Asia, usually held | | | | well as the audience. |
| at the saint's dargah. The Chishtiyya refer to their | | | | Characteristic of Sufism is the particular emphasis on |
| saints as lovers and God as the beloved. They refer | | | | dhikr (remembrance of God) and asceticism. Via |
| to their death as wisaal (union with the beloved) and | | | | self-discipline and concentration on God it is believed |
| their death anniversary as Urs. For them, death is | | | | that one can quell the self and through loving ardor |
| only a transition, a wedding with the divine that the | | | | for God one achieves union with the divine in which |
| Sufi had always been aspiring to - hence the | | | | the human self melts away. The purpose of dhikr is |
| celebration. | | | | to practice consciousness of the Divine Presence and |
| The pilgrims who come to seek the blessings of the | | | | thus achieve a state of god-wariness. |
| Khwaja make rich offerings called nazrana (Arabic for | | | | The term dhikr covers a diverse range of forms of |
| an offering, gift or present) inside his dargah. | | | | worship and various layers of meaning. Generally |
| Offerings of rose and jasmine flowers, sandalwood | | | | speaking, dhikr is the remembrance of God through |
| paste, ittar, and incense create an overpowering | | | | special devotional acts, such as the repetition of |
| fragrance inside the shrine, while chadars (decorative | | | | divine names, the recitation of passages from the |
| garments) are placed as tribute on the tomb of the | | | | hadith literature and the Quran, but for some groups |
| saint. | | | | also includes singing, instrumental music, dance, |
| During the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar (1556-1605 | | | | ascetic practices, trance, and ecstasy. |
| CE), Ajmer developed into the most important | | | | Especially the fakirs of the Rifai Tariqah (like most |
| center of Muslim pilgrimage in the Indian subcontinent. | | | | Sufi orders named after its founder Sheikh Ahmad |
| According to the Akbarnamah, the Mughal Emperor | | | | ar-Rifai) are famed for their 'miraculous feats', such |
| became a devotee after hearing some minstrels | | | | as stabbing their bodies with swords and knives, and |
| singing songs about the Wali (Friend of God) who lay | | | | not bleeding when they are in a state of ecstasy. |
| asleep in Ajmer. Akbar frequently made the journey | | | | These exhibitions of faith should strengthen the |
| from his court at Agra to Ajmer on foot, in | | | | people's iman (faith) in the power of dhikr. |
| observance of a vow he had made when praying for | | | | While slogans resound to the accompaniment of |
| a son - a tradition that is still very much alive among | | | | drums, the fakirs slash their abdomens with swords, |
| the contemporary devotees of Khwaja Muinuddin. | | | | impale their cheeks and biceps with skewers, incise |
| Sultan al-Hind, Hazrat Sheikh Khwaja Syed | | | | their arms, and pierce their tongues and ears - |
| Mohammad Muinuddin Chishti was born in the 12th | | | | without resulting in any harmful injury - while the |
| century CE in Sijistan, in what today is Iran. He | | | | slogans and drums rise in crescendo. |
| studied at many of the great centers of Islamic | | | | |