25 short stories about the beloved of God

Story 1 Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya, the beloved of God, once asked a dervish who lived outside the city of Badaon why he lived there. The dervish replied, that a travelling companion of his had asked him to stay there till he returned. His companion had not returned till then, but he was staying there to keep his promise. Story 2 Bibi Zulaykha, the mother of Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya, often said to her son: “You will be a man of destiny some day!” He, one day on hearing this remark asked: “But when will this happen?” “When I am dead”, replied Bibi Zulaykha. Story 3 When Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya started to live in Ghiyaspur it was a place without any human…

Hazrat Amir Khusraw

I’ve been active during the month of Ramadan to write something every day about Hazrat Amir Khusraw. Each of the following numbers contains the material written during each day: 1. Hazrat Amir Khusraw asks a question. The first line is in Persian and the second is in Urdu: Teshna raa che mibaayad Melaap ko kyaa chaahiye What is required for the thirsty person? What is required for union? 2. This verse shows the loving union existing between Hazrat Amir Khusraw and his murshid Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya: Man to shodam to man shodi Man jaan shodam to tan shodi Taa na-guyad kasi pas az in Man digaram o to digari I have become you and you have become me. I have…

The Order of Hearts

Nizamuddin Awrangabadi came to Delhi hoping to find a spiritual guide. Hearing a great deal about shaykh Kalimullah he wanted to meet him. When he went to the shaykh, sama’ (audition of Sufi music) took place and the doors of the khanaqah were closed. It was their custom not to allow strangers to participate in the sama’. Nizamuddin knocked on the door and was permitted to enter. Everyone was greatly surprised, but shaykh Kalimullah said: ‘Know you all that this persoon is not a stranger!”. The reason was that the spiritual guide of shaykh Kalimullah had informed him that a persoon possessing such and such features and named Nizamuddin would come to him. Hazrat Nizamuddin Awrangabadi, who later on became…

Sufi Meditation and Contemplation

Someone presented a kashkul to me one day. A kashkul is a begging bowl used by the Chishti dervishes. The kashkul is made from a species of large gourd whose shell is sliced in half to create a heavy, oval bowl. It is polished with oil to give it a black sheen and it is easy to clean. It is very practical, because a dervish can accept money in it, but it is also fit to receive morsels of food in it. The dervish makes clear by means of his kashkul, that he is poor, while his Beloved is the Rich One. Recently I’ve received another kashkul. It is the Kashkul-e-Kalimi. It is a Chishti manual dealing with zikr and…

Jashn-e-Khusrau: The Festival of Khusrau

The first dargah I’ve visited, has been the dargah of Hazrat Amir Khusrau. From that time on my interest in this Chishti Sufi has started. That is why I recently have ordered “Jashn-e-Khusrau: A Collection”. Jashn-e-Khusrau is a very beautifully produced book dealing with the genius of Hazrat Amir Khusrau, but that is not all. It also contains 3 CD’s with the truly excellent qawwali with the poetry attributed to Hazrat Amir Khusrau. It is the type of qawwali you can hear at Sufi dargahs and Chishti khanaqahs. One of these days I was on my way home from work. I was somewhat tired. Suddenly I hoped that “Jashn-e-Khusrau” had arrived and this thought gave me new energy. Entering our…

Initiation into the Chishti order

There are people who want to become Naqshbandi or Qadiri or Suhrawardi or… But just suppose you’d have the opportunity to be admitted into the Chishti tariqa, i.e. the order among all orders… The question then is: What should I do?” The answer is simple: Take your time to find a true teacher. Before finding this spiritual guide who may accept you into the Chishtiyya path, it is useful to prepare yourself somewhat. It is good to try to discipline your ego a little bit. Do not overdo it, because the Chishti way is a more advanced way, than only the path ascetics follow. So in case you talk too much, be more silent, in case you eat too many…

Khwaja Gharib Nawaz

Khwaja Gharib Nawaz or ‘Patron of the Poor’ as Khwaja Mo’inuddin Chishti is known, was not only a great Sufi and an inspired person, but at the same time he was an erudite scholar and a poet. He would generally not allow more than one dervish to accompany him in travels. He would stay in desolate and deserted places. Sometimes he would stay in a graveyard. The moment he came to be known, he would stay no longer. He hated publicity. Khwaja Moinuddin Chshti says… Khwaja Gharib Nawaz says that the Day of Judgment is a certainty. On that day when the true lovers will be called and if at that time someone amongst the lovers cried out establishing his claim…

Collected Words of Gisu Daraz

The book “Jawami’ al-kalim” (= Collected Words) contains the conversations of the Chishti Sufi Gisu Daraz (d. 1422 C.E.). From this book and from some other sources some conversations of Gisu Daraz, some stories, some poetry, some teachings, etc. will be presented. Vision of Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya Gisu Daraz has also said that his shaykh Nasiruddin Cheragh of Delhi has told this: “I was 12 years old when I had learnt the Qur’an by heart and when I had read ‘The Five Treasures’ and the ‘Stations’ of Hariri. I was considering to become a disciple of shaykh Ruknuddin. He was an uncle from my mother’s side who had been a disciple of shaykh ul-Islam Nizamuddin. I was teaching the sons (of shaykh…

Your name will resound throughout the world

In former days there was a man named Hamid. In his youth he lived in Delhi as the servant of Tughril, that same Tughril who late in life had himself crowned as king in Lukhnauti. In short, this Farid became the servant of that Tughril, and he remained in his service till one day, as he was waiting on Tughril, a form appeared to him. ‘O Hamid,’ it asked, ‘why are you waiting on this man?’ Having spoken, it disappeared. Hamid was puzzled about who this could be. Then a second time, as he was waiting on Tughril, again that form appeared and asked: ‘O master Hamid, why are you waiting on this man?’ Hamid remained perplexed. Then he saw…

The rude dervish

A poorly dressed dervish came to Baba Farid who gave him something and permitted him to depart. The dervish remained standing and asked the shaykh to give him the comb, which he had taken out from its cover and placed on the prayer-carpet. As the comb was not worth anything and had been long used by the shaykh, he did not reply to the request. The dervish began to shout loudly: “If the shaykh gives me this comb, he will receive plenty of blessings.” “Be off”, Baba Farid replied, “and do not disturb me any more. I throw you and your blessings into the river.”