Friday, November 22, 2013

Dargah Nizamuddin Auliya Through The Lens of a Beggar Poet

from wikipedia

Sultan-ul-Mashaikh, Mehboob-e-Ilahi, Hazrat Shaikh Khwaja Syed Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya R.A (1238 – 3 April 1325) (Urdu: حضرت شیخ خواجہ سیّد محمد نظام الدّین اولیاء‎), also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin, was a famous Sufi saint of the Chishti Order in the Indian Subcontinent, an order that believed in drawing close to God through renunciation of the world and service to humanity. He is one of the great saints of the Chishti order in India.[1] His predecessors were Fariduddin Ganjshakar, Bakhtiyar Kaki and Moinuddin Chishti. In that sequence, they constitute the initial spiritual chain or silsila of the Chisti order, widely prevalent in the Indian subcontinent.
Nizamuddin Auliya, like his predecessors, stressed love as a means of realising God. For him his love of God implied a love of humanity. His vision of the world was marked by a highly evolved sense of secularity and kindness.[2] It is claimed by the 14th century historiographer Ziauddin Barani that his influence on the Muslims of Delhi was such that a paradigm shift was effected in their outlook towards worldly matters. People began to be inclined towards mysticism and prayers and remaining aloof from the world.[3]


Nizamuddin Auliya was born in Badayun, Uttar Pradesh (east of Delhi). At the age of five, after the death of his father, Ahmad Badayuni, he came to Delhi with his mother, Bibi Zulekha.[4] His biography finds mention in Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century document written by Mughal Emperor Akbar’s vizier, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak.[5]
At the age of twenty, Nizāmuddīn went to Ajodhan (the present Pakpattan Sharif in Pakistan) and became a disciple of the Sufi saint Fariduddin Ganjshakar, commonly known as Baba Farid. Nizāmuddīn did not take up residence in Ajodhan but continued with his theological studies in Delhi while simultaneously starting the Sufi devotional practices and the prescribed litanies. He visited Ajodhan each year to spend the month of Ramadan in the presence of Baba Farid. It was on his third visit to Ajodhan that Baba Farid made him his successor. Shortly after that, when Nizāmuddīn returned to Delhi, he received news that Baba Farid had died.
Nizāmuddīn lived at various places in Delhi, before finally settling down in Ghiyaspur, a neighbourhood in Delhi undisturbed by the noise and hustle of city life. He built his Khanqah here, a place where people from all walks of life were fed, where he imparted spiritual education to others and he had his own quarters. Before long, the Khanqah became a place thronged with all kinds of people, rich and poor alike.
Many of his disciples achieved spiritual height, including Shaikh Nasiruddin Muhammad Chirag-e-Delhi,[6] and Amir Khusro,[5] noted scholar/musician, and the royal poet of the Delhi Sultanate.
He died on the morning of 3 April 1325. His shrine, the Nizamuddin Dargah, is located in Delhi.[7] and the present structure was built in 1562. The shrine is visited by people of all faiths, through the year, though it becomes a place for special congregation during the death anniversaries, or Urs, of Nizamuddin Auliya and Amīr Khusro,[4] who is also buried at the Nizāmuddīn Dargāh.

Key beliefs[edit]

Besides believing in the traditional Sufi ideas of embracing God within this life (as opposed to the idea that such partial merger with God is possible only after death), by destroying the ego and cleansing the soul, and that this is possible through considerable efforts involving Sufi practices, Nizamuddin also expanded and practised the unique features introduced by past saints of the Chisti Sufi order in India. These included:
Emphasis on renunciation and having complete trust in God.
The unity of mankind and shunning distinctions based on social, economic, religious status.
Helping the needy, feeding the hungry and being sympathetic to the oppressed.
Strong disapproval of mixing with the Sultans, the princes and the nobles.
Exhortation in making close contact with the poor and the downtrodden
Adopting an uncompromising attitude towards all forms of political and social oppression.
A bold stance in favour of Sema, which some considered unislamic. Perhaps this was with the view that this was in consonance with the role of music in some modes of Hindu worship, could serve as a basis of contact with local people and would facilitate mutual adjustments between the two communities.[8] In fact Qawwali, a form of devotional music, was originally created by one his most cherished disciples: Amir Khusro.
Nizamuddin did not much bother about the theoretical aspects of Sufism, believing rather that it were the practical aspects that counted, as it was anyway not possible to describe the diversified mystical experiences called spiritual states or stations which a practicing Sufi encountered. He discouraged the demonstration of Keramat and emphasised that it was obligatory for the Auliya (which roughly means the friends of God) to hide the ability of Keramat from the commoners. He also was quite generous in accepting disciples. Usually whoever came to him saying that he wanted to become a disciple was granted that favour. This resulted in him being always surrounded by people from all strata of society.

Ancestral history[edit]

The eldest son of 'Alī al-Naqī was Ḥasan al-'Askarī and the other son was Ja'far Bukhārī. After the death of 'Ali al-Naqi, Hasan al-Askari became the accepted Imām of both Shī'ah and Sunnī Muslims. Ḥasan al-'Askarī was killed at the age of 28. He had one son, Muḥammad al-Mahdī, who, at the age of five after the death of his father, disappeared from public view. That was in the time of the 'Abbāsid Caliphs. Knowing about the killings of all the Imāms and family members of the descendants of Muḥammad, Ja'far Bukhārī migrated to Bukhara in Uzbekistan[citation needed]. After a few generations, one of his descendants called 'Alī, known as Dāniyāl, the grandfather of Nizāmuddīn Auliyā', migrated to the city of Badāyūn in Uttar Pradesh, India.
Ancestral lineage[edit]
Muḥammad
'Alī bin Abī Ṭālib
Husayn bin 'Alī
'Alī bin al-Husayn Zayn-ul'Ābidīn
Muḥammad al-Bāqir
Ja'far al-Ṣādiq
Mūsā al-Kāḍhim
'Alī al-Riḍā
Muḥammad al-Taqī
'Alī al-Naqī
Ja'far Bukhārī
'Alī Aṣghar Bukhārī
Abī 'Abdullāh Bukhārī
Aḥmad Bukhārī
'Alī Bukhārī
Husayn Bukhārī
'Abdullāh Bukhārī
'Alī, known as Dāniyāl
Aḥmad Badāyūnī
Nizāmuddīn Auliyā'


Spiritual history[edit]


Mughal princess Jahan Ara's tomb (left), Nizamuddin Auliya's tomb (right) and Jama'at Khana Masjid (background), at Nizamuddin Dargah complex, in Nizamuddin West, Delhi
He was merely sixteen or seventeen years old when he first heard the name of Farīduddīn Ganjshakar, and feelings of love and respect arose in his heart right then. He narrates to his disciples that he never felt the same after hearing or even meeting any other Sufi. The love kept increasing like a burning fire. If his classmates would like to have some work out of him they used to invoke the name of Bābā Farīd, and he never refused anything asked in his name. He didn't feel the same for anyone else in his entire lifetime. He became his disciple after completing his studies at the age of 20. He visited him thrice in his lifetime.
Spiritual lineage[edit]
Islamic Prophet Muḥammad
'Alī bin Abī Ṭālib
al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī
'Abdul Wāḥid Bin Zaid Abul Faḍl
Fuḍail Bin 'Iyyādh Bin Mas'ūd Bin Bishr al-Tamīmī
Ibrāhīm bin Adham
Hudhaifah al-Mar'ashī
Abu Hubairah Basri
Mumshad 'Uluw al-Dinawarī
Start of the Chishti Order:
Abū Isḥāq al-Shāmī
Abū Aḥmad Abdāl
Abū Muḥammad bin Abī Aḥmad
Abū Yūsuf bin Sāmān
Maudūd Chishtī
Sharīf Zandānī
Usmān al-Hārūnī
Mu'īnuddīn Chishtī
Quṭbuddīn Bakhtiyār Kākī
Farīduddīn Mas'ūd
Nizāmuddīn Auliyā'
Students[edit]

He had more than 600 khalifas (a khalifa is a disciple who is given the authority to take his own disciples and thus propagate the spiritual lineage) who continued his lineage all over the world. Some of his most famous disciples are:
Nasiruddin Chiragh Dehlavi[edit]
He was the spiritual successor of Nizamuddin Auliya. He is considered fifth amongst the big five of the Chisti order in India (the others being Moinuddin Chishti, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, Fariduddin Ganjshakar, Nizamuddin Auliya). His shrine is in Chirag Dilli, New Delhi, India.
Amīr Khusro[edit]
He was the most loved disciple of his master. He was so close to his master that once Nizāmuddīn Auliyā' said, "If sharī'ah allows me I would like him to be buried with me in the same grave."[citation needed] He also said that whoever comes to visit his grave must visit the grave of Amīr Khusro first and then his. He died within a few months of his master's death. He was buried at the feet of his master. His shrine is in Nizāmuddīn Dargāh, New Delhi.
Akhi Siraj Aainae Hind[edit]
He was given the title of Āainae-Hind (Mirror of India) by Nizāmuddīn Auliyā' and lived with him for a long time. He was amongst the earliest disciples of Nizāmuddīn Auliyā', who sent him to Bengal. His shrine is in Gaur, West Bengal.
Burhanuddin Gharib[edit]
He is also amongst the earliest disciples of Nizamuddin Auliya and lived with the master until his last breath. After the death of Nizamuddin Auliya, he went to the Deccan, and the place where he lived became famous thereby. His shrine is in Khuldabad in Maharashtra.
Jalaluddin Bhandari[edit]
He is also amongst the earliest disciples of Nizamuddin Auliya. He ran the Langar khana of Nizamuddin Auliya. After the death of Nizamuddin Auliya, he went to the Deccan with Burhanuddin Gharib, and became famous by the name of Bhandari. His shrine is in Fatehabad in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra.
Syed Mahmood Kashkinakar[edit]
He holds a very special position in Islamic mysticism. He is believed to be alive in the invisible world even after his death in the visible world. There are miracles in the literature of the Chisti order which are attributed to this.
Ajan Fakir[edit]
Ansari
Quotations[edit]

The wilayat (domain) of gnosis and faith can suffer decay. The wilayat of compassion can not.
The love of Auliya (saints) is stronger than their reason.
The lock of spiritual perfection has very many keys. All those keys are to be possessed. If one does not open it, others can.
He who has knowledge, reason, and love, is deserving to become a caliph of the Sufi sheikhs.
So long as is possible, give relief to your heart, because the heart of a good Muslim is the palace of the manifestations of Allah.
Descendants[edit]

Nizamuddin Auliya did not marry. However he had one brother named Jamaluddin. He told him, "your descendants will be my descendants". Jamaluddin had one son named Ibrahim. He was nurtured by Nizamuddin Auliya after Jamaluddin's death. Nizamuddin Auliya sent his nephew to Bengal in Eastern India along with one of his disciples (khalifa) Akhi Siraj Aainae Hind, known as Aaina-e-Hind. Alaul Haq Pandavi (the master (Pir) of Ashraf Jahangir Semnani) became his disciple and khalifa. Ala-ul-Haq Pandwi married his sister-in-law to Ibrahim. They had one son, Fariduddin Tavaela Bukhsh, who became a well known Chisti Sufi of Bihar. He was married to the daughter of Alaul Haq Pandavi. He became the khalifa of Hazrat Noor Qutb-e-Aalam Padwi (the eldest son and spiritual successor of Alaul Haq Pandavi). His shrine is in Chandpura, Bihar Sharif, Bihar. Many of his descendants are well known Sufis, namely Moinuddin Sani, Naseeruddin Sani, Sultan Chisti Nizami, Bahauddin Chisti Nizami, Deewan Syed Shah Abdul Wahab (his shrine is in Choti Takiya, Biharsharif), Sultan Sani, Amjad Hussain Chisti Nizami, among others. He spread Chisti Nizami order all over Northern India. Ijaza of his Silsila (order) is present in all the existing khanqahs of Bihar. His descendants still reside in Bihar Sharif and can be found in many parts of the world. However, those still looking after Nizamuddin Auliya's shrine in Delhi are the descendants of his sister's son.
The Chisti Nizami order[edit]

Main article: Chishti Order
Nizamuddin Auliya was the founder of the Chisti Nizami order. He had hundreds of disciples (khalifa) who had Ijaza (khilafat) from him to spread the order. Many of the Sufis of the Chisti Nizami order are recognised as great Sufis; the following is a list of notable Sufis of the Chisti Nizami order, which includes his descendants as well as his disciples:
Muhammad Hussaini Gisudaraz Bandanawaz, Gulbarga (near Hyderabad), Karnataka; Alaul Haq Pandavi & Noor Qutb-e-Alam Pandwi, Pandua, West Bengal; Ashraf Jahangir Semnani, Kichaucha, Uttar Pradesh; Faqruddin Faqr Dehlvi, Mehrauli, New Delhi; Shah Niyaz Ahmad Barelvi, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh; Shafruddin Ali Ahmed & Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Chirag Dilli, New Delhi; Zainuddin Shirazi, Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh; Muhiuddin Yousuf Yahya Madani Chishti, Medina; Kaleemullah Dehlvi Chishti, Delhi; Nizamuddin Aurangabadi; Nizamuddin Hussain, and Meerza Agha Mohammad; Muhammad Sulman Taunswi, Pakistan, Mohammad Meera Hussaini, Hesamuddin Mankpuri.
Branches[edit]
Nizamuddin Auliya was an unparalleled Sufi of his time amongst all the existing Sufi orders of that time. Many of his contemporaries were doubtless very powerful spiritual leaders, but he was the most famous of all. In his career of approximately 70 years as a Sufi he saw the reign of seven rulers of the Delhi sultanate. The kings were very loyal to him and respectful of him. When he first arrived as the Qutb of Delhi he settled down at a lonely place on the outskirts of Delhi, Ghyaspur. But he became so famous that Ghyaspur became the main hub of Delhi and so densely populated that he wanted to leave that place but did not. He was buried in the campus of his khanqah. Ghyaspur is now a central locality of New Delhi, and is known after his name Nizamuddin. The area is so vast that it is divided into four parts: Nizamuddin Dargah (where his shrine is situated), Nizamuddin East, Nizamuddin West and Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station.
The Chisti order branched out with Nizamuddin Auliya to form the Chisti Nizami order. A parallel branch which started with Alauddin Sabir Kaliyari, another disciple of Baba Farid, was the Chisti Sabiri branch. People started adding Nizami gracefully after their name. He spiritually made many great Sufis amongst his students, descendants and the Sufis of the Nizami order.
The branches of the Chisti Nizami order are as follows:
Naseeria[edit]
His disciple Nasiruddin Muhammad Chirag-e-Dehli started the Nizamia Naseeria branch.
Hussainia[edit]
The Hussainia branch is named for Muhammad Hussaini Gisudaraz Bandanawaz. He was the most famous and loved disciple of Nasiruddin Muhammad Chirag-e-Dehli. The khanqah he established in Gulbarga, Karnataka is still in existence.
Niyazia[edit]
Shah Niyaz Ahmad Barelvi, in the 19th century started the Niyazia branch.
Serajia[edit]
The Nizamia Serajia branch was started by Serajuddin Aqi Seraj. This branch is also known as Chistia Serajia.
Ashrafia[edit]
The Chistia Ashrafia branch was started by Ashraf Jahangir Semnani. He established a khanqah, still in existence at Kichaucha sharif, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Faridia[edit]
The Chistia Serajia Faridia order was started by Fariduddin Tavaelabukhsh, a descendant of Nizamuddin Auliya and a Sufi of the Serajia branch of the Chisti order. This branch is also known as Nizamia Serajia Faridia.
King's disrespect leads to his doom[edit]

One of the kings of the Delhi sultanate during Nizamuddin Auliya lifetime was Qutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah, the last ruler of the Khilji dynasty. Legend has it that disrespect of Nizamuddin Auliya caused the king's death. Qutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah used to assemble all the leading figures and famous personalities of Delhi in his court every weekend. Once a courtier complained to him that Nizamuudin Auliya never came to the court. The King declared, "Order him in my name to come to my weekend gathering, else he will be hanged." When Nizamuddin Auliya's disciple, Amir Khusrau, related this to his master, he ignored the message, and did not even answer. As the weekend approached, his disciples became concerned for his life. On the day before the weekend, Nizamuddin Auliya went to the grave of his mother and came back looking unperturbed, telling his disciples to go home and sleep as usual. The next morning, everyone was very tense and worried, but Nizamuddin Auliya remained unperturbed. Shortly, news came that there had been a rebellion in the palace, and the king had been brutally killed.
Titles[edit]

Mehboob-e-Ilahi (Beloved of God)
Sultan-ul-Mashaiq
Dastageer-e-Do Jahan (Holder of Two Worlds)
Jag Ujyare (Illuminator of the World)
Qutb-e-Dehli (Tower of Dehli)
Urs[edit]

The Urs (death anniversary) of Nizamuddin Auliya is celebrated at the Nizamuddin Dargah on the 17th of Rabi II (Rabi-ul-Aaqir), and that of Amir Khusro on the 18th of Shawwal.

What Really Pains Me As A Shia ...

I was away from congregational religion for several years , and this was because I was a alcoholic , and in very troubled state of mind .. and had God my family not saved me in time I was a whisker away from the lunatic asylum.. hope was lost..and all this was about 17 years back..I decided to give up drinking..the doctor suggested I take up something to divert my mind from booze ,I took up photography, as I am not a sportsperson , I was a voracious reader but diabetes made it difficult ,photography those days was about money, I bought Nikon camera F50 and later F100 ..I shot color , mostly slides Velvia 50 that cost a bomb I shot Ilford Delta 100 ASA..

I had been away from my religious path for many years so I decided to shoot Moharam for myself to go back to my roots , go back to all the Shia moments I had lost in life because of my attachment to the bottle.. I was lucky I met Habib Nasser and his brother Baqar and their group, and showed me the various segments of Moharam ..

My family is strict Shia I was the black sheep., Nasser of Lucy Hotel helped me climb the gates of Amin Imambada and with a single camera , I shot Ashura at Amin , shooting color slide and BW ..35 to 40 rolls at one go,,, the processing and the printing cost me a bomb , but I used these prints to showcase at International and National photography Salons ,, with my two main Gurus late Prof BW Jatkar and eminent Guru Mr KG Maheshwari.. I posted my pictures of Moharam as photo journalism tried to show the world the tryst of pain of the persecuted Shia race .. blood sweat and tears ..but I respected shot my neighbors my friends religion too as passionately as my own..

The amount of money I spent processing at Color Art , Colorama Mazda ,Mitter Bedi ,Huzefer Rassiwala , Mahindar Patil ,Fuji Films Tardeo, Vishal Bhende .. is something I dont want to think of but yes the F100 that I bought for Rs 69000 with battery pack, and a 50mm lens 1.4 I sold to Piramal Art Gallery for their exhibit section for Rs 4000 ..and my wife always told me one thing what do you get out of photography, I never made a single cent I could not think of selling my pictures even though I got awards etc I considered them amateurish stuff .. but I had my main profession tailoring that kept the fires burning at home ,, I never had any other source of income no sugar daddy..

And today my wife wants me to destroy all my slides negatives , as she terms them useless , she pulls them out over 1000 or more and the prints and than she says Kya QAbar Main Lekar Jaoge .. I manage to cool her down and back they go under a bed bug infested bed.

So in short I took up photography to heal my wounds , I have in all these years never touched a drop of booze ..because blogging became booze , if you have done some Nasha you will know what I am talking about.. My Moharam documentary was my catharsis , my path, online I used Hindu terminology Tandav etc for my friends who could not understand why I cut myself .. I am not a preacher but I tried to convey my pain and pain of other matamdars through pictures , and the pain was not our wounds but the wounds perpetrated on the Holy Family at Karbala ..Our Blood was our protest ,, and you have to have some poetic sensitivity to understand all this if you are uneducated crass and bigot even if you are a Shia you will not understand this anguish.. my grand children understand it and are ready to cut their heads dont ask me why.. I have not brainwashed them.. they are more intelligent me ,,

My blog sites my Shia pictures have been hacked several times at Wordpress and at Buzznet , so I housed everything at Flickr since 2007 ..in sets collections 55000 images on Shiasm , 50000 images on Hinduism.. I dont have to give any disclaimer about my character , or my beliefs to people who have never fed me or my family , we belong to no Anjuman we are self made people we struggled to reach where we are today with humility and gratitude of God and Ahle Bayt.

Now what hurts me most people accuse me and my friend of selling Shia pictures , I wont to first ask you give me the name of the Agency that will buy all my Shia images,, pay me by cheque I will give the entire amount to charity...I dont want a single cent forget what I spent on my camera equipment time etc,..The money I give to charity wont be just the Shias but also those affected by riots and famine and thunderstorms I cant be a bigot when I give charity that does not belong to me and I would leave this worthy cause in the hands of people who are in this field as holistic healers of society..

I shot the Maha Kumbh I have shot the bomb blasts I have shot Shree Balasahebs Funeral , but I am shocked when some idiot says we make money selling pictures .. I have yet to get my wifes jewelry from the pawn shop for mistakes I made in some of my business transactions I have yet to pay back friends who helped me financially ,,

And maybe I will completely stop shooting pictures Photography showed me a world but it does not govern my life or my Faith .. So now you know why I dont wont ever shoot Moharam in Mumbai ,, I became a Malang chose a path of peace .. and I will continue teaching my grand children to see this warped world through the lens of a camera that made me a beggar poet and more..

I live on my terms if you are my Rehbar than dictate terms to me or otherwise shut you toothless trap..

Trust is the Essence Of Street Photography

the photographer salim of juma masjid wanted to see my kama wounds ,,

You Thought I Was Joking ,,,

Shoot This Place Every Day ,,, You Will Become A Good Street Photographer

dili juma masjid .. area like mumbai fish market

it is a comedy of errors when a mumbai street photographer shoots delhi

only the dog knows who is coming next on the big screen at delhi...

Yeh Toh Janam Se Lachar Hai - Jos Iska Pet Bhare Wohi Iski Sarkar Hai

The Lady Is Uneducated Unable To Read The Lofty Words Above ..

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