Meeting With Khawaja Qutubuddin
During this tour, when he visited the famous city of Asfahan, he met Sheikh Mohammed Asfahani. The 14-year old Qutubuddin Bakhtiyear Awashi (born 569 AH) was in search of a Murshid (Master) in those days and was thinking of approaching Sheikh Mohammed in this matter but, in the meantime he came across Hazrat Khawaja Muinuddin who read in him a very promising spiritual career and accepted him as a 'mureed'. Khawaja Qutubuddin accompanied him on his tour in 583 AH and later on was initiated as Khawaja Sahib's Khalifa in 586 AH as the result of the 'Bahsharat' (prophesy in dream) from the Holy Prophet of Islam at the early age of 17. Khawaja Qutubuddin was a born saint in as much as he had learnt half of the Holy Quran by God's grace while he was still in his mother's womb and used to recite it.
Visits To Mecca And Medina
During this tour (583-585 AH), Khawaja Muinuddin visited several other places including Mecca, performed Haj and offered incessant prayers for sometime there. One day he heard a 'Nida' declaring, "O Muinuddin, we are pleased with you; you may ask anything you like." The Khawaja Sahib replied, "O Almighty God, I only pray for the grace of your pardon of Muinuddin's 'Silsila' of mureeds". The 'Nida' answered, "O Muinuddin, you are our beloved devotee, we shall pardon your 'mureeds ' and also others who became so in your 'silsila' upto Qayamat (the Day-of-Reckoning).
Prophetic Direction To Go To Ajmer
Khawaja Muinuddin then went to Medina. There also he remained in devotion for a long time. One night he had a 'Basharat' (prophetic dream) from the Holy Prophet who said, "O Muinuddin you are the promoter of our religion. We give India under your charge where darkness prevails. Go to Ajmer. With your presence, the darkness shall disappear and Islam shall shine. Allah will help you. "Khawaja Muinuddin was much pleased at this 'Basharat' but wondered about the geographical situation of Ajmer. In another spiritual communion with the Holy Prophet, he was however shown a map with the exact position of Ajmer with its surrounding hills and the fort.
Resuming his journey the Khawaja Sahib visited Khirqan and Sheikh Abul Hasan Khirqani and then Astrabad where he met Shiekh Naasiruddin Astrabadi. He then left for Herat where he stayed
at the tomb of Hazrat Abdulla Ansari for some time
Yadgar Mohammad's Conversion
When his reputation attracted large number of people in Herat he moved on to Sabzawar in Afghanistan. The governor of this place, named Yadgar Mohammed, was a very cruel and haughty ruler. He was a Baatani and did not recognise or respect the first 3 Caliphs of Islam, neither had he any regard for Sufi dervishes and holy personalities. He owned a fine garden in the suburbs of the town. Hazrat Khawaja Sahib was tired, so he went into the garden for a little rest and, after having a bath in hauz' (a small reservoir of water), engaged himself in the study of the Holy Quaran.
At this time news of the expected arrival of Yadgar Mohammed perturbed the attendant of Khawaja Sahib. Apprehending insult of trespass at the hands of the haughty governor he approached his master and informed, " Sir, the owner of this garden is coming; I think, we should move out lest he may insult your honour for trespass in his garden." The Khawaja Sahib merely smiled and said, "If you are so afraid, you may go and sit under that tree and watch the scene of Allah's wonder. "Immediately after this, Yadgar's servants appeared on the scene and started sweeping and carpeting of the place for their master's reception. Due to the extraordinary saintly dignity and awe of Khawaja Sahib, they could not however dare to ask him to get out. In the meantime, Yadgar Mohammed arrived at the scene with his retinue.
When he saw Khawaja Muinuddin there, he got wild and vehemently rebuked his servants, "Why did you allow this 'fakir' here and did not turn him out of my garden?" On hearing this, the Khawaja Sahib simply raised his eyes (from the Holy Quran which he was reading) towards Yadgar Mohammed and the next moment the proud and haughty governor shivered like a cane and fell down unconscious on the ground. His servants and retinue were thunder struck by this incident and begged Khawaja Sahib to forgive their master for his impertinent behaviour. Upon this the Khawaja Sahib asked his attendant to get some water from the 'hauz' and sprinkle the same on Yadgar Mohammed's face.
The next moment he regained consciousness and knelt down at the feel of the saint apologetically. The Khawaja Sahib then delivered a brief sermon of advice to him and his people who repented shamefully for their past sins and wrong convictions. He reminded Yadgar Mohammed that it was highly contradictory and shameful to be a believer of the Holy Prophet on the one hand and to disobey and flout his commands and the Islamic principles on the other. Yadgar Mohammed offered prayers in lieu of his 'tauba' (repentance) and pledged strict abstinence for future. He wanted to give all his vast wealth to Khawaja Sahib, but it was contemptuously refused. He was however advised to distribute it among the poor and the needy which he did promptly. He divorced his many wives, freed all his slaves and renouncing the world, became one of the ardent devotees of
Hazrat Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti.
In Ghazni
From Balakh, Khawaja Muinuddin is reported to have gone to Ghazni at a time when none could have dared to enter that city due to the terrible turmoil and disturbances that prevailed there consequent upon the fall of Sultan Mahmud's power and the rise of that of the Ghauris. The city was dangerously ablaze and life was unsafe on account of the general massacre, arson and loot. But Khawaja Muinuddin was too big to be afraid of such dangers. If he was afraid of anything on earth he was afraid of the Almighty God alone. In Ghazni he met Hazrat Shamsul-Aarifin Sheikh Abdul Waahid and stayed with him for some time. In the tone and temper of this horrible time in Ghazni, the Khawaja Sahib applied his healing balm of spiritualism to the wounds of the afflicted which was the supreme need of the hour.
Entry In India
It was in the year of grace, 587 AH or 1191 AD that Khawaja Muinuddin Chishti entered India and proceeded to Delhi via Fort Shaadman, Multan, Lahore and Samana (a town of the old Patiala state). At Lahore he stayed for 40 days at the shrine of Hazrat Data Ganj Baksh, a great saint who had come to India before Khawaja Sahib and enjoyed considerable respect and popularity in the Punjab. While leaving Lahore, Hazrat Khawaja Muinuddin offered the following Persian couplet in appreciation of this great saint:
"Ganj bakhsh-e-faize-e-Alam mazhar-e-nur-e-khuda.
Naaqisan ra pir-e-kamil Kaamilaan raa naakhuda. "
(Ganj Baksh is a radiant ray of Divinity and a bestower of the treasure of divine knowledge for the salvation of mankind. To the unworthy he is a supreme guide or murshid but to the supreme guides or murshids themselves he is a superlative guide like the captain of a ship.)
Warning of Raja Prithviraj's Mother
Mother of Raja Prithviraj Chauhan, who ruled Ajmer and Delhi at that time, had warned her son 12 years ago by her astrological knowledge that a 'fakir' would enter his kingdom from the North one day and destroy it if he would not be wise enough to respect him and compromise with him. The Raja had therefore, deputed intelligent spies all over the North-Western frontier to watch the expected fakir with a view to foil his entry and finish him before he could do any mischief. When Khawaja Sahib reached Samana (a town of the old Patiala state), the spies were shrewd enough to recognise him and wanted to harm him by intrigue. They invited him to stay with them as their guest and accept their hospitality. But a 'Basharat' from the Holy Prophet warned him not to trust them but to continue his journey toward Ajmer.
Courageoues Entry In Delhi
A great political event coincided with the journey of Hazrat Khawaja Sahib from Lahore to Delhi. On the decline of Sultan Mahmud's reign in Ghazni, Sultan Ghiyasuddin Ghauri and his brother Shahabuddin Ghauri had assumed power and captured Lahore from the last Ghazni governor Khusro Shah. Before returning to his capital, Shahabuddin Ghauri was however challenged (after he had captured Bhatinda) by and suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Raja Prithviraj Chauhan of Ajmer in the first battle of Trawri or Tarain (40 miles from Delhi) in 587 A H or 1191 AD. He escaped miraculously with his wounds by the help of a faithful Khilji slave who carried him safe on his horseback from the battlefield.
The Khawaja Sahib on his journey to Delhi met some Khilji and Pathan sepoys-remnants of Shahabuddin Ghauri's defeated army-who warned the saint not to venture his entry into Delhi at such a dangerous time. But it has always been proved, he was too big for such a warning and despite all natural prejudice against Muslims in such atmosphere he continued his journey courageously towards Delhi.
Entity & Conversions In Delhi
It can be easily surmised that the Khawaja Sahib's entry in Delhi, under such a prejudiced atmosphere must have taxed his and his few followers courage and perseverance to the utmost capacity specially faith in Allah. And indeed nothing could disturb or prevent him and his resolute mission even when his appearance actually infuriated the inhabitants of Delhi. A citizen’s deputation approached Khandey Rao, the cousin of Raja Prithviraj and governor of Delhi under his regime and easily obtained these orders for the immediate expulsion of Khawaja Sahib and his few companions from Delhi. But whosoever went to execute the order he was so irresistibly over powered and subdued by the great saint's magnetic personality and affectionate demeanour that he was on the contrary, obliged to listen to Khawaja Sahib's sermon and embrace Islam instead of evicting him from the site. This was the great saint's first miracle on the soil of India which killed all the prejudice against his religion surprisingly and converted the same into a deep affection and reverence for him. As this news went round the city, people began to flock around him in ever-increasing number and embraced Islam unhesitatingly. When sufficient seed of Islamic faith was thus scattered in the soil of Delhi the Khawaja Sahib deputed Khawaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (his beloved Khalifa) to carry on the good work there and himself proceeded to Ajmer.
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