Early Life and Intellectual Prowess
The year 2025 marks the 700th death anniversary of arguably the greatest Sufi Saint of Medieval India: Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. Sheikh Nizamuddin’s ancestors migrated from Bukhara (Central Asia) in the 13th century and settled in Badaun (in modern Uttar Pradesh), where he was born in 1248. His father died when Nizamuddin was only five years old, so he was raised by his mother, Zulaikha Bibi, a woman of fervent piety and spirituality. At the age of sixteen, Nizamuddin moved to Delhi with his mother and sister. During the next four years, he studied against heavy odds with some of the leading scholars of the metropolis. With practically no means of livelihood, he often went days with little or no food. According to his own testimony, when the family had to go to bed without food, his mother would say that they were “guests of Allah” that night. His zeal for learning, nevertheless, remained undiminished. In Delhi’s academic circles, he came to be known as bahas (debater) and mahfil shikan (conqueror of assemblies).
Discipleship and Austere Training
In 1268, Nizamuddin traveled to Ajodhan (Pakpattan) and became a disciple of the renowned Chishti saint Baba Farid (d. 1271). Baba Farid subjected Nizamuddin to strenuous and rigorous discipline, designed to eliminate any trace of arrogance he might have harbored from his intellectual attainments. He was instructed to cook food for the inmates of Baba Farid’s khanqah (hospice) and was reprimanded even for minor mistakes. Life in Baba Farid’s khanqah was extremely arduous. A lack of financial resources obliged the saint, his family, and his disciples to struggle for subsistence. More often than not, the inmates of the khanqah had only wild berries to eat. Nizamuddin seldom got enough berries to satisfy his hunger and had to remain content with only one pair of clothes. But the want of material comfort was more than compensated by the extraordinary amount of spiritual felicity and grace that Nizamuddin received from his master.
Ascension to Leadership and Unwavering Principles
On his final visit to Ajodhan during Baba Farid’s lifetime (1271), the saint bestowed Khilafat (spiritual successor with permission to enroll his own disciples in the Chishti brotherhood) upon Nizamuddin. “You will be a tree,” the saint told him, “under whose shadow creatures of God will find repose.” Gradually, all the murids (disciples) and khalifas of Baba Farid, as well as his family members, accepted Sheikh Nizamuddin as their spiritual leader. However, elevation to the headship of the Chishti order in India brought no change in Nizamuddin’s life. In Delhi, his mode of living remained as full of trials and tribulations as before. Futuh (unsolicited gifts) was his only source of livelihood, and since sufficient futuh were not always forthcoming, he and his disciples often had to go without food. Yet, the Sheikh consistently refused any financial assistance offered by the ruling class. He even maintained a distance from the Sultans of Delhi and their courtiers, politely refusing to visit them or allow them to visit his khanqah. Once, Sultan Jalaluddin Khalji (r. 1290-96) requested permission to visit him. “My house has two doors,” the Sheikh wrote to the Sultan, “if you enter from one door, I will go out from the other door.”
A Flow of Blessings and Open Doors
This ordeal continued for no less than twenty-five years. Gradually, his reputation as a man of God spread far and wide, and the doors of futuh opened. His spiritual successor, Sheikh Nasiruddin Chiragh-i Dilli (d. 1356), once told his audience that the futuh flowed into his master’s jamat khana/khanqah in Ghiyaspur, on the outskirts of Delhi, where the Sheikh had later moved, “like a tributary of the river Yamuna.” Visitors flocked to the Jamaat Khana from morning till evening. Every caller brought some gift for the Sheikh, and the Sheikh also gave each visitor something in return. He never allowed stockpiling of futuh in the Jamatkhana store. Every Friday, before setting out for the mosque for prayers, he would ensure that everything at hand was distributed among the needy and the stores were swept clean.
Visitors to the Sheikh’s Jamaat Khana were readily admitted into his presence. From morning till midday, he would meet lay visitors, share their sorrows, and discuss their problems. After his afternoon siesta, he met with murids and khalifas. Discourses on religious, moral, and mystical themes were given at that time. At sunset, the Sheikh broke his fast in the company of callers. He ate only half a loaf of bread with vegetables and bitter gourd, or rice with vegetables. Between evening and night prayers, he met visitors from Delhi and its environs. Before going to bed, the Sheikh chatted for some time with his favorite disciple, Amir Khusrau, on matters of mutual interest. At this hour, children of relatives and servitors were ushered into his presence. When all callers had left, he would bolt the doors of his chamber. Thereafter, there was no one between him and his Creator. No one had access to him until dawn, when a new day began.
The Practice of Sama’ and Its Challenges
Hazrat Nizamuddin was fond of Sama’ (literally audition, but refers to Sufi assemblies where hymns in praise of God and Prophet Muhammad were recited by singers) and frequently held Sama’ gatherings in his Jamat Khana. These assemblies aroused considerable popular interest. We are told that a verse or tune that moved the Sheikh during the Sama’ would become an instant hit among the people. Qawwals would invent new tunes and compose new poems to gain access to the Sheikh’s assemblies. However, he prescribed a demanding procedure for holding Sama’ assemblies. He believed that the singer should be a mature man only. Similarly, what was recited could not be lewd or ludicrous. Among the musical instruments, only the harp, lute, and viol were permitted. Purity of intentions was also required for Sama’. He suggested that ecstasy and emotions have nothing to do with music. What is required is zauq (taste) for Allah and a sense of belonging to Him. He also believed that Sama’ “is also a movement of the heart. If the movement is due to remembering God, it is beneficial, but if the heart is full of corruption, then Sama’ is forbidden.”
The Sheikh observed these conditions strictly and reprimanded his disciples for even slight violations of discipline. Four male qawwals: Hasan Bhedi, Samat, Junaid, and Bahlol, were attached to his Jamaat Khana and recited poems in his Sama’ assemblies. He strove to exercise restraint during the Sama’. He cried silently and seldom uttered a sigh of grief loudly. Sometimes, he would get so carried away by emotions that his handkerchief, three or four yards in length, would become wet with tears.
We get the impression from contemporary sources that a systematic opposition to the Sheikh’s predilection for Sama’, led by the leading jurists of the time, began in Delhi in the early 14th century. A total ban on Sama’ was the main demand of these theologians. They persuaded Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughluq (r. 1320-25) to constitute a council of jurists to investigate the matter. As many as 253 scholars participated in the council’s deliberations. Sheikh Nizamuddin personally argued his case before the council. He quoted Prophetic Traditions in support of his contention that there was no legal binding on the Sama’. In spite of arguments and counter-arguments for and against Sama’ over many days, the council failed to reach a definite conclusion regarding the illegality of the practice. The Sultan, therefore, refused to give any verdict on the issue, and the matter was laid to rest for some time.
Eclecticism and Service to Humanity
Eclecticism was one of the most outstanding traits of Hazrat Nizamuddin’s multifaceted personality. Hindus and Muslims, yogis and qalandars, had free access to his Jamaat Khana. He respected the symbols, customs, and traditions of all religions. He rejected conversion to Islam either by force or by persuasion. Once, Amir Hasan Sijzi, one of his favorite disciples and author of his malfuzat (discourses) Fawaid al-fuad (Morals of the Heart), had an audience with him along with a Hindu friend. He sought the Sheikh’s blessing for converting his friend to Islam. The Sheikh ignored the request and observed that “you can talk to the people as much as you want and no one’s heart will be changed, but if you find the company of a righteous person, then it may be hoped that by the blessing of his company the other will become a Muslim.” He also commended Amir Hasan’s decision to set free a Hindu girl who was sold into slavery during the Turkish campaign against Deogiri in 1318.
Hazrat Nizamuddin believed that the sum and substance of Sufism was service to humanity. At the root of this belief was also his eclecticism. He declared that offering a helping hand to one’s fellow human beings was a greater source of reward than the observance of religious rituals. To bring home this point to his disciples, he narrated an anecdote of a Sufi who had toiled hard to fill the pitchers of many women from a reservoir but later purposely made the call for prayer in a loud voice to wake up a fellow Sufi. When the Sufi woke up, he admonished his friend and said that “waking up a sleeping man by calling for prayer in a loud voice is hardly commendable. True work is to fetch and fill and return the water pitchers of women.”
Passing and Lasting Legacy
On April 3, 1325, the eventful life of Hazrat Nizamuddin came to an end. According to his last wish, he was laid to rest in the wilderness. Later, Sultan Muhammad Tughluq (r. 1325-51) built a magnificent tomb adorned with a huge dome over the Sheikh’s grave. He also built the elegant Jamaat Khana mosque within the shrine complex. His successor, Firuz Tughluq (r. 1351-88), paid regular visits to the shrine and made elaborate arrangements for its proper upkeep. The members of the Mughal family were also great admirers of Sheikh Nizamuddin. We know that the site of Humayun’s tomb was selected primarily due to its proximity to the Sheikh’s shrine. Princess Jahan Ara, the eldest daughter of Emperor Shahjahan, and Emperor Muhammad Shah (r. 1719-48) also lie buried within the shrine complex.
Perhaps not a single day has passed since 1325 when hundreds of his devotees belonging to myriad religious and sectarian affiliations have not thronged to Hazrat Nizamuddin’s shrine to seek his blessings. It goes without saying that Hazrat Nizamuddin is as popular among the masses in death as he was in his life. This is a testament to the enduring legacy and spiritual felicity of one of the greatest Sufi saints of all time.
