Aarain (lower caste) and Sayyid (upper caste) keep being born here and there, God does not care about caste. He shuns the beautiful and embraces the ugly. If you want garden-bahar (heaven), then become the servant of the Aryans. What does the bully ask? Thank you for the world created by the One above.'
– Bulleshah.
Along with Islam, Sufism also entered India. Sufism is a class or community of Islam and is as ancient as Islam. The Sufi preachers were divided into several classes and sanghas. They had different centres. Like Islam, Sufism also spread rapidly in India. Both Hindus and Muslims were attracted to Sufi saints and were influenced by their teachings.
Original source of Sufism
The original source of Sufism is found in the primitive tendencies of the Shami castes. The cornerstone of Sufism was Rati Bhava, which was initially opposed by the Shami castes. Musa and Muhammad Sahab made the law of moderate enjoyment. Moses supported cosmic love by emphasizing the instinct path. Sufi 'Ishq Majaji' Ko 'Ishq Hakiki' Let's take the first step. The occult science of Islam on Sufism, the non-dualism of Aryans, Vishishtadvaita, Neo-Aflatuni faith and the impression of freedom of thought are evident. Sufism is a functional religion and rule of life.
Meaning of Sufism
Those who considered the worship of Allah to be preferable through dispassionate spiritual practice were called Sufis. Sufism or Sasavwuf is the gift of these saints. It is a complete cultural tradition and its history is as old as Islam. Various opinions are said about the etymology of the word Sufi-
(1.) The word Sufi is derived from the Arabic word Safa which means pure and pure. Thus a Sufi is a person who is pure in thought, word and deed.
(2.) According to some scholars, the word Sufi is derived from the word Sophia. Sophia means knowledge. Therefore Sufis call him who is knowledgeable.
(3.) Its derivation from the word Saf is the opinion of those who believe that Saf means row or first class, so Sufis are said to those holy persons who, being the beloved of Allah, will stand in the first row on the Day of Judgment.
(4.) Suf wool is called in Arabic language. Hence the word Sufi means Suf i.e. a type of Pashmina. This cloak was made of coarse wool and was very cheap. It was considered a symbol of simplicity and poverty. In West Asia, saints (Christians included) who lived a simple and simple life beyond opulence and material opulence used to wear this type of clothing. Islamic saints engrossed in the worship of Allah also adopted it. Because of wearing this cloth, he became a symbol of purity, simplicity and renunciation and came to be called Sufi.
(5.) According to some scholars, Sufism represents the mystical ideas of the Prophet Muhammad. Some mentions are found in relation to this in Quran Sharif and Hadith. Thus Sufism is considered as ancient as Islam.
Chishtia sect and its main Sufi saints
The Chishtia sect is considered to be the most liberal and popular sect among the Sufis. The founder of the Chishti sect, Khwaja Abu-Isaac-Shami Chishti, was a descendant of Hazrat Ali. They were called Chishti because they lived in Chisht city of Khorasan. Chitta and Firozkuh were their centers which did not last long. From there they came to India as Sufi Dervishes.
Ghaus ul-Azam Mahbub Subhani Sheikh Abdul Jilani's shrine is in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. He was a fakir of the Sufi sect. The mystics of this sect did not wear footwear and used to wear thick woolen cloaks instead of clothes. Their number was very less and they used to travel from place to place preaching the worship of Allah.
Prophet Muhammad, the religious leader of the Muslims, used to wear cotton cloaks. Therefore Sufi mystics were considered anti-Islamic because of wearing woolen cloaks. The tradition of wearing a woolen cloak was among Christians. Many Sufis considered themselves to be separate from Islam as propounded by Prophet Muhammad. Christians also tried to attract Sufism to themselves.
That's why they started calling Sufi mystics as Muhanna or disciples of Messiah, but there is a fundamental difference between these two views. The core of the Messiah is dispassion, while the core of Sufism is the abode of love. Christians may not have declared Sufism in their religion, but Sufi mystics made a big and revolutionary change in Christianity. The spread of love in present-day Christianity is the result of the association of Sufism.
Moinuddin Chishti
Moinuddin, a disciple of Ghaus-ul-Azam, was born in Sistan in 1142 AD. In 1186 AD, Moinuddin was elected the successor of his guru. In those days Islam was not propagated in Afghanistan. Therefore, Ghaus-ul-Azam ordered his disciples to go to Afghanistan and propagate Islam. Wherever the Sufi dervishes went, they adopted the culture, language, food, customs and social traditions of the place.
They soon spread all over Afghanistan and from there came to India. Moinuddin was also one of them. In AD 1191, Moinuddin came to Ajmer, located on the last frontier of the Gaur Empire. Instead of preaching in Persian or Arabic, he adopted Brajbhasha and also added Hindu ways of worshiping God. He started the practice of singing Qawwali in Brajbhasha.
According to Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya, the Ajmer king and his servants tried to trouble the Khwaja's stay in Ajmer as bad for himself and the state, but due to the miraculous and supernatural power of the Khwaja, ultimately Prithviraj Chauhan (Rai Pithora) was defeated by Muizuddin. He was defeated and humiliated at the hands of Muhammad.
Teachings of Moinuddin Chishti
According to Moinuddin Chishti, four things are best - first, the dervish who reveals himself to be rich. Second, the hungry, who reveal himself to be satisfied. Third, the sad one who shows himself happy and fourth, the person to whom the enemy is also seen as a friend. According to one legend, once a dervish begged Khwaja to throw light on the qualities of a good mystic.
Khwaja was of the opinion that according to the Shariah, a completely detached person follows the instructions of Allah and does not do what is forbidden by him. The method details nine causal functions for a true dervish. When Khwaja was requested to explain these nine conditions, he ordered his disciple Hamiduddin Nagori to explain them and record them for the knowledge of all. Sheikh Hamiduddin has described the nine conditions necessary for the life of a fakir-
(1.) One should not earn money.
(2.) One should not borrow money from anyone.
(3.) Even after the passage of seven days, even if one has not eaten anything, it should neither be told to anyone nor any help should be taken from anyone.
(4.) If one has sufficient quantity of food, clothes, money or food grains, then it should not be kept even for the second day.
(5.) One should not say bad things. If someone has caused trouble, he (the one who is suffering) should pray to Allah to show the way to his enemy.
(6.) If someone does a good deed, then it should be understood that it is the grace of his pir or it is some divine grace.
7 Evil should be avoided in future. Fearing Allah, he should not repeat the evil deeds.
(8.) After fulfilling these conditions, one should fast regularly during the day and worship Allah at night.
(9.) One should remain silent and should not speak unless necessary. Sharia declares constant speaking and complete silence as inappropriate. Only words that please Allah should be spoken.
According to the mystic ideology of Khwaja, the greatest worship of a person is the help of orphans. Those who wish to worship Allah must have the solemnity of the ocean, the kindness of sunshine and the humility of the earth. The core of Hinduism and philosophy is love. When the Hindus saw the same love in the words of the Sufis, they opened their heart glands and started believing in Moinuddin. Moinuddin was the master of simple heart.
He was a mere lover of beings and a person who wanted the favor of the people. There is no fixed date for the death of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. According to some sources, he died in 1227 AD at the age of 97 and some other sources consider the date of his death to be around 1235-36 AD. Some scholars give the date of his death as 16 March 1236.
Baba Fariduddin
Baba Fariduddin was another famous Sufi saint. Farid was born in the dynasty of Kabul. Farid renounced wealth and luxuries and took detachment. Baba Farid started living by building his hut on a road situated on the banks of river Sutlej which comes from Multan to Delhi. His thoughts were very high. Both Hindus and Muslims were influenced by his teachings. He died in 1265 AD at the age of 92.
Gesu Drawer
The Sufi saint Gesu Daraz was also a noted Sufi. He was famous for his long hair. He was born in Delhi but moved to South India and settled permanently in the Bahmani kingdom. The knowledge of Gesu Draz was very wide. He is said to have authored 175 books. He died in 1422 AD at the age of 101.