Sufism in India
Sufism emerged as an influential movement in medieval India. Although Sufism was related to Islam, but it was against the bigotry in Islam. Sufis were very open minded. He strongly criticized the dogmatic definitions and the scholastic interpretation of the Quran and Sunna by the religious leaders. The Sufis emphasized on devotion to God and following his orders to attain salvation. He described Prophet Muhammad as Insan-e-Kamil (perfect human being) and appealed to follow his teachings. He interpreted the Quran on the basis of his personal experiences. Sufis consider human service as their ultimate ideal.
SOME PROMINENT SUFI SHAIKHS OF INDIA
There were a large number of Sufi Sheikhs in medieval India. Some of these famous Sufi Sheikhs are described as follows-
1. Data Ganj Baksh — Data Ganj Baksh (Aseem Daulat Bakshne Wala) was very famous among the early Sufi Sheikhs who lived in India. His real name was Ali bin Usman Hujwiri. He was a resident of Huzvir near Ghazni city of Afghanistan. He came to India in 1050 AD. He made Lahore his residence. He was a great scholar. He composed a famous treatise in Persian called Kashf-ul-Mahjub. He became very dear to the people because of his knowledge, devotion and kindness. He died in Lahore in 1073 AD. His dargah was built here.
2. Sheikh Muinuddin Chishti — Sheikh Muinuddin Chishti was the founder of the Chishti order in India. He came to India from Iraq in 1192 AD. After staying in Lahore and Delhi for some time, he settled permanently in Ajmer. Ajmer was a famous city of Rajputs in those days. You preached one God and human brotherhood here. He continuously served the poor and needy people, due to which he was able to win the hearts of a large number of people. People used to fondly call him Gharib Nawaz. He went to heaven in 1236 AD. His very beautiful mausoleum was built in Ajmer where even today people gather to fulfill their wishes…
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