Hazrat Qutabuddin Moudud Chishti R.A

The dwellers of heaven are slaves at this door, All worshipers are in a state of prostration here; They regard love of the material world as evil. Salutations to you, Khwaja Maudud Chishti, May the garden of my heart be the envy of heaven.

Khwaja Qutab ad-Din Maudud al-Chishti r.a was the last in an unbroken line of five great Persian Sufis to hail from the blessed village of Chisht, which by this time had become renowned as a major center of tasawwuf in the eastern Islamic world. He was the son and spiritual successor of Khwaja Abu Yusuf Chishti r.a. He was thus raised in an environment of holiness and sanctity, and received his internal and external knowledge from the great master. He was particularly noted for, among other things, the excellent education he afforded his muridin in the fields of both shariah and tariqah.

Khwaja Qutab ad-Din was a hafiz by the age of seven and upon becoming his father's murid , was told," Oh Maudud, adopt the path of faqr." Thereafter he immersed himself in seclusion and meditation for twenty years. He used to complete the Quran twice daily, and engaged himself in dhikr and contemplation. He also began to perform the continuous fast of the Chishtiya.

Khwaja Abu Yusuf sent him to another great Sufi of the time, Shaykh Ahmad Jami, to complete his studies in shariah and tasawwuf. By sixteen, he had completed his advanced Islamic studies and had already written a text book of fiqh (Khulasat ash-Shariah) and a manual of tasawwuf ( Minhaj al-Arifin).

It is reported that the day he was born, he refrained from drinking his mother's milk until iftar. Astonish, he carried this practice of fasting during the day throughout his entire life. When asked why, he replied that he wished to break his fast on the day of Qiyamah with the vision of Allah. His nights used to be spent in deep ibadah and muraqabah (contemplation of Allah)

His father then granted him the khilafat of the chishtiya order. He blessed him and opened his heart to the knowledge of the unseen, teaching him the ism al-azam. He then said. "Oh Qutab ad-Din Maudud! The cloak of the dervishes' is worn by one who walks the path of spiritual striving, one whose heart is free from jealousy, and one who neither becomes happy with the praise nor offended by insults. Always remain steadfast in the remembrance of Allah."

Khwaja Maudud Chishti was the great knower of Allah ( arif/gnosis) who had investigated the secrets of the hidden world. Once, whilst he was lecturing on one of the hidden realms, a man seated in the audience felt some suspicion about the truth of what he was saying. Immediately, Khwaja Maudud went into Muraqbah and both of them disappeared for an hour. When they returned and were asked what happened, the stunned man replied that the great saint, reading the suspicion in his mind, had taken him to that very same hidden world that he had been lecturing about. When asked how he knew so much about the knowledge of the Unseen, he replied simply,"whatever I know or I say is by the permission of Allah".

He was the murshid of Khwaja Abu Ishaq Chishti r.a after whom the Chishtiya Silsila was founded, and it was he who blessed it and prophesied the impact it would wield on the course of Islamic history.

Khwaja Maudud Chishti r.a continued to serve the cause of Islam and the Chishtiya Silislah in this manner, and many thousands became Muslims at his hand. He is reported to have made khulafah to continue his work, whom he dispatched to every corner of the Islamic world. Chief among these was Khwaja Haji Sharif Zandani r.a

When his last time came, a huge man terrifying to behold appeared with a letter for him. Having read this letter, he kissed it and placed it on his eyes, immediately passing away. As the people prepared to read his funeral prayers, they were frightened away by a deafening awful sound, as though the earth was being rent asunder. From their hiding places, they observed thousands of jins and angels appearing to perform their own janazah for him. When the mourners attempted to lift the funeral bier, it rose into the air of its own accord and floated to the grave wherein it was to be buried. Thousands of non-Muslims saw this miraculous event and converted, convinced of the truth of Islam. He passed away in Rajab 527 AH, and up to the present day, many devotees visit his mazar for spiritual blessings.