HAZRAT NIZAMUDDIN AULIYA DARGAH,NEW DELHI.

HAZRAT NIZAMUDDIN AULIYA DARGAH,NEW DELHI. Syed Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya was one of the most famous Sufi saints from the Indian subcontinent region. Also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin, and Mahbub-e-Ilahi (Beloved of God), he was a Sunni Muslim scholar and Sufi saint of the Chishti Order. Like most of the Chishti Sufi saints, Nizamuddin Auliya stressed love as a means of realising God. He believed the love of God implied a love of humanity. He had a major influence on the Muslims of Delhi and the world over. Nizamuddin Auliya was born in 1238 AD in Baduan, Uttar Pradesh to Syed Abdullah bin Ahmad Al Hussaini Badayuni and Bibi Zulekha. His father died when Nizamuddin was just five years old. At the age of 21, Nizamuddin went to Ajodhan (present Pakpattan Sharif in Pakistan) to become a disciple of the Sufi saint Fariduddin Ganjshakar, also known as Baba Farid. Every year during the month of Ramzan he would visit Ajodhan in presence of Baba Farid. On his third visit to Ajodhan, Baba Farid made him his successor. Soon after his visit, Nizamuddin received news that Baba Farid had died. Nizamuddin lived at various places in Delhi, before finally settling down in Ghiyaspur. He built his Khanqah (place of worship and holding Sufi rituals) which was thronged with all kinds of people, rich and poor alike. Some of the famous disciples of Nizamuddin includes - Shaikh Nasiruddin Chirag Delhavi, Amir Khusro, and the royal poet of the Delhi Sultanate. He died on April 3, 1325. His dargah (shrine) 'Hazrat Nizamuddin Aauliya Mehboob E Elahi Dargah' was built in 1562 and is situated in the Nizamuddin West area of Delhi. Nizamuddin Dargah is visited by thousands of pilgrims every week. The Dargah is very famous for its evening qawwali devotional music sessions.