Visit to HAZRAT NIZAMUDDIN

DARGAH

Shubham Kumar (2012EE50558)

The well-known dargah is located in Western Delhi, and is of one of the most

popular Sufi saints of 14th century, Nizamuddin Auliya. This holy place is visited

by thousands of Muslims every week. But this sufi saint shrine welcomes people

irrespective of their religion from very distant places. I also encountered people

from Saudi Arabia who were at the dargah for the first time. They were

recommended by their friends who lived in Delhi. We can see many Hindu, Sikh

visitors in the campus of the shrine. All these people visit the dargah with their

exclusive ailments or problems and their beliefs in common. The entrance of

dargah is occupied by the shopkeepers, selling Roses, incense sticks, large piece

of cloths, white colour sweets, red/orange threads etc. The culture is to enter the

dargah without footwear’s. So, the shopkeepers are a bit violent by the way they

call their customers. All they want is that, a customer keeps his footwear’s in their

defined area and buy the contents requires for worshipping the great Sufi saint.

On entering from the back entrance we can see a pond which is presently locked.

Earlier it was used by the afflicted peoples to take a dip and it was believed that

their affliction would vanish. The dargah is fully equipped with resources used

for washing hands, feet and face (an activity to clean self). However, females are

not allowed to enter inside the dargah, they can enter the compound of dargah.

The reason being that Sufi Saint Nizamuddin Auliya was unmarried and his

teacher had told him to be away from female folks. The tombs of poet Amir

Khusro and Mughal princess Jehan Ara Begum are also located within the

Nizamuddin dargah complex and Inayat Khan’s tomb is also present. Inayat Khan

was the founder of the Sufi order in the west and a teacher of Universal Sufism.

The point to be noted here is that all the legendries people present in the dargah

were able to worship or reach to Great Allah with the means of music or poetry.

All these tombs have their own maintenance committees who look after the area

and request people to provide their names, region and reason. Such that a proper

history or report is made for future convenience. Thursday evenings are the

busiest days of dargah because there is a special performance of Qawwali in the

name of Great Allah and Great Sufi Saint Nizamuddin Auliya. Throughout the

complex people are busy visiting tombs, Maulvis, Imams. Such that anyone can

attend their complication and administer them the healing method. Such as the

affliction due to a djinn. People are very busy praying, enjoying the music,

helping others etc. It is the faith and hope of the visitors (guest) of dargah that on

their return everything will get back to normal. The orange/red threads are used

to pray in a different manner. They are used to tie a knot through the holes present

in the boundary walls, and by bowing or touching their head a worshipper asks

something from the saint (mannat). And during the course of time if it happens

for real then the asker would come and free one of the knots. This sounds so real

and beautiful in its own meaning. The experience was awesome to know these

very kind details and feel them.