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ARRIVAL IN
INDIA
It was in the year of grace, 587 A.H. or 1191 A.D. that Hazrat Khwaja
Moinuddin Chishty(R.A) entered India and proceeded to Delhi via
Fort Shaadman, Multan, Lahore and Samana (a town of the old Patiala
State). At Lahore, Khwaja Sahab stayed for 40 days at the shrine
of Hazrat Data Ganj Baksh, a great saint who had come to India before
Khwaja Saheb and enjoyed considerable respect and popularity in
the Punjab.
Warning of Raja Prithviraj's mother:
It must be recalled here that the learned mother of Raja prithviraj
chauhan, who ruled Ajmer and Delhi at that time, had warned her
son 12 years ago by her astrological knowledge that a "Saint"
would enter his kingdom from the North one day and destroy it if
he would not be wise enough to respect him and compromise with him.
The Raja had, therefore, deputed intelligent spies all over the
North-western frontier to watch the 'expected' saint with a view
to foil his entry and finish him before he could do any mischief-
When Khwaja Saheb reached Samana (a town of the old Patiala State)
the spies were shrewd enough to recognise him and wanted to harm
him by intrigue. They invited him to stay with them as their guest
and accept their hospitality. But a 'Basharat' from the Holy Prophet
warned him not to trust them but to continue his journey onward
to Ajmer.
Entry in
Delhi:
A great political event coincided with the journey of Khwaja sahab
from Lahore to Delhi. On the decline of Sultan Mahmud's reign in
Ghazni, Sultan Ghiyasuddin Ghauri and his brother Shahabuddin Ghauri
had assumed power and captured Lahore from the last Ghazni governor
Khusro Shah. Before returning to his capital Shahabuddin Ghauri
was, however challenged (after he had captured Bhatinda) by, and
suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Raja Prithviraj Chauhan
of Ajmer in the first battle of Trawri or Tarain (40 Kos from Delhi)
in 587 A.H. or 1191 A.D. He escaped miraculously with his wounds
by the help of a faithful Khilji slave who carried him safe on his
horseback from the battle field.
The Khwaja
Saheb on his journey to Delhi met some Khilji and Pathan sepoys
- remnants of Shahabuddin Ghauri's defeated army - who warned the
saint not to vesture his entry into Delhi at such a dangerous time.
But, as has always been proved, he was too big for such a warning
and, despite all prevailing prejudice against Muslims in such an
atmosphere, he continued his journey courageously towards Delhi.
It can be easily surmised that the Khwaja Saheb's entry in Delhi,
under such a prejudiced atmosphere, must have taxed his and his
few followers' courage and perseverance to the utmost capacity,
specially when they had nothing to protect themselves except their
staunch faith in Allah. And indeed nothing could disturb or prevent
him and his resolute mission even when his appearance actually infuriated
the inhabitants of Delhi. A citizens' deputation approached Khandey
Rao, the cousin of Raja Prithviraj and governor of Delhi under his
regime, and easily obtained his orders for the immediate expulsion
of Khwaja Saheb and his few companions from Delhi. But whosoever
went to execute the order, he was so irresistibly over-powered and
subdued by the great saint's magnetic personality and affectionate
demeanour that he was, on the contrary, obliged to listen to Khwaja
Saheb's sermon and embrace Islam instead of evicting him from the
city. This was the great saint's fast miracle on the soil of India,
which killed all prejudice against his religion surprisingly and
converted the same into a deep affection and reverence for him.
As this news went round the city, people began to flock round him
in ever increasing numbers and embraced Islam unhesitatingly. When
sufficient seed of Islamic faith was thus scattered in the soil
of Delhi, the Khwaja Saheb deputed Hazrat Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar
Kaki (his beloved Khalifa) to carry on the good work there and himself
proceeded to Ajmer.
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