Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Leila Ahmed, Women and Gender in 

Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate (New Haven, 

Conn.: Yale University Press, 1992); Denise A. Spell-

berg,  Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past: The Legacy 

of Aisha bint Abi Bakr (New York: Columbia University 

Press, 1994).

Ajmer

Ajmer is a major Muslim pilgrimage center located 

in central Rajasthan in the northwest of i

ndia

. It 

has been an urban settlement since at least the 

11th century and is located in a region of con-

siderable religious significance to Hindus, Jains, 

and Muslims. After Muslim armies of the Ghurid 

dynasty (1149–1206) conquered the Hindu Chau-

han dynasty in 1193, Ajmer alternated between 

Muslim and Hindu rulers until British annexation 

in 1818.

Ajmer is most famous for being home to the 

shrine (dargah) of Khawaja Muin al-Din (or Mui-

nuddin) Chishti (1135–1229), often called the 

Prophet of India (nabi ul-Hind). Muin al-Din, also 

known as Gharib Nawaz (the helper of the poor), 

is undoubtedly the most important and popular of 

India’s many Sufi saints. The Sufi order deriving 

from him is known as the Chishtiyya, the largest 

in South Asia, with branches in Southeast Asia, 

Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The Chishtiyya 

are known for their advocacy of poverty, avoid-

ance of political power, and meditative practices 

involving the audition of 

mUsic

 (samaa) and 

devotional songs known as 

qawwali

. Pilgrimage to 

Ajmer is claimed by some to be a substitute for the 

haJJ

 if one is unable to afford the expense of travel 

to m

ecca

. All of the Mughal emperors supported 

the tomb, sponsoring buildings and two giant 

vessels for the preparation of charitable food offer-

ings to the saint. The tomb of Muin al-Din Chishti 

remains one of the most important pilgrimage 

sites in India, drawing Sikhs, Christians, and Hin-

dus as well as Muslims from all over the region, 

the country, and the world. Since 1955, the shrine 

has had the distinction of being the only major 

religious site in India with its own act of parlia-

ment specifying its management system. The 

Dargah Khwaja Saheb Act stipulates an adminis-

trator (nizam) along with an 11-member oversight 

board. These officials work with varying degrees 

of amity with the traditional managers (khudam), 

descendants of the Khwaja’s close followers who 

perform the ritual care of the tomb itself and the 

council that oversees the qawwali. Ajmer is also 

home to a famous mosque said to have been built 

by Shams al-Din Iltutmish (r. 1211–36) from the 

ruins of a temple known as the Two and a Half 

Day Mosque, or Dhai Din ki Masjid. There are 

several forts in the area, one predating the Muslim 

conquest and several built afterward. Among the 

later mosques is one built by the Mughal emperor 

a

kbar

 (r. 1556–1605), who is said to have twice 

performed the pilgrimage to Ajmer on foot from 

his capital at Fatehpur Sikri near Agra.

See also d

elhi

 s

Ultanate

; c

hishti

 s

UFi

 o

rder

; 

m

Ughal

 

dynasty

; s

UFism

; 

ziyara

.

Anna Bigelow

K  26