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.
