The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c9.s5.t2.8

c9.s5.t2.8

Shaikh Farid lived in extreme poverty bordering on starvation.⁹⁸ He trained a large number of disciples, established many *khanqahs* and raised the prestige of the Chishti order. The greatest disciple of Shaikh Farid was Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya (1236-1325). He was born at Badaun. In 1258 he settled at Ghayaspur near Delhi where his shrine exists and a railway station is named after him. The Shaikh had a large circle of disciples who hailed from all sections of society, rich and poor, noble and plebian.⁹⁹ In his life of almost a century, Nizamuddin Auliya witnessed the reigns of seven Sultans, but he did not attend the darbar of any one of them. He was popularly known as *Mahbub-i-Ilahi* (Beloved of God). His popularity was due to his saintly virtues and service to humanity. His disciples included Amir Khusrau, Ziyauddin Barani and the renowned Shaikh Nasiruddin Chiragh-i-Delhi whom he appointed as his successor (Khalifa). Professor Mohammad Habib rightly calls Nasiruddin the last great saint of the Chishti *Silsilah* to have enjoyed an all India status.¹⁰⁰ This was the best period in India for Sufism in general and the Chishti *Silsilah* in particular. To this famous line of Sufis belongs Shaikh Salim Chishti, a contemporary of emperor Akbar, for whom the latter built a mausoleum in Fatehpur Sikri.