Khwaja Garibe Nawaz Muinuddin Hasan Chishti was a missionary, thinker, generous and compassionate humanist.
Hazrat Muinuddin Hasan was born in 536 AH, 31 years after the death of Imam Ghazali, in the city of Sanja in the province of Sijistan in Persia.
His father Khwaja Ghiyasuddin Hasan was a wealthy and influential merchant. His mother's name was Mahe Noor. He was related to Hazrat Ali (RA) on both sides through his twelfth male lineage. As a result, he was a Sayyid on both sides of his father's and mother's side. -Emdadia Library, Tazkeratul Auliya: 4/271
Khwaja Sahib's father died when he was fifteen years old and his mother also died a few days later. He inherited an orchard and a windmill; he continued to earn a living through the income.
A deep attraction towards Islam arose in his mind. He distributed all his property among the poor and left the illusion of the world and migrated to Bukhara for the purpose of acquiring knowledge and higher education.
He had infinite compassion for the poor; he always came forward to help them. That is why he was called 'Garibe Nawaz'.
Khwaja Muinuddin left home in search of knowledge and traveled to Bukhara and Samarkand. He first memorized the Holy Quran. Then he became proficient in Tafsir, Hadith, Fiqh and other scriptures.
Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti started his journey from Bukhara to Iraq to acquire spiritual knowledge and search for Murshids. On the way, he met the famous elder of the Chishtia Tariqa, Usman Haruni, at a place called Harun in Nishapur.
He became a disciple of Khwaja Usman Haruni in the Chishtia Tariqa and accepted his discipleship.
He devoted himself to his service for 20 years. Later, Usman Haruni gave him the caliphate or Sufi representation.
After leaving Usman Haruni, he reached Makkah via Damascus and Hejaz to perform Hajj, then went to Medina and visited the shrine of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Then he traveled towards Baghdad and met many scholars, Islamic scholars and personalities on the way; among whom Nazimuddin Kobra is notable.
At that time, the Caliph of Baghdad was Al-Mustanzid Billah. According to many, Muinuddin Chishti met the great saint Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah have mercy on him) and spent 57 days in his presence.
Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti resumed his journey from Baghdad and reached Lahore in Hindustan via Tabriz, Isfahan, Astarabad, Sabzawar, Mihna, Balkh and Ghazni.
After spending some time in Morakaba at the shrine of Shaykh Ali Hujbini in Lahore, he moved to Delhi.
At that time, Ajmer in India was the main center of Hindu religion and spirituality and the main center of empire and Rajput power. On 10 Muharram 561 AH, Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti reached Ajmer from Delhi along with forty dervishes.
At that time, the ruler of Ajmer was Prithviraj or Rai Pathura. Historical accounts show that Sultan Shihabuddin Muhammad Ghuri initially limited his campaign to northwestern India.
But King Prithviraj put a member of his court, who was a disciple of Khwaja Sahib, in trouble and danger. Khwaja Sahib then wrote a letter to Prithviraj seeking redress.
Prithviraj replied to the letter in insulting language, saying, ‘after this man came here, he spoke such great things that no one has ever said or heard.’
Hazrat Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti replied, ‘I captured Prithviraj alive and handed him over to Muhammad Ghuri.’
Thereafter, Muhammad Ghuri attacked Ajmer and defeated Prithviraj.
Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti’s selection of Ajmer for Dawah, Tabligh and Tazkiya was a spiritual victory. Due to his unwavering determination, high morale and courage of faith, the light of Tawhid spread in the land deprived of true religious belief.
As a result of his piety, Lillahiyat, fear of God and sincere sacrifice, the kingdom of Kufr and Shirk became the abode of Islamic knowledge and sciences and Ulama-e-Karam.
Only through the efforts and influence of Khwaja Muinuddin, mosques and pulpits began to appear where the black darkness of Shirk prevailed. Allahu Akbar began to be heard in the sky where the poisonous fumes of idolatry and Shirk were present.
As the number of Muslims in India increases until the Day of Judgment and as the boundaries of the propagation and expansion of Islam continue to expand, the reward of Shaykh-ul-Islam Khwaja Muinuddin Hasan Chishti will continue to reach his soul. -Siyarul Auliya: 47
There is no doubt that the great sages and scholars of the Chishtia Silsila have eternal claims and rights over the Indian subcontinent.
During the lifetime of Hazrat Khaja, the political center of India shifted from Ajmer to Delhi and Ajmer lost its importance.
Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti appointed Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar as his successor in Delhi.
On the other hand, his devoted servant Sultan Shamsuddin Altamash settled in the palace of Delhi and was engaged in the expansion of the empire, strengthening its foundation, and establishing justice.
And Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti spent the rest of his life in Ajmer in the work of spreading Islam, teaching and educating people, and conducting Tazkiya.
He left this world in 627 AH at the age of 90, at a moment when the saplings he had planted in the soil of India were adorned with fruits and flowers.