mutawaqil
. To be firm in the Way depends on two things: to respect the
services of Allah and to pay homage to Allah.”
1
Muinuddin did not leave any writing of his own, but his teachings and
traditions are best preserved in
Surus us Sudur
, the
Malfuzaat
(sayings and
discourses) of his main disciple and
khalifah
Shaikh Hamidudin Nagauri, as
recorded by his grandson.According to Khwaja Muinuddin, one who wants
to pursue theWay must fulfill the following conditions: one should not earn
money; one should not borrow money; one should not, if one has eaten
nothing, even for seven days, reveal this to anyone or seek help from anyone;
if one receives plenty of food, money, grain or clothing, one should not
keep anything for the following day; one should not curse anyone and if
anyone is hurt by an enemy, one should pray to God to guide the enemy
towards the right path; if one performs a virtuous deed, one should consider
that the source of the virtue is either one’s
pir
’s kindness, the intercession
of the Prophet Muhammad on one’s behalf, or divine mercy; if one performs
an evil deed one should consider one’s evil self responsible for the action,
and try to protect oneself from such deeds; fearing God, one should be
careful to avoid actions that might involve one again in evil; having fulfilled
all the above conditions, one should regularly fast during the day and spend
the night in prayer; one should remain quiet, and speak only when it is
imperative to do so. The
shariah
makes it unlawful both to talk incessantly
and keep totally silent. One should utter only such words as those that
please God.
2
1
Siyar al Arifin, p.43, quoted from Currie, P.M., The Shrine and Cult of Mu’in al din Chishti of
Ajmer, Delhi, 1992, p. 27. The relevant portions of Siyar al Arifin are quoted in this book in
extenso. See also
Surus us Sudur, pp. 46-47, which is one of the most reliable sources on the life of Muinuddin
Chishti. being a record of the conversations and sayings of Hamiduddin Nagauri, a
khalifah
of
Muinuddin. The work is extant as an MS in the Habibganj collection, Aligarh Muslim University
2
Surur us Sudus, pp.51-52, quoted from Rizvi, S.A.A., A History of Sufism in India, 1978, pp.
123-124
Th e Ch i s h t i Or d e r 68
