Evidently this was a valid point.The work of reform, which was largely
a matter of internal discipline, could be performed only gradually. It would
have been mere wishful thinking to expect people to become perfect in
the span of a single day. Even the Qur’an endorsed this unhurried, patient
way of doing things. For instance, drinking was banned in three stages. In
any case, man being a thinking animal, could adopt something wholeheartedly
only when his mind was satisfied that the path he was about to tread was the
true one. Thus the rite of initiation into any order was not the end of the
story. It was only the beginning. It was a vow to recondition the mind, and a
resolve to sincerely follow the path shown by the mentor.
The Khalifas of Shaykh Nizamuddin
Shaykh Nizamuddin Auliya died in April 1325 but, till December 1324,
he had appointed only three or four
khalifas
. In that month he decided to
appoint a few more and a list was drawn up in consultation with senior
disciples.A model
khilafat nama
was drafted by Maulana Fakhruddin Zarradi,
copies were made by Saiyid Husain, and signed by the copyist and Shaykh
Nizamuddin Auliya. These khilafat namas are dated 20 Zul hijja 724 AH (8
December 1324) but a controversy developed over their authenticity, as some
of the Chishti Sufis alleged that the Shaykh did not sign them in a state of full
consciousness.
At the time of Nizamuddin’s death, the Chishti community in Delhi
was involved in yet another crisis. In that year Muhammad bin Tughlaq
ascended the throne of the Delhi Sultanate. He was filled with great
ambitions and had plans for territorial expansion of the empire both to the
west of the Indus and to the south in the Deccan.To facilitate the subjugation
of the Deccan, he established a new capital, Daulatabad, which he planned
Th e Ch i s h t i Or d e r 92
