Shrine of Mu'in al-Din Chishti

[1] The shrine is significant and it is one of the most popular sites of religious visitation for Sunni Muslims in the Indian subcontinent that can attract up to 20,000 pilgrims per day, swelling to hundred of thousands on Chishti's urs.

Moinuddin moved from Delhi to Ajmer shortly thereafter, at which point he became increasingly influenced by the writings of the famous Sunni Hanbali scholar and mystic ʿAbdallāh Anṣārī (d. 1088), whose famous work on the lives of the early Islamic saints, the Ṭabāqāt al-ṣūfiyya, may have played a role in shaping Moinuddin's worldview.

It was during his time in Ajmer that Moinuiddin acquired the reputation of being a charismatic and compassionate spiritual preacher and teacher; and biographical accounts of his life written after his death report that he received the gifts of many "spiritual marvels (karāmāt), such as miraculous travel, clairvoyance, and visions of angels" in these years of his life.

The tomb (dargāh) of Muʿīn al-Dīn became a deeply venerated site in the century following the preacher's death in March 1236.

Honoured by members of all social classes, the tomb was treated with great respect by the era's most important Sunni rulers.

[9] In the present day, the tomb of Moinuddin Chishti continues to be one of the most popular sites of religious visitation for Sunni Muslims in the Indian subcontinent, with over "hundreds of thousands of people from all over the Indian sub-continent assembling there on the occasion of [the saint's] ʿurs or death anniversary."

In 2019, the Hindustan Zinc Limited decided to renovate the complex under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, including many plans specifically targeted at sanitation and hygiene.

It is an example of Indo-Islamic architecture and the dome features a lotus and a crown of gold, donated by Rampur's Nawab Haider Ali Khan.

[12] Some of these include Chishti's daughter Bibi Hafiza Jamal and Nizam Sikka, who was a water-carrier who saved Humayun's life.

The Arhat-i-Noor is an enclosure restricted to women that is located on the southern side and houses the tombs of Chishti's daughter and granddaughter.

People undergo the Islamic ritual purification of wudu, in which pilgrims wash their face, hands and feet prior to offering namaz.

It has been the tradition to source the incense, sandalwood paste and ittar used in the dargah from a Brahmin family, right from the times of Chishti.

[21] The death anniversary of Moinuddin Chishti, the urs, is not mourned and is celebrated[clarification needed] since it is the very day the disciple is reunited with his maker (Allah).

[15] Members of Bhilwara's Gori family march through the city towards the Nizam gate and hoist the flag on the Buland Darwaza, marking the beginning of the festival.

[22] Every night a mehfil-i-sama takes place at the Mahfil Khana of the complex, in which women are allowed to participate (which is not common in a dargah).

[26] The 1992 Ajmer scandal was a series of gangrapes and blackmailing where reportedly 250 school and college going girls aged between 11 and 20 years were the vicitms of this monstrous crime.

The perpetrators were a group of men led by Farooq and Nafis Chishty, extended members of the Khadim family that oversees the caretaking of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah.

On 11 October 2007, an explosion occurred in Dargah Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti's courtyard in Ajmer in Rajasthan.

[30][31] Special Judge Dinesh Gupta's nearly 500-page judgment was based on testimonies of 149 witnesses and 451 document submitted to his court.

[30][31] On 22 March 2017, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Court, sentenced two murderers named Bhavesh Patel and Davendra Gupta to life imprisonment, who were convicted along with Sunil Joshi, all of them ex-pracharaks of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

[30][31][32] On 5 July 2022, Salman Chishti, a person who works at the Dargah, was arrested after he allegedly called for the beheading of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her remarks against Muhammad.

The petition was based on the book Ajmer: Historical and Descriptive, by Har Bilas Sarda which narrates the tradition says that inside the cellar , priest prayer ( Puja) of Mahadeva in a temple.

[34][35][36] The 1973 Indian film Mere Gharib Nawaz, directed by G. Ishwar, centres around a family who overcomes adversities through their piety at the shrine of Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer.

[37] Other Indian films revolving around the dargah and the saint include Sultan E Hind (1973) by K. Sharif, Mere Data Garib Nawaz (1994) by M Gulzar Sultani.

Akbar visiting the tomb of Khwajah Mu'in ad-Din Chishti at Ajmer - 16th century painting by Basawan
Head priest of the shrine, Dewan Syed Zainul Abedin Chisti Ajmeri
The street approaching the dargah
Langar at the shrine