“Be like a large tree so that Allah’s creation, the vast multitude of human beings, may find rest and solace beneath your shadow.”

Saying this, Khwaja Fariduddin Ganjshakar, better known as Baba Farid, removed the turban that he had received from his own Sufi master, Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki, and placed it on the head of young Nizamuddin who knelt before him to seek his blessings.

“My son, the spark has been lit,” he said. “You have completed your task and pleased Allah. I now give the wilayat (guardianship) of Hindustan to you. Devote yourself single-mindedly to this great mission…” Summoning all his disciples, he announced, “Today I give the taj (crown) of the Sufis to Nizamuddin. May Allah help him always.”

It was the highest honour! The young Shaikh bowed his head in humility and wept.

Every year, Shaikh Nizamuddin would travel from Delhi, where he lived, all the way to Ajodhan (now Pakpattan Sharif in Pakistan) to be with his master during the holy month of Ramadan. Baba Farid had initiated him into the well-known Chishti order of the Sufis, giving him the most intense spiritual training. As soon as he was in Ajodhan, Nizamuddin would serve him with utmost devotion, and spend much of his time in chanting, prayer and meditation. He would then return home to practise all that he had learnt. With time, he had mastered the teachings of the Sufi tradition, and the way to self-purification and spiritual perfection.

Nizamuddin visited his master three times. This would be his last visit, Baba Farid knew. When he reached Delhi, Nizamuddin received the news of his master’s death.

Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi was now the new master of the Chishti Sufi order! People of all faiths thronged to meet him and seek his blessings. He welcomed many new disciples into the order, and sent them far and wide to spread the word of Allah.

After a while, he longed for solitude. He was inspired by a divine voice to move away from the noisy vicinity of the Qutb Minar where he lived, to Ghiyaspur, a quiet settlement on the outskirts of Delhi, around 1266 CE. Here, by the banks of the River Yamuna, he built a rough shed with a straw roof for himself and his followers. They lived simply, often in great hardship, with hardly anything to eat, their souls nourished simply by prayer and meditation! It was not long before his khanqah began to throng with people from all walks of life. Much later, in 1321 CE, he began construction of his baoli here. It is said that he began work on the stepwell by digging the earth with his own hands while declaring, “He who drinks one drop of its water should have no fear of the fires of Hell.”

Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya lived in Ghiyaspur for almost sixty years, during which time the throne of Delhi saw seven monarchs come and go. Yet, he would have nothing to do with sultans or their courts. One day, Sultan Jalaluddin Khilji wanted to pay a visit to Hazrat Nizamuddin’s khanqah. The master refused, sending a terse message, “My house has two doors. If the sultan enters through one, I will exit through the other.”

Popularly known as Mehboob-i-Illahi or “beloved of God”, this great Sufi saint was known for his great wisdom, compassion and generosity. He had known what it was like to go hungry in his early days at Ghiyaspur, and so he distributed food every day to thousands of needy people at his spiritual centre, without any social or religious discrimination, right up to the time of his death in 1325 CE, at the age of eighty-seven.

The village of Ghiyaspur came to be renamed “Nizamuddin” after the revered saint, and people converged here for his blessing.

After his death, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s dargah, his final resting place across the road, became one of the most venerated shrines in Delhi. The baoli is still in use, fed by an underwater spring, and its waters are considered sacred. Many later monarchs wished to be buried near his grave as well. Humayun’s Tomb borders Nizamuddin’s shrine. Princess Jahanara, the beloved daughter of Shah Jahan, is buried within the dargah in an open-air chamber, as is the less-known later Mughal king, Muhammad Shah “Rangila”, in an adjoining enclosure. The Sufi saint also left behind several well-known disciples, including his successor, Nasiruddin Chiragh-e-Dehlavi, and the acclaimed mystic poet Amir Khusro, who is buried at his feet.

The elegant residential area of Nizamuddin in central Delhi, just off Mathura Road, is a popular tourist and pilgrimage destination today. Across the road from the majestic Humayun’s Tomb, people of all religions from far and wide gather to see the shrine and baoli of the revered mystic, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya.

Devotional songs or qawwali were an important feature in the lives of the Sufi mystics and, to this day, qawwali singers perform here after the evening prayers, filling the air with music and song.

A favourite qawwali sung here is Amir Khusro’s Dama Dam Mast Qalandar in praise of the revered Sufi saint Shahbaaz Qalandar:

Oh, the red-robed one, please protect me always, Jhulelaal –
The friend of Sindh and Sehwan, Shahbaaz Qalandar,
My breath is for the God-intoxicated saint,
Glory be to you!

Excerpted with permission from Once Upon a Time in Delhi: Discovering the Secrets of Its Many Cities, Nita Berry, Hachette India.