The Urs festival is an annual festival held at

Ajmer Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

which commemorates the anniversary of the death of

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

saint

Moinuddin Chishti Mu'in al-Din Hasan Chishti Sijzi (; February 1143 – March 1236), known reverentially as Khawaja Gharib Nawaz (), was a Persians, Persian Islamic scholar and Sufism, mystic from Sistan, who eventually ended up settling in the Indian subcontin ...

(1143 - 1236) (founder of the Chishtiya Sufi order in India). This Sufi saint preached tolerance of all religions and gave a message of love. He was popularly known as 'Khwaja Gharib Nawaz' (Messiah of the poor).

The festival

This Urs festival is held over six days and features night-long

dhikr (; ; ) is a form of Islamic worship in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly recited for the purpose of remembering God. It plays a central role in Sufism, and each Sufi order typically adopts a specific ''dhikr'', accompanied by specific ...

(zikr)

qawwali Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing originating in the Indian subcontinent. Originally performed at Sufi shrines throughout the Indian subcontinent, it is famous throughout Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and has ...

singing. The anniversary is celebrated in the seventh month of the

Islamic lunar calendar Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number 2 billion worldwide and are the world's second-largest religious populati ...

. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, many from foreign countries, visit the shrine from all over India. The

Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...

run special trains during his festival to bring devotees to

. At the start of this annual festival, the hoisting of the historical flag and a 21-gun salute ceremony is held at Chishti's mausoleum since 1944. The sixth day of the Urs is regarded as the most special and auspicious. It is called "Chhati Sharif". It is celebrated on the 6th Rajab between 10:00 A.M. and 1:30 p.m. inside the Mazaar Sharif or shrine complex. ''Shijra'', or the genealogical tree associated with the

Chishti Order The Chishti order () is a Sufi Tariqa, order of Sunni Islam named after the town of Chishti Sharif District, Chisht, Afghanistan where it was initiated by Abu Ishaq Shami. The order was brought to Herat and later spread across South Asia by Mu ...

, is read by duty bound ''Khadims'' of Moinuddin Chishti, and then there is ''Fariyad'' (prayers). Just before the ''Qu'l'' (conclusion of Chhati Sharif), ''Badhaawa'' (a poem of praise) is sung at the main entrance of the shrine by Qawwals. Badhaawa is a recitation accompanied only by clapping; no musical instrument is played. It was composed by Syed Behlol Chishty, an ancestor of the present day Chishty Sufis of Ajmer Sharif called Syedzadgan Khadim Khwaja Sahib. After its recitation, the ceremony of the Qu'l comes to an end, and Fatiha is recited. The end of the ceremony is marked by firing a cannon at 1:30 p.m.

References

Tourist attractions in Ajmer Festivals in Rajasthan Urs Music festivals in India Islamic festivals in India Sufism in India Observances set by the Islamic calendar Barelvi festivals {{Islam-stub