About Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki

Qutub ul Aqtab Hazrat Khwaja Syed Muhammad Qutbuddin Bakhtiar (born 1173-died 1235) was a renowned Muslim Sufi mystic, saint and scholar of the Chishti Order from Delhi, India. He was the disciple and the spiritual successor of Moinuddin Chishti as head of the Chishti order. Before him the Chishti order in India was confined to Ajmer and Nagaur.

He played a major role in establishing the order securely in Delhi. His dargah in Mehrauli, the oldest dargah in Delhi, is the venue of his annual Urs. The Urs was held in high regard by many rulers of Delhi like Qutbuddin Aibak, Iltutmish who built a nearby stepwell, Gandhak ki Baoli for him, Sher Shah Suri who built a grand gateway, Bahadur Shah-I who built the Moti Masjid mosque nearby and Farrukhsiyar who added a marble screen and a mosque.

His most famous disciple and spiritual successor was Fariduddin Ganjshakar, who in turn became the spiritual master of Delhi's noted Sufi saint, Nizamuddin Auliya, who himself was the spiritual master of Amir Khusro and Nasiruddin Chirag-e-Delhi.

The influence of Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki on Sufism in India was immense. As he continued and developed the traditional ideas of universal brotherhood and charity within the Chisti order, a new dimension of Islam started opening up in India which had hitherto not been present. He forms an important part of the Sufi movement which attracted many people to Islam in India in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. People of Every Religions like Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, etc visiting evey week at Dargah.

Brief Biography of hazrat Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki - Descendent of the Prophet Muhammad

Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki was born in 569 A.H. (1173 C.E.) in a small town called Aush (alternatively Awash or Ush) in the Fergana Valley (present Osh in southern Kyrgyz Republic(Kyrgyzstan).

Khwaja Qutbuddin's original name was Bakhtiyar and later on he was given the title Qutbuddin. He was a descendent of the Prophet Muhammad ( PBUH) , descending through Hussain ibn Ali. His mother, who herself was an educated lady, arranged for his education by Shaikh Abu Hifs.

When Moinuddin Chishti passed through Aush during his travels, Khwaja Bakhtiyar took the oath of allegiance at his hands and received the khilafat and Khirqah from him. Thus, he was the first spiritual successor of Moinuddin Chishti.

Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki 's Move to Delhi

In obedience to the desire of his spiritual master, Moinuddin Chishti, Khwaja Bakhtiyar went and started living in the city of Delhi, during the reign of Iltutmish (r. 1211-1236), the founder of the Delhi Sultanate. Attracted by his spiritual prowess and charitable attitude, a large number of people started visiting him daily. He started initiating disciples on the spiritual path as well.

Reason For The Name Kaki for Hazrat

The name Kaki was attributed to him by virtue of a keramat (miracle) that emanated from him in Delhi.According to it, he asked his wife not to take credit from the local baker despite their extreme poverty. Instead he told her to pick up Kak (a kind of bread) from a corner of their house whenever needed. After this his wife found that Kak miraculously appeared in that corner whenever she required. The baker, in the meantime, had become worried whether the Khwaja had stopped taking credit due to being perchance angry with him. Accordingly, when the baker's wife asked the reason from the Khwaja's wife, she told her about the miracle of Kak. Although the Kak stopped appearing due to the revealing of the secret, from that day the people started referring to him as Kaki.

Teachings of Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki

Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki, like other Chisti saints, did not formulate any formal doctrine. He used to hold a majlis, a gathering, where he gave his discourses. Directed at the common masses, these contained an emphasis on renunciation, having complete trust in God, treating all human beings as equal and helping them as much as possible, etc. Whatever money was donated to him, he usually spent it on charity the same day.

He was a great believer in helping the needy without heeding the result. When an eminent disciple, Fariduddin Ganjshakar, asked him about the legality of amulets (tawiz) which were controversial as they could lead to theological problems of semi-idolatory in Islam, he replied that the fulfilment of desires belonged to no one; the amulets contained God's name and His words and could be given to the people.

He continued and extended the musical tradition of the Chisti order by participating in sema. It is conjectured that this was with the view that, being in consonance with the role of music in some modes of Hindu worship, it could serve as a basis of contact with the local people and would facilitate mutual adjustments between the two communities.

One can enjoy the  Sufi Muslims singing qawwali music at the Bakhtiyar Kaki’s dargah, a few metres away from the Rajon Ki baoli. The singers begin performing around 6 p.m. daily.