Located in northwest India at the heart of the desert region of Rajasthan, the city of Ajmer is the burial site of Mu‘in al-Din Chishti (1143–1236), a Sufi saint and philosopher. The city became a major center of pilgrimage, especially after the accession of the third Mughal Emperor Akbar (r. 1556–1605), who was an ardent follower of the Sufi master, as were his descendants.

Today, the city attracts tens of thousands of devotees daily. Like other Sufi shrines in India, it is not only popular with Muslim pilgrims but also with those from other religious traditions. The most important annual event is the commemoration, or urs (literally, “wedding”) of Mu‘in al-Din Chishti’s death, which takes place over six days. Marked by devotional music, communal meals, and prayers, the urs defines the principles and beliefs of the Chishtiyya, the most popular Sufi order in South Asia.

Mu‘in al-Din Chishti was born in southeastern Iran, and at the age of sixteen, he decided to devote himself to a spiritual way of life. He traveled to different centers of learning—from Nishapur to Samarqand and Bukhara in the east to Baghdad in the west—where he met and studied with eminent scholars and Sufi masters, such as Abd al-Qadir Jilani (d. 1166), and Abd al-Qahhar Suhravardi (d. 1168). During his pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, Mu‘in al-Din allegedly saw the Prophet Muhammad in a dream, who asked him to spread Islam to India. He first went to Lahore, in present-day Pakistan, before settling in Ajmer. There, Mu‘in al-Din became a practitioner of the Chishtiyya, which had been already established circa 930 in the town of Chisht near Herat in present-day Afghanistan.

In its current state, the shrine of Mu‘in al-Din Chishti dates back to the early sixteenth century. The Mughal Emperor Akbar (r. 1556–1605) took a particular interest in the site and his charitable donations allowed for its expansion and upkeep. His son and successor Jahangir (r. 1605–27) continued to strengthen Mughal dynastic ties with the order as is symbolized in this celebrated portrait.

An annual pilgrimage at the start of Rajab, the seventh month of the Islamic calendar, the urs commemorates the death anniversary of Mu‘in al-Din Chishti. The literal meaning of urs as “wedding” underscores the passing of a saint from one plane to another and the celebration of their reunion with God. Like a nuptial, the urs is observed with music, communal meals, and prayers as seen in these images

Social equality is a major component of Chishti teaching and is particularly evident during the urs when pilgrims gather in Ajmer. In the sixteenth century, Emperor Akbar established the shrine’s free communal kitchen, known as a langar, which is active to this day. The food is cooked in two massive caldrons (deg), one of which was donated by the emperor and the other by his successor, Jahangir. They are both still in use today and feed the vast number of devotees around the clock.

Mughal emperors also regularly performed pilgrimages to Ajmer following major events, such as coronations and victories on the battlefield, or to request divine favor. Allegedly, Emperor Akbar prayed for a son through the intercession of Salim Chishti, the living descendent of Mu‘in al-Din. When the emperor’s wish was granted and his son was born in 1569, Akbar named him Salim after the shaykh. To express his gratitude for the birth of a son and heir, Akbar walked over 250 miles from the capital Agra to Ajmer. These public expressions of religious devotion were commemorated in official histories, such as in the Akbarnama, a history dedicated to Akbar’s reign, which describes in words and images Akbar’s visits to the Chishti shrine.

Emperor Jahangir declared Ajmer the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1613 to 1616. He spent those three years in the city to be near the shrine and to tend to its needs. For example, he notes in his memoirs, “On this day, [the deg] was brought, and I ordered them to cook food for the poor in that pot and collect together the poor of Ajmer to feed them whilst I was there.” This scene is illustrated in the circa 1614 Tuzuk-i Jahangiri (Memoirs of Jahangir), which depicts the emperor accompanied by his son Prince Khurram, the future Shah Jahan, feeding the pilgrims. The white marble shrine stands out in the background.

Women also followed Mu‘in al-Din Chishti’s teachings. Among the most celebrated was Princess Jahanara Begum (1614–1681), the daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628–58), the patron of the Taj Mahal. A serious devotee, Princess Jahanara completed a biography of Mu‘in al-Din Chishti known as Mu’nis al-arvah (The Confidant of Spirits) in 1640. In an appendix to the text, she offers an evocative and sensuous account of her spiritual experience of the urs at Ajmer:

The Chishti order is particularly renowned for its emphasis on ritual performances (sama‘) as a means to invoke Divine Presence. This principle is expressed in the art of qawwali, a form of devotional music, which is an essential part of Chishti Sufi tradition. It dates to the thirteenth century and the celebrated poet Amir Khusraw Dihlavi (1253–1325), a Chishti disciple, who is credited with inventing the genre in Delhi. His poetry is in Hindi and therefore understood by both Muslims and Hindus, but Persian, Urdu, and Panjabi poetry are also used.

The proliferation of Sufi shaykhs across South Asia played a critical role in the expansion of Islam. Through Mu‘in al-Din and his successors, the Chishti order continues to draw devotees from across the region. Tombs of other Sufi leaders such as that of Salim Chishti’s in Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar Pradesh—originally built by Emperor Akbar between 1571 and 1580 in the courtyard of the congregational mosque—became important hubs for Sufi communities.

Farid al-Din Mansur Ganjshekan, commonly known as Baba Farid (d. 1265) was a student and successor of Mu‘in al-Din and is buried in Pakpattan, now in present-day Pakistan. Although divided from Ajmer by modern political borders, Pakpattan serves as an important Chishti pilgrimage center and underscores how Sufism has transcended political realities and differences.