Holy Places of Muslim Saints

Since large parts of India were for long under Muslim rule and since there is a large Muslim population, there are places for Muslim worship in almost the major towns and cities in the country. Among the large masjids are those in Delhi, Allahabad, Calcutta, Bombay and Hyderabad.

The holiest of the Shrines is the dargah of Khwaja Saheb, in Ajmer. This is the tomb of Khwaja Muin-du-din Chisti. There are ten mosques around the dargah. Nearby is the Adhai-din-ka-Johnpra, a colonnade hall of sandstone, originally a Sanskrit college which was converted into a mosque by Mohammad Gauri.

As a place of pilgrimage for those who have not done the Haj, the most interesting spot is Hajo, 24 kms across the Brahmaputra from Gauhati, where exixts a mosque built by Pir Ghiasuddin Aulia. It is supposed to have one-fourth the sanctity of Mecca and is called Pao-Mecca.

The Haji Ali Shrine in Bombay is connected to the city bya causeway which is submerged at high tide.

Hazratbal, in Srinagar on the edge of the Dal Lake, is the most revered shrine, because a hair of the Prophet is believed to be consecrated here and it is shown to devotees on some occassions.

Fatehpur Sikri, 40 kms from Agra, houses the tomb of the 16th century saint Salim Chisti, a mystic to whom Emperor Akbar went for benediction and seeking a son whom he later named after the holy man.

Delhi contains the tombs of two great saints, the dargah of Qutub Sahib, at Mehrauli, and that of Khwaja Nizamuddin Chisti.

Gour, near Malda, in West Bengal, is famous for the Kadam Rasul, where the foot print of Hazrat Mohammed was once placed. In nearby Pandua is the Adina mosque built by Sikander Shah in the 14th century.

The Cheraman Jama Masjid, at Cranganore, Kerala, reputed to have been built as long as 629 AD. At the request of the king, Cheraman Perumal, the prophet is reputed to have sent Malik Ibin Dinar and 20 followers and the bodies of some of them are believed to have been buried there.

Angar Pir, near Junagadh, in Gujarat, is a special plate for women devotees. Childless women offer miniature cradless here.

And in the far south is Nagore, close to Nagapattinam, in Thanjavur. This dargah of a saint attracts people from all communities seeking favours.