Afghanistan President sends chadar for Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday sent a chadar for the Ajmer Sharif Dargah on the 809th Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty through the Afghan embassy in India.

Afghstan President Ashraf Gh on Tuesday sent a chadar for the Ajmer Sharif Dargah on the 809th Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty through the Afghan embassy in India.

President Gh wrote in a letter to the Ajmer Sharif Dargah chairman, "It is a singular honour to offer the chadar and as an Afghan and as a student of Sufi order for over 50 years, I have been fascinated with the character, impact and reach of Khawaja Garib Nawaz. Despite a thousand years, there is much to study and learn from the way the Chishty order the spread from a district in Herat to becoming a moral force in the continent."

"The Chishty and other Sufi order created networks that brought men and women, young and old, peasants and craftspeople, towns and nobles together across a large span of space and time. There are many lessons for how to link people-centered networks with the virtual networks of the 21st century and to create harmony and a common understanding among cultures, civilizations, and people across our interconnected world," President Gh said in his message.

He stated that the Chishty Order is still thriving in Afghstan. Chisht sharif, a district in Herat province, is one of the only two places in Afghstan that carries the suffix of Sharif (noble), he added.

The other place is Mazar-e-Sharif, a city in ancient Balkh province, which has grown around the shrine of Hazrat Ali. In Uzbekistan, Bukhara, the seat of learning of Islamic Sharia and place of the teaching of Imam Bukhari, has also carried the name of Sharif with it, he said.

"The nobility of Chisht is a prime tribute to the enduring contribution of the Sufi order emanating from Afghstan but becoming a regional, and in the 21st century, a global phenomenon. This is a testament to the profound thoughts and practices of the eminent Sheikhs who founded and sustained the Order," he added.

( With inputs from ANI )