The annual celebration of Urs of Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti at Ajmer is here and this year's celebration is going to be different than the rest. The government of Rajasthan has made it mandatory for the pilgrims to get passes to enter into the shrine, which is done to contain COVID-19.
On the occasion, PM Narendra Modi has offered a chadar at the Ajmer Dargah of Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti at Ajmer on Tuesday. This marks the 809th Urs and the seventh time that the PM will be offering a chadar at the famous dargah.
The chadar will be offered on behalf of PM Modi by Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. The chadar was a dark yellow one, which is significant to the message of Sufism. "This is the longest that a non-Congress Prime Minister has been offering chadar at the dargah. Our Prime Minister not only talks of sabka sath sabka vikas sabka vishwas, but also put it into practice," Naqvi told CNN-News18.
What is Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti?
The Urs is an annual festival held at Ajmer, commemorating the death anniversary of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, who founded Chishtiya Sufi order in India. The Urs is celebrated for over six days and includes late-night zikr, a form of prayer, qawwali singing. The Urs is celebrated in the seventh month of the Islamic lunar calendar. It is the busiest time where pilgrims from across the country visit the shrine.
Who was Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti?
Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, popularly known as Khwaja Gareeb Nawaz was a beloved Sufi saint of the Chisti order. He was born in Eastern Iran and travelled all the way to Lahore then to Delhi before settling in Ajmer. His tomb is one of the holiest Islamic sites in the world. But many people from different faiths also visit the shrine throughout the year
