A day after the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan was soaked in innocent blood, an exquisite book was delivered by post. Ajmer Sharif: Awakening of Sufism in South Asia by Reema Abbasi — a big square book with the cover in red and black — is not just aesthetically pleasing because of its absorbing prose laced with radiating photographs; it is a retelling of a tale of love and devotion and a reminder of the values of compassion and humility. Most of all, it is a reassertion of defiant pluralism in the face of imposed homogeneity across South Asian nations.

One of our ace journalists from the current generation, Abbasi made a name for herself with Historic Temples in Pakistan: A Call to Conscience, a 2014 book about the Hindu temples in the country that included photographs by Madiha Aijaz. But with her latest endeavour, Abbasi’s credentials as being insightful and critical, inclusive and secular, are further established.

Ajmer Sharif is the story of the great Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, the Gharib Nawaz [redeemer of the poor] who lived more than 800 years ago; the origins, history, and beliefs of the Chishti order in South Asia that he founded; the tradition of inclusion of all faiths without discrimination that has survived through centuries; and the rites and rituals that are performed to this day by devotees on different occasions during the year. There is an attempt to understand the physical space and environs of the shrine which represent an amalgam of modesty and magnificence. In my mind, and perhaps the writer’s, too, there is a continuous negotiation happening between the mud hut where the saint chose to live, which does not exist anymore, and the ornate walls and ceilings of his mausoleum today, the gifts from the sultans and kings, rich and powerful, whom the saint never aligned with. The last few lines of the sermon he delivered before passing away read: “Never go to the court of kings; never refuse to bless and help the needy, the poor, the widow, and the orphan if they come to your door. This is your mission — to serve the people.”

The reader is also introduced to certain characters who have been devoted to the shrine for many years — from Khateeb Abdul Qayyum Hoja the calligrapher, to Rehman Bhai the cleaner, and from Syed Salman Chishti the chief custodian, to Hafeez Abbasi the water carrier. The shrine is where people from all backgrounds, regardless of their faith, caste, class, creed, colour, or sex, pay respects round the year. They come from across the world. But a visit to the shrine will reveal that most pilgrims are from poorer backgrounds. The redeemer of the poor is their chief hope in an unequal and unjust world.

In the principal order of Chishti Sufis in the South Asian subcontinent, after Khwaja Moinuddin is Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, who is one of Khwaja Moinuddin’s five caliphs. Kaki’s spiritual successor is Baba Fariduddin Masud Ganj Shakar. Baba Farid’s successor is Nizamuddin Aulia Hazrat Sultanji. There are many other revered saints from this order who lived in different parts of the subcontinent. Besides preaching humanism above any religious difference, another significance of Khwaja Moinuddin was his attitude towards women. He shared his mission and passion for humanity equally with the women in his life. He married twice; his first wife was his real love who came from a royal Rajput family, and gave up all her wealth to serve humanity with the saint. Their daughter, Bibi Hafiza Jamal, was his favourite offspring and herself deeply spiritual. Khwaja Moinuddin appointed her as one of his caliphs. Therefore, for hundreds of years now, after the bathing of his cenotaph, the drapes and flowers from the saint’s tomb are brought to adorn the grave of Hafiza Jamal.

The abomination for Sufism harboured by the violent forces of a renewed faith among certain Muslims has resulted in a large number of deadly attacks on Sufi shrines. This is not a battle of ideas as some would believe. It is a battle between humanity and kindness on one side and ferocity and oppression on the other. But the dhamaal at Lal Shahbaz Qalandar will never cease.

The columnist is a poet and essayist based in Islamabad

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, February 26th, 2017