Identify the term used for 'Pilgrimage' in Chishti devotionalism.

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (3) → Ziyarat

Option (1) Khanqah — Incorrect. The khanqah was the hospice around which the sufis organised their communities, controlled by a teaching master known as the shaikh. It is a place where the inmates and visitors lived and prayed, not a pilgrimage.

Option (2) Qalandars — Incorrect. Qalandars were mystics who scorned the khanqah, took to mendicancy and deliberately defied the shari‘a. The word names a group of mystics, not a practice.

Option (3) Ziyarat — Correct. When the shaikh died, his tomb-shrine (dargah) became the centre of devotion for his followers. This encouraged the practice of pilgrimage or ziyarat to his grave, particularly on his death anniversary or urs.

Option (4) Sharia — Incorrect. The shari‘a is the law governing the Muslim community, based on the Qur’an and the hadis. It is a body of law, not a pilgrimage.

NCERT (2026-27): “6.1 Khanqahs and silsilas … Institutionally, the sufis began to organise communities around the hospice or khanqah (Persian) controlled by a teaching master known as shaikh (in Arabic), pir or murshid (in Persian). He enrolled disciples (murids) and appointed a successor (khalifa). He established rules for spiritual conduct and interaction between inmates as well as between laypersons and the master. Sufi silsilas began to crystallise in different parts of the Islamic world around the twelfth century. The word silsila literally means a chain, signifying a continuous link between master and disciple, stretching as an unbroken spiritual genealogy to the Prophet Muhammad. It was through this channel that spiritual power and blessings were transmitted to devotees. Special rituals of initiation were developed in which initiates took an oath of allegiance, wore a patched garment, and shaved their hair. When the shaikh died, his tomb-shrine (dargah, a Persian term meaning court) became the centre of devotion for his followers. This encouraged the practice of pilgrimage or ziyarat to his grave, particularly on his death anniversary or urs (or marriage, signifying the union of his soul with God). This was because people believed that in death saints were united with God, and were thus closer to Him than when living.…

6.2 Outside the khanqah … Some mystics initiated movements based on a radical interpretation of sufi ideals. Many scorned the khanqah and took to mendicancy and observed celibacy. They ignored rituals and observed extreme forms of asceticism. They were known by different names – Qalandars, Madaris, Malangs, Haidaris, etc. Because of their deliberate defiance of the shari‘a they were often referred to as be-shari‘a, in contrast to the ba-shari‘a sufis who complied with it.

…The shari‘a is the law governing the Muslim community. It is based on the Qur’an and the hadis, traditions of the Prophet including a record of his remembered words and deeds.…”