Identify the term which denotes a ‘Sufi’ saint’s spiritual grace?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Barakat
Barakat is the spiritual grace of a sufi saint. People believed that in death the saints were united with God and so were closer to Him than when living. They visited the saints’ tombs to seek this grace, and for more than seven centuries people of all creeds and classes have done so at the dargahs of the five great Chishti saints.
The other options are related words: ziyarat is the pilgrimage to a sufi’s tomb, the occasion for seeking his barakat; a dargah (a Persian word meaning court) is the tomb-shrine of a shaikh; a khanqah is the hospice where sufis lived around their teaching master.
NCERT (2025-26): “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).… …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).… 7.2 Chishti devotionalism: ziyarat and qawwali … Pilgrimage, called ziyarat, to tombs of sufi saints is prevalent all over the Muslim world. This practice is an occasion for seeking the sufi’s spiritual grace (barakat). For more than seven centuries people of various creeds, classes and social backgrounds have expressed their devotion at the dargahs of the five great Chishti saints…” |