Every Muslim dreams of going to Mecca, recognizing the Hajj as a canonical duty embedded in the dogma of Islam. In practice, however, not many people manage to do this, and the vast majority of the 130-million-strong Indian Muslim denomination actually make pilgrimages (ziyarat) to the tombs of local saints (dargahs), which is recognized as an act of personal piety.

The most revered Sufi shrine in India is the sacred complex in Ajmer (Rajasthan), which grew up around the tomb of Mu'inuddin Sijzi (1142-1236).

The expansion of Islam was carried out, in particular, through the holy ascetics-Sufis, merchants and warriors. The former were members of various fraternities that originated mainly outside of India; the Chishti brotherhood, to which Mu'inuddin belonged, was formed in the town of Chisht (modern Afghanistan), but became a real spiritual and political force in India thanks to the activities of Mu'inuddin himself, and then his followers - Fariduddin Chishti and Nizamuddin Chishti, and therefore represents a purely South Asian phenomenon.

Mu'inuddin's hagiography states that he was born in Sijistan (hence Sijzi) in Iran and was orphaned in early childhood, living on the meager income from his father's garden. The spiritual awakening of the future saint began with a sesame seed offered to him by a wandering dervish. After eating it, Mu'inuddin sold the garden and went to Bukhara and Samarkand to study the Qur'anic sciences. Then Mu'inuddin spent 20 years as a disciple of the head (sheikh) of the Chishti brotherhood and received from the latter a traditional rag and prayer mat - objects symbolizing the inheritance of the spiritual power (baraka) of the teacher. Subsequent journeys were interrupted by a vision of the Prophet, who entrusted Mu'inuddin with the mission of converting the infidels in India. So, at the age of 50 (around 1192), Mu'inuddin found himself in Ajmer, and this event coincided with the execution of the famous Rajput prince Prithviraj Chauhan, the last hero of the pre-Muslim period of Indian history.

Ajmer, located on the traditional trade route from the coastal regions of Gujarat to the interior of the country-to Delhi, passed into the hands of Muslim rulers, and a successful combination of geographical and political factors, supported by numerous rumors of miracles performed by a charismatic preacher, laid the foundation for the Islamization of the city and surrounding areas. The spiritual guide (pir), as Mu'inuddin became in Ajmer, who gained many disciples, traditionally mediates between the believer and the Almighty, but at the same time he himself is worshipped as a living god on earth, giving him the ability to influence the material, physical and spiritual state of the parishioners. This worship continues even after his death, which is considered the death of the body, but not of the soul, which continues its existence for the sake of meeting the Supreme. Therefore, the annual anniversary of the saint's death is celebrated as a marriage ceremony-urs. During the ritual events in connection with the memorable date, hundreds of thousands of believers visit the dargah and the space is almost continuously resounded with spiritual chants (sama'):

it is believed that music successfully accumulates and carries the barracks of the deceased, which pilgrims need so much. Even after death, Pir remains a healer of physical and mental wounds and a spiritual teacher.

Mu'inuddin's grave was originally built of bricks. Later, a covering of stone was built over it, and then one of the students erected a tomb, which was later repeatedly rebuilt and expanded. In the XV century, the ruler of Malva, Mahmud Khilji, ordered the construction of the main gate - "Buland darwaza". The great Akbar who ruled

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Mughal Empire in the 16th century, visited Mu'inuddin's dargah 14 times and ordered the construction of a direct road between his capital at Fatehpur Sikri and Ajmer for easy communication. It was the birthplace of Akbar's heir Jahangir, who presented dargah with ritual utensils and accepted credentials from the first British ambassador sent to the Mughal court by King James I in 1615. Emperor Shah Jahan, who built a white marble mosque and then another gate on the territory of the tomb, also prayed for his first-born son here. To this day, Ajmer Dargah is visited by the Presidents and Prime Ministers of Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as representatives of the South Asian Muslim diaspora scattered around the world.

The life of today's Ajmer is still defined by the activities around the tomb. There are many narrow streets leading to the dargah, with shops on both sides selling goods that accompany the correct ritual of worship: rose petals, sweets, incense sticks, aromatic oils and, of course, blankets (chhadar) for the saint's tombstone-from the cheapest of poorly processed cotton to masterpieces made of the finest silk or exquisite velvet with the highest quality. elaborate embroidery costing tens of thousands of rupees*. The alleys are blocked by processions of pilgrims carrying chhadars prepared as a gift on their hands raised above their heads. Beggars or random passers-by do not miss the opportunity to touch the fabric, which after a while will be filled with the spiritual power of the deceased feast. At the culmination of the pilgrimage, once inside the dargah, the worshippers hand over the gifts they have brought to the minister, kneel down and press their heads against the tombstone for a moment.

Twice a day, food is distributed (lentil soup and sweet rice porridge), prepared in the dargah kitchen and containing a huge concentration of the desired baraka, and therefore the extraction of food resembles a desperate assault on a fortress. Only trained professionals manage to get close to the boilers, who, at the risk of burns and suffocating from steam, scoop up the brew with buckets and resell it to street vendors. The latter arrange the food in bags and palm leaves and resell it to the pilgrims again.

On the advice of friends, when I arrived in Ajmer, I got a guide: I haggled and hired a Muslim guide who has a kind of license from the spiritual leadership for "excursion service". In front of the entrance directly to the dargah, plump and unsmiling attendants sitting on the steps slipped me a barn book, various columns of which were filled with cursive Urdu script. The guide immediately took a pen out of the breast pocket of his shirt and practically forced me to sign it, after which I was told that I had announced my readiness to make a donation to the sacred complex. "Islam" means submission, and I had no choice but to reach into my wallet.

^* 1 USD ~ 45 rupees.

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