Pilgrimages of Faith, Tradition and Gender

The seventh ayah of Al-Anbaya in the Qur'an inscribes the prophecy of all Sufi saints, whose shrines are built on the shores of Mumbai. As the waves creep in at their feet to let the ocean purify even the deepest oasis, a few await. Haji Ali Dargah poignantly casts a shadow on the cosmopolitan faith known as Mumbai.

Safina reluctantly sat on the stairs that faced the back of Haji Ali Dargah. As a wave carrying the fisherman gently rolled on the coral reefs surrounding the Mazar, she shook her brother from behind and burst into laughter. Lying there was a fourteen-year-old child, who instantly bowed his head down.

For a second, he had amassed the gigantic architecture in those small eyes. 바카라�Always bow,바카라� their mother had asked them. Safina wrapped her arm around his shoulder and made him get up. 바카라�Such childish behaviour. I believe Dadi was right,바카라� he said, looking at Safina, who was just a year younger than him. Rashid Khan whacked his back. 바카라�Aabu!바카라� both rejoiced, although he narrowed his eyes toward his son.

"Aurat napak hoti hai, na?" Safina바카라�s grandmother had argued, her words sharp and unforgettable. The dispute between her and their mother dragged on for two days, each side firm in their stance. Finally, after much tension, the parents decided to take the children to Haji Ali Dargah.

Najma had arrived late from the office that evening. As she saw the three waiting, she adjusted her hijab. 바카라�Aami, the sea looked calm as if it was bowing to Allah,바카라� Arif said. They walked into the huge foyer, Qawal Khanna, first. The hall was dressed with marble, and mirrors embedded like a kaleidoscope. While Rashid mumbled the 99 names of Allah inscribed on the wall, Najma looked for the horde of people that had amassed on a Monday evening. The 700-metre pathway, which connected Haji Ali Dargah to the mainland, harbours the joys of hawkers who live on the serenity of the Dargah. One of the radios played AR Rahman바카라�s 바카라�Piya Haji Ali바카라�.

Legend goes that Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari saw a woman weeping as she had accidentally spilt the oil she was carrying. The Sufi then jabbed his finger into the soil, which made an opening for oil to ooze out.

바카라�So there was a woman in the story?바카라� Najma said.

Haji Ali Shah Bukhari later experienced a disturbing dream in which he saw Earth scarred by his deeds. His spirit was heavy with anguish, and he became ill due to regret. He and his brother set out on a pilgrimage in search of comfort and atonement. The Pir shared his extensive understanding of Islam and continued to brighten the lives of innumerable people till his death. Because of his teachings, he attracted a large number of devotees. He made one more request as his earthly journey came to an end: to be buried in the ocean's embrace rather than in a grave.

Adhering to his will, his followers buried his shroud under the waves of the ocean. The tides fought to helm the sacred relic until a rocky islet opened its palms to let it settle. Dynasties withered on the shore of the Dargah while pilgrims poured in their breaths of hope into the 바카라�chadar바카라� of the Mazar.

바카라�His shroud was found by the Kohli community, the native people of Bombay, which was scattered into seven islands then. At first, they thought it was a treasure but later realised to whom the shroud belonged. So the foundation stone was not kept by some Mughal ruler but by the natives of the place,바카라� Mohammed Ahmed Taher, Administrative Officer of Haji Ali Dargah, said. A lot of people confuse Maa Hajiani바카라�s Dargah, which is draped in the bustling noise of the city, with the shrine of Haji Ali바카라�s mother, less than two kilometres away.

바카라�Any man who visits Hajj is known as Haji, and women who do the same are known as Hajjani. The similarity in names often leads people to weave tales of familial connections,바카라� he continued.

Though the story narrates a different chapter: the grave belongs to Sir Mohamed Yusuf's mother, a woman who harboured a grand ambition for her son. She wished for him to command a fleet of a hundred ships. Each time a century ended in a shipwreck, she would offer prayers, her faith unshaken. Yusuf바카라�s family was renowned for their philanthropic endeavours and their significant contributions to the maritime industry.

바카라�I believe there are a lot of rudimentary thoughts that govern religion, but that doesn바카라�t mean the purpose of Allah is wrong,바카라� Najma바카라�s voice hushed. 바카라�I don바카라�t want my kids to fall into the same trap. I want them to advocate Muslim feminism. We바카라�ve come a long way; people are fighting against the moral policing of the hijab,바카라� she continued, in reference to the protests that intensified after the death of Mahsa Amini.

Haji Ali Dargah itself became a progeny of equality. Back in 2012 the trust had banned the entry of women into the sanctum of the Dargah. It was argued that while women are not allowed inside regular graveyards, how could they roam around a saint바카라�s grave? The argument was not able to stand strong, as at Moinuddin Chisti바카라�s Dargah, women had major footfall. The trust vouched that their decision was for the betterment of society. The squabble affected many who said that women might 바카라�show their breasts바카라� while bending over the grave and that they wished to protect women from sexual harassment. It was not until 2016 that the High Court ordered the removal of the ban.

The road leading to Dargah Lala Lajpat Rai was constructed in 1944; before that, people used to collect pebbles and stones to make a temporary pathway. Haji Ali Dargah is seeped in multiple miracles. Except for the Dargah, nearly every building in Mumbai was partially damaged during a massive storm in 1949.

The people inside the monument at the time were afraid they would drown, but they saw powerful winds come and go, as though they were bending down to the saint at the Dargah wall, and then they vanished without inflicting any harm. Moreover, before the completion of the Coastal Road, there had never been an instance where the access to the Dargah, the pedestrian underpass, was flooded. 바카라�It used to rinse off, even on the high tides, but with the coastal road, the waterlogging has increased,바카라� Mohammad Ahmed Taher said.

바카라�Do you believe in miracles? I do,바카라� Rashid Khan smiled, looking at the kids. His hand tightly clamped between his wife바카라�s. They had waited ten long years for an offspring. Now they had two. He bowed his head in front of the Sanduka while Najma gave the 바카라�chadar바카라� to the 바카라�Momin바카라� inside. There was a separate space that read "Ladies Only," but she stood alongside her husband and kids.

Meanwhile, in another corner of India, Shaista and Farheen, two women in their mid-thirties, sat quietly on a bench in the outer courtyard of the Nizamuddin Dargah. Their eyes were scanning the crowded and bustling space. The sun had begun to dip low in the sky and was casting a warm golden hue over the complex. Pilgrims shuffled about, with their feet brushing the stone floor. The sweet fragrance of incense mingled with the sound of Sufi music floating through the air. The call to prayer echoed faintly from the mosque in the shrine premises, adding to the sense of reverence that enveloped the place.

The two women were waiting for the male members of their family, who had entered the shrine바카라�s sanctum sanctorum to offer their prayers. Like them, women are not permitted inside the inner chamber where the grave of the revered Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya lies. They remain outside and observe the sacred rituals from a distance.

Dressed in a simple black abaya and covering her head with a bright blue scarf, Farheen looked up as she spoke. 바카라�Women in Islam are not allowed to visit graves because they are considered to be seen naked by the dead. We can pray from outside. What is the need to go inside?바카라� she asked in a calm voice. Though pragmatic, her words carried the weight of tradition바카라�a belief that had been passed down through generations.

Farheen, who hails from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, did not seem to question this centuries-old custom. For her, it is a practice she has to be accepted without second thoughts. Beside her, Shaista, her face partially veiled in a delicate beige dupatta, nodded in agreement.

The dimming light cast soft shadows on her face, highlighting the serenity she wore like a second skin. She, too, seemed content with the rules that governed their place in the dargah. Both women were enveloped in the stillness of the courtyard, where the chatter of pilgrims, the rustling of prayer mats, and the gentle clinking of coins as offerings were the only sounds that interrupted the quiet reverence of the space. Farheed murmured, 바카라�Women are considered unclean during certain days of the month. They should not be allowed inside the dargah.바카라� Her words hung in the air as she gestured towards the grand tomb of Mirza Ghalib, which stood nearby.

Her expression softened as she spoke, and there was a trace of contradiction in her eyes. 바카라�But you know,바카라� she added, 바카라�there is nothing in Islam that says women cannot visit graves. In fact, the Prophet Muhammad himself visited graves, and he encouraged both men and women to do so.바카라�

The woman바카라�s voice gained strength as she spoke of Islamic teachings, with her fingers lightly tracing the rosary beads she held in her hands. 바카라�Prophet Muhammad바카라�s wife, Hazrat Ayesha, visited the grave of her brother, and Hazrat Fatima, the Prophet바카라�s daughter, regularly visited the grave of her uncle, Hazrat Hamza,바카라� she continued, quoting the examples of revered figures who defied such restrictions.

The scene around them buzzed with a mix of devotion and commerce. Vendors sold offerings of flowers, incense and scented oils. Wrapped in simple white cloths, some men emerged from the inner sanctum, with their faces glowing with the peace of a prayer well said. But these women remained outside near intricately carved walls of the dargah that seemed to bear witness to the years of devotion and controversy surrounding the place.

Tinged with reflection this time, Farheen바카라�s voice broke the silence again. 바카라�There is no scripture that forbids women from visiting graves, but the tradition here is different,바카라� she said and pondered the centuries-old rules that dictated their space in this sacred environment.

Sadia Dehlvi, the late columnist and author, had written in Sufism: The Heart of Islam and The Sufi Courtyard: Dargahs of Delhi that dargahs have always been spaces where men, women and children congregated. While some dargahs, like the one in Ajmer, have allowed men and women equal access to the inner sanctum, others, such as the Nizamuddin Dargah in Delhi, continue to uphold the tradition of keeping women outside its inner chamber in the name of preserving an age-old practice that has often been defended as an essential part of the dargah바카라�s identity.

바카라�The Nizamuddin Dargah has been this way for 700 years,바카라� said a member of the shrine바카라�s management who refused to be named. Standing in the heart of the courtyard, he watched men and transgender pilgrims entering the shrine. Though his tone was firm, his eyes betrayed no doubt about the necessity of preserving the tradition. 바카라�Asking 바카라�why바카라� for everything creates controversy,바카라� he said, with his voice slightly gruff as he waved dismissively.

Yet, the grand and ornate arches of the shrine, the dome that rose into the evening sky and the centuries-old walls stood like silent sentinels to the debate that had followed this dargah for years. While men and transgender people moved freely inside, women like Shaista and Farheen remained outside.

Alhaj Syed Nayeemuddin Niazi had a different perspective. 바카라�Throughout their lifetimes, Sufi saints interacted with women and healed them,바카라� he said. 바카라�Why would they suddenly change after death?바카라� He was challenging the reasoning put forth by those who upheld the tradition.

With its centuries-old rituals, the Nizamuddin Dargah in a way represents more than just a place of prayer. It is a symbol of the clash between tradition and growing calls for gender equality within religious spaces. Shaista and Farheen stood to leave as the evening deepened and the last prayers were offered. Their faces reflected a quiet peace. They have perhaps accepted that their place within the dargah was part of a tradition they had inherited.