Morfata

 Dargah Sharif Morfata is a Sufi Muslim destination in Morfata, near the Nagpur city of Maharashtra. It is popularly known as the resting place of Hazrat Sakhi Peer Baba Rahmatullah Alaihi. Although the main attraction is the shrine of Sakhi Peer Baba, the Dargah complex comprises other Mazars of different Sufi saints, including Hazrat Rahmatullah Sain, Hazrat Nazir Auliya Chishty aka Bellary Wale Baba [1], and Niamatullah Sain, along with other Sufis. The Morfata dargah is well known for its 24/7 Chai Langar served the whole year.



Dargah Sharif Morfata 

Sakhi Peer Baba, Morfata

Syed Mujeeb ur Rahman Ashqalani, aka Sakhi Peer Baba He was born in Ashqalan in 1290 A.D. to his father, Hazrat Syed Najmuddin Ashqalani, and his mother, Syed Ruqayya Bibi. Hazrat Najmuddin was a Sufi ascetic, mufti, and the shaykh of the Qadri order, who traces his lineage to Imam Hussein through his father, Syed Ghyasuddin Ashqalani. His mother was Hasni Syed, so basically Sakhi Peer Baba was najibut-tarfain (belonging to the Syed family from both the paternal and maternal sides). He received his initial education from his home itself, from his well-learned parents and grandparents, and reached Morfata, India, in 1326 A.D. from Ashqalan, Palestine, after visiting the holy city of Mecca and Medina. He was the contemporary of Mithanim Wale Baba of Nagpur, whose actual name was Hazrat Jalaluddin Mir Surkh. Sources claim that he met Mithanim Wale Baba in 1332 A.D. He had performed several Hajj during his lifetime. He received Wisal in the month of Muharram in 1372 A.D. His funeral prayer was performed by Hazrat Jalaluddin Mir Surkh. [2]

Morfata urs

Every year the Urs festival is celebrated on Dargah by the Morfata Dargah Trust, which lasts for 10 days. The Urs is known to attract well-known Qawwals of the region, including Raees Anis Sabri. Langar is common during Urs with various other religious rituals such as ghusl, QuranKhani, Sima Mela (fair), etc. The Urs is celebrated annually, starting on the second day of the Hindu festival, Holi, and lasting for 10 days.

Interior of the shrine of Sakhi Peer Baba, Morfata 


Chai Langar, Morfata

The term chai langar is a compound term derived from Hindi and Punjabi languages. The word chai means tea in Hindi, whereas langar is a Punjabi term for a freely offered sacred meal. This freely offered Chai Langar is considered an elixir by the devotees for their various physical and ruhani (spiritual) ailments. This special tea is prepared with jaggery on burning wood in the Dargah campus. Devotees gather around this sacred Chai Bhatti (tea furnace) to receive the blessings of the saints through this Chai Langar.

Tourist attractions

Since Morfata is surrounded by forests adjoining Pench National Park, it is a good place for trekking, especially for those who are interested in exploring wildlife. Deer, peacocks, monkeys, and other wild animals can be easily spotted surrounding the Dargah region in the forest. The actual mazar (grave) of Sakhi Peer Baba is located on a hillock in the Dargah campus, behind which the forests start. Devotees do arrange ''Niyaz'' and ''Langar'' in Morfata after fulfillment of their (Mannat) wishes. Tourists often visit this shrine during the national festivals of India, such as Republic Day and Independence Day, apart from Urs. So apart from being a spiritual destination, Morfata, surrounded by jungles and wildlife, also serves as the popular picnic spot for the tourists from the nearby cities of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

There is a very popular saying regarding this dargah, that tigers from the surrounding Pench Tiger Reserve still used to come to the shrine to pay their homage to this holy saint.

See Also

Tajbagh

References

  1. ↑ Bellary wale Baba is an honorary epithet for Hazrat Khwaja Nazeer Auliya Chishty Nizami, the father-in-law of Hazrat Peer Pasha Saheb Nizami, the peer of Khwaja Ikram Nizami, the leading Sufi Shaykh of the Nizami Chishti order in Nagpur. In his lifetime, Baba loved to stay at the Khanqah of Khwaja Ikram Nizami, in the Satranjipura, Nagpur. Bellary wale Baba's Mazar Mubarak is located in the Dargah Sharif Morfata Complex as Dargah Hazrat Khwaja Nazir Auliya Chishty.

  2. ↑ Book, Gausul Azam Shah Syed Jalaluddin Mir Surkh.