Amir Khusrau

History glossary

Also called: Tuti-i-Hind · Topic: Bhakti and Sufi Traditions · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions"

Meaning

Amir Khusrau (1253–1325) was a poet and musician who followed the Chishti sufi master Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya. He brought in the qaul, the hymn that opens and closes a qawwali, and he is widely accepted as the creator of qawwali [2]. He matters because his music linked sufi worship with India's own singing traditions of devotion. He is also a regular name in exam questions on Chishti sama' and on Indo-Persian culture.

Explanation

Background: the Chishti world he lived in

  • The Chishtis were the biggest of the sufi groups that came into India in the late 12th century.
  • They did well because they fitted into the local setting. They took up Indian habits instead of staying apart.
  • Khusrau belonged to the circle of Nizamuddin Auliya (d. 1325). Nizamuddin's 14th-century khanqah (hospice, where a sufi master lived with his followers) stood at Ghiyaspur, on the Yamuna, outside Delhi.
  • Many kinds of people came to this khanqah:
  • soldiers, slaves, singers, Hindu jogis and qalandars (wandering sufis who broke the usual rules)
  • the poets Amir Hasan Sijzi and Amir Khusrau
  • the historian Ziyauddin Barani

Main contribution: sama', qaul and qawwali

  • Sama' literally means "audition". It means listening to mystical music. For the Chishtis it was a central part of worship, not an extra.
  • Zikr (repeating the Divine Names again and again) was the other main practice.
  • Khusrau's addition: the qaul
  • The qaul is the hymn sung at the opening and close of a qawwali.

  • It is still sung first at Nizamuddin's shrine today.

  • Creator of qawwali

  • Khusrau is widely accepted as the creator of qawwali. His works form the base of the old qawwali songs [2].

  • The closing song, the rang, remembers his bond with his master Nizamuddin Auliya [2].

  • What qawwali songs are made of

  • Most qawwali texts are Persian devotional verse, by Khusrau and also by Rumi and Hafez.
  • Many songs are also in Punjabi and Hindi [2].

Poetry, language and his title

  • He was called "Tuti-e-Hind" (also written Tuti-i-Hind), the Parrot of India. The name praised his sweet verse in qawwali, ghazal and rubai forms [3][4].
  • ghazal: a short love poem made of couplets

  • rubai: a poem of four lines

  • He wrote in Persian. He also wrote in Hindavi, the everyday speech of the Delhi region. The Delhi Chishtis themselves spoke Hindavi with their visitors.

Results and legacy

  • Music became the bridge to bhakti
  • Bhakti worship was full of singing.

  • Chishti sama' and qawwali gave sufis a shared devotional language with ordinary Indians.

  • Qawwali is still part of shrine life today. The qaul still opens it and the rang still closes it.

  • His life shows how Chishti devotion took in local culture and did not stand apart from it.

Time, place and evidence

  • Period: 1253–1325, the time of the Delhi Sultanate. Nizamuddin Auliya also died in 1325.
  • Place: Delhi, mainly Nizamuddin's khanqah at Ghiyaspur on the Yamuna. The qaul is still sung first at Nizamuddin's shrine in Delhi.
  • Key people: his master Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya, who was later called sultan-ul-mashaikh ("sultan among Shaikhs"). Other members of the same circle were Amir Hasan Sijzi and Ziyauddin Barani.
  • How we know:
  • His own poems, which are still sung in the qawwali tradition [2]
  • The living practice at Nizamuddin's shrine, where the qaul is sung first and the rang is sung last
  • Writings from the khanqah circle. For example, Amir Hasan Sijzi recorded Nizamuddin's refusal of a ruler's gift of land in 1313
  • Government cultural records, which use his title Tuti-e-Hind [3][4]

Don't confuse with

  • Amir Hasan Sijzi: also a poet in Nizamuddin's circle. He is known for recording Nizamuddin's words, such as the 1313 refusal of land. He did not create the qaul.
  • Qaul vs rang: the qaul opens a qawwali (and also closes it). The rang is the closing song that remembers Khusrau's bond with Nizamuddin [2].
  • Tuti-e-Hind vs other titles: Tuti-e-Hind (Parrot of India) is Khusrau. Gharib Nawaz is Muinuddin Sijzi of Ajmer. Data Ganj Bakhsh is al-Hujwiri of Lahore. Chiragh-i Dehli is Nasiruddin. Sultan-ul-mashaikh is Nizamuddin.
  • Ziyauddin Barani: he also visited Nizamuddin's khanqah, but he was a historian, not a poet or musician.

Prelims Hooks

  • Amir Khusrau (1253–1325) was a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya, whose dargah is in Delhi.
  • He introduced the qaul, the hymn that opens and closes a qawwali. It is still sung first at Nizamuddin's shrine.
  • He is called Tuti-e-Hind, the "Parrot of India" [3][4]. Trap: this is not Gharib Nawaz (Muinuddin) and not Data Ganj Bakhsh (al-Hujwiri).
  • He is credited as the creator of qawwali. The closing rang honours Nizamuddin Auliya [2].
  • Qawwali verse is mostly Persian, by Khusrau, Rumi and Hafez, with many songs also in Punjabi and Hindi [2].
  • Sama' means "audition", or listening to mystical music. It was central to the Chishtis.

Mains Points

  • Music as the meeting point of sufi and bhakti.
  • Khusrau's qaul and qawwali turned Chishti sama' into a form of devotion ordinary people could share [2].
  • Bhakti worship was also built on song, so music became the common ground between the two.

  • This supports the view that Islam spread in India mainly through shared devotional culture, not through force.

  • Continuity of a living heritage.

  • The qaul is still sung first at Nizamuddin's shrine, and the rang still honours Nizamuddin [2].

  • So a practice from the 14th century survives today as part of India's intangible cultural heritage. This is useful for GS-I questions on Indian art and culture.

  • Language and adaptation.

  • Khusrau wrote Persian verse, and he worked inside a Chishti circle that spoke Hindavi.
  • Persian and local forms mixed, and that mixing helps explain why the Chishtis became the biggest sufi order in India.
  • He was nicknamed Tuti-e-Hind, which shows how much his verse was loved [3][4].

Related concepts

Read more

Sources

  1. 1Class 12, Ch 2 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions" (primary)
  2. 2Qawwali | Definition, Singers, & Factsbritannica.com · tier 3
  3. 3Amir Khusro Delhviignca.gov.in · tier 1
  4. 4Amir Khusro | INDIAN CULTUREindianculture.gov.in · tier 1