Preparing for Ramadan – Sha’aban 2 – 15 Nisfu Sha’ban Lailat ul Bara’at

Posted on February 12, 2025 by Imam Salim Chishti
Full moon of Sha’ban

Lailat-ul-Bara’at or Shab e Barat (as it is known in the Indian Sub-continent) is the night of the full moon of the Islamic month of Sha’ban. Some scholars equate this night with Lailat Mubaraka (night of blessing) which is mentioned in the Qur’an. This is considered a very auspicious night for prayer and asking of forgiveness from Allah (swt). In English it can also be translated as night of emancipation, night of forgiveness or night of freedom or night of deliverance. It is also a preparation for the fasting and prayers during the holy month of Ramadhan. It is the special night of seeking forgiveness and repenting to God (tauba), remembering past sins and sincerely settling the mind that one will never commit sins in the future.

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Preparing for Ramadan – Sha’ban 1

Posted on February 11, 2025 by Imam Salim Chishti

السلام عليكم

Shaban
Sha’ban

My dear brothers and sisters. This week we have entered the month of Sha’ban, alhamdul’illah. It is a great gift that Allah (swt) has allowed us to again come to this time of the year. And in one month, insha’allah we will enter the most blessed month of Ramadan. Sha’ban is a great opportunity for us to think about the things we need to from the past year and to look forward to and prepare for Ramadan.

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5th February (CE Calendar) Urs Of Inayat Khan, 1926CE, Nizamuddin Basti, Delhi

Posted on February 5, 2025 by Imam Salim Chishti
Tomb of Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan, Delhi ©Imam Salim Chishti

Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan, a brilliant Indian musician, came to the West in 1910 at the behest of his Sufi teacher, Sayyed Muhammad Abu Hashim Madani, who charged him with a mission: to harmonize East and West with the music of his soul.

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15th-17th Rabi ath Thani Urs Hazrat Abdul Qadir Jilani, Baghdad, Iraq 1166CE/561AH

Posted on October 13, 2024 by Imam Salim Chishti
Mazar of Abdul Qadir Jilani

Al-Syed Muhiyudin Abu Muhammad Abdal Qadir al-Gilani al-Hasani wal-Hussaini (there are many variant spellings of his name) 0r simply known as Ghaus-e-Azam (470–561 AH) (1077–1166 AD) was a Persian Hanbali preacher, Sufi sheikh and the figurehead of the Qadiri Sufi order. He was born on the 20th Sha’ban in 470 AH, (March 18, 1077CE) in the Persian province of Gilan (Iran) south of the Caspian Sea.

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13th September Hejirat Day – 1910CE

Posted on September 14, 2024 by Imam Salim Chishti
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan

When Inayat Khan came to the West — 120 years ago – from his perspective we might call it “the mysterious West” — in 1910, he brought with him the traditions of the Sufi schools of India and Central Asia. He came with the intention of bringing harmony, and even as the methods he was to teach were all but unknown to a Eurocentric, post-Victorian society, so was the ground in which his seeds were to be sown a world unknown to him.

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