The town of Chisht, from which the Chishti Sufi order takes its name, is located in:

The town of Chisht (Chisht-i-Sharif), from which the Chishti order (silsila) of Sufis takes its name, is located in western Afghanistan, east of Herat, in the Herat province.

About the origin of the Chishti order:

• The order was founded in the 10th century at Chisht by Abu Ishaq Shami, a Sufi from Syria, who settled there.
• His disciples and successors, such as Khwaja Abu Ahmad Abdal Chishti, developed the order at Chisht.

The Chishti order in India:

• It was brought to India by Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, who settled at Ajmer in the late 12th century.
• It became the most popular Sufi order in India.

The great Chishti saints of India include:

• Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti (Ajmer).
• Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (Delhi).
• Baba Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakar (Pakpattan, Punjab).
• Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya (Delhi).
• Shaikh Nasiruddin Chiragh-i-Dilli (Delhi).

Features of the Chishti order:

• NCERT notes that the Chishtis adapted successfully to the local environment and adopted several features of Indian devotional traditions.
• They emphasised love of God, service to humanity, and simplicity.
• They kept away from the court and the rulers, and did not accept state grants (in principle).
• They welcomed people of all religions and classes to their khanqahs.
• They used music in their spiritual gatherings.
• They used the local language (Hindavi).

Names of the silsilas:

NCERT explains that the names of silsilas were usually derived from the name of a founding figure (for example, the Qadiri order from Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani), or from a place of origin, such as the Chishti order from Chisht in central Afghanistan.

Other Sufi orders:

• Suhrawardi: named after Shihabuddin Suhrawardi.
• Naqshbandi: named after Bahauddin Naqshband.
• Qadiri: named after Abdul Qadir Jilani.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Iran, Iraq and Uzbekistan were centres of other orders.