Chilla Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar (R.A.) – Sacred Underground Retreat

Chilla of Hazrat Baba Farid (R.A.)

Behind the Masjid Sandal Khana lies a cell (Hujra). This is the sacred place where Hazrat Baba Fariduddin Masood Ganj Shakar performed his 40-day spiritual retreat (Chillakashi). (Ahsanus Siyar, Page 49)

The entrance to the Chilla Sharif was merely a narrow passage, and pilgrims had to exit through the same narrow path after performing visitation (Ziyarat). Consequently, pilgrims faced extreme difficulty entering and exiting, and it took a lot of time. Realizing this hardship, in 1980, an elder among the Khuddam of Khwaja Sahib,offered his services to widen the passage. Maintaining the dignity, sanctity, and antiquity of Chilla Sharif, he got it reconstructed at his personal expense. Later, in 2004, Janab Syed Fazlul Karim got further renovation done on the interior.

This cell is opened for 72 hours starting from the 4th of Muharram-ul-Haram. The following Persian couplets are engraved at the Chilla site:

Persian Verses:

Ka’bat-ul Ushshaq bashad in maqam

Har ke naqis amad inja shud tamam

Har ke amad bar darat khali naraft

Garche khali bud az roz-e-alast

Translation: This place is like the Kaaba for true lovers. Whoever comes here incomplete leaves complete. Whoever arrives at your doorway never returns empty-handed, even if they have been empty since the Day of Alast (Creation). On this land where your footprints lie, devotees will offer prostrations of reverence for years to come.