Hazrat Naseeruddin, the celebrated khalifa of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, came to be called, Roshan Chiragh Dilli, Lamp of Delhi. His Master bestowed the title for he lit lamps with water instead of oil, to facilitate the construction of a water tank after the hostile Sultan banned the sale of oil.

Naseeruddin Mahmud was born around 1276 AD at Ayodhya in Awadh (in the present day Uttar Pradesh), the town where his grandfather migrated from Khorasan. The mystic’s father died when he was nine years old, and was brought up solely by his mother. Drawn to asceticism, the young boy spent his time engaged in prayer and incessant fasting. At the age of 25, he abandoned the world, embracing the Sufi way. The search for a spiritual mentor brought him to Delhi where he became a disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin.

Used to an ascetic life in the jungles of Awadh, Shaykh Naseeruddin expressed the desire to return to a life of seclusion. Hazrat Nizamuddin ordered the disciple to remain in Delhi, suffering the hardships and indignities that people inflicted on him. A few months before his death, Hazrat Nizamuddin awarded a khilfatnama to Shaykh Naseeruddin who then lived in Delhi for 32 years in the area now known as Chiragh Dilli. His early years were steeped in poverty and many nights were spent without a flicker of light. Often, in front of visitors the mystic would cover his tattered garments with Hazrat Nizamuddin’s cloak.

Shaykh Naseeruddin fiercely fought Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s theory of the state and religion being inseparable. The Chishti Masters traditionally isolated themselves from the court, believing that engaging in government matters hindered spiritual achievements. Tughlaq made it extremely difficult for the Sufi to continue living in Delhi. The ruler had forced the population of the capital city to move to his new capital in the Deccan.

The exodus caused a large void in the social, cultural and religious life of Delhi. It took the Shaykh tremendous effort to rebuild the former life around the khanqah that had been dismantled due to the Sultan’s eccentric decision. The Sultan resented the popularity of Sufis over the orthodox clergy, whom he utilized to influence public opinion.

Between the years 1348–50 AD, Muhammad bin Tughlaq was preoccupied suppressing the rebellion in Gujarat headed by Taghi. In 1349 the Sultan’s rule had been restored in Gujarat and he left in pursuit of Taghi, who had escaped to Thata.

Passing through Kathiawar, the Sultan summoned a few nobles and clergy from Delhi. They included the Sultan’s cousin, Firoz Tughlaq, and Shaykh Naseeruddin, who were implicated in instigating the rebellion. However, the Sultan died before the two reached Thata.

An army from Transoxania arrived in Delhi around the same time to aid the Sultan against the rebels. On learning of the Sultan’s death, they began to attack the Delhi army.

In an effort to save Delhi from Mongol rule, the leaders and Sufis supported the ascension of the 46-year-old Firoz Shah Tughlaq to the throne. Shaykh Naseeruddin attended the coronation ceremony, offering prayers for the ruler and the people of the country.

Shaykh Naseeruddin never visited the court again, retreating to the quiet life of the khanqah. Although Firoz Shah Tughlaq showered the Sufis with gifts, the Shaykh’s khanqah remained committed to traditions of poverty.

When the Sultan came to meet the Shaykh, the ruler was treated like any other ordinary visitor and often kept waiting. The Shaykh fasted regularly and ate very little at permissible times. He took an interest in ‘sama’ but never allowed the use of musical instruments. Following in his Master’s footsteps, Shaykh Naseeruddin chose to remain unmarried.

One day after offering the afternoon prayers Naseeruddin retired to his room. A qalandar by the name of Turab entered the room and stabbed him with a knife inflicting 11 wounds. Seeing blood gushing out of the drain near the jamaatkhana, some disciples rushed inside and stopped Turab from further attacking the Shaykh.

They wanted to retaliate but the Shaykh forbade them, showing concern for the assailant. He then asked Turab for forgiveness, lest the knife had hurt the assailant’s hand, and made the disciples promise that they would not harm Turab in any way.

When news of the assault spread, people came out crying and wailing. The Sultan requested that Turab be handed over to the state for punishment. The Shaykh gave Turab 25 silver tankas, asking people to forgive him just as he had. Under the protection of the Shaykh, the assailant left Delhi unharmed.

The Shaykh believed it was necessary to associate with people and at the same time withdraw from worldly affairs. He stressed upon the importance of earning a livelihood by honest means and warned that black marketing led to the ruin of a society.

Shaykh Naseeruddin survived three years after the assault on his life, dying on 18 Ramadan 757 Hijri/1356 AD. He was buried in his own house, at a place he had selected for his grave many years earlier.

The Shaykh did not consider any among his disciples worthy of receiving the treasured relics entrusted to him by Shaykh Nizamuddin. In accordance with his wishes, the cloak of his Master was placed over his body, the staff laid beside him, the prayer beads wound upon his finger, the wooden bowl placed over his head, and the Master’s sandals rested upon his breast. Shaykh Naseeruddin’s foremost disciple Sayyid Muhammad Gesu Daraz bathed his body.

Delhi has been traditionally known as ‘Baees khwaja ki chaukhat’, the threshold of 22 Sufi Masters. The Chishti Sufis draw their spiritual lineage from Hasan of Basra, who was initiated by the Prophet’s son-in-law, Imam Ali.

There is a belief that Prophet Muhammad gifted some of his personal possessions, including a cloak and prayer carpet, to the elders of the Chishti Order. These sacred relics came to the sub-continent with Khwaja Gharib Nawaz of Ajmer, and were then entrusted to his successor, Khwaja Qutub Bakhtiar Kaki, who passed them on to Baba Farid.

They arrived in Delhi with Baba Farid’s disciple Shaykh Nizamuddin Auliya who handed them to Shaykh Naseeruddin. The latter willed that the relics be entombed with him.

The spiritual chain from Prophet Muhammad to Hazrat Naseeruddin  remains an unbroken silsila, chain of 22 Khwajas, and Delhi became their threshold. Firoz Shah Tughlaq built Shaykh Naseeruddin Mahmud’s mausoleum in 1373 AD. Baba Farid’s granddaughter, the Shaykh’s nephew and khalifa Shaykh Makhdoom Zainuddin and other mystics lie buried in the graveyard of the Dargah complex at Chiragh Dilli in New Delhi.