Sufism

Moinuddin Chishti taught that the highest devotion to God is helping the helpless and feeding the hungry

The founder of the Chishti order in South Asia grounded mystical attainment in concrete social action rather than solitary contemplation.

According to the oral and hagiographic tradition of the order he founded, Moinuddin Chishti (c. 1141-1236), who established the Chishti order's presence in Ajmer, India, taught that serving those in need - feeding the hungry, aiding the helpless - constitutes the highest form of devotion to God, above ritual observance alone. This teaching, sometimes summarized in Chishti tradition through images of river-like generosity, sun-like affection, and earth-like hospitality, positioned social compassion not as a secondary ethical duty alongside mysticism but as itself the mystical practice, collapsing any gap between contemplative devotion and practical charity. This emphasis helps explain why the Chishti order developed a reputation for hospices, khanqahs, that fed and sheltered people regardless of their religious background. The shrine Moinuddin Chishti established at Ajmer remains one of the most visited Sufi pilgrimage sites in South Asia, drawing pilgrims across religious lines to this day.