ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the meanings and power of water in the South Asian Sufi tradition by analysing the dargahs (shrines) of Shah al-Hamid Nagori in south India and Nizam al-Din Auliya in Delhi, north India. These shrines associated with water and its curative powers are an attraction even today for both Muslim and Hindu pilgrims. They remain among the most visited dargahs in South Asia, making them relevant to understanding popular religious sentiments in particular about the value of water. In spite of the divergent histories of the two shrines, water at each of their shrines holds an extraordinary power for their followers. This chapter follows beliefs at these two shrines from their foundations to the present day. In the case of the shrine of Nizam al-Din special emphasis is placed on work recently undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust to restore the water works at the shrine and its surroundings. At a time when Delhi’s water situation has reached a crisis level this ongoing project is a lifeline to human well-being, a philosophy preached by Nizam al-Din himself.
