The Chishti Order is a Sufi order within the mystic branches of Islam which was founded in Chisht, a small town near Herat, about 930 C.E. and continues to this day (2008). The Chishti Order is known for its emphasis on love, tolerance, and openness.]
The order was founded by Abu Ishaq Shami ("the Syrian") who brought Sufism to the town of Chisht, some 95 miles east of Herat in present-day western Afghanistan. Before returning to the Levant, Shami initiated, trained and deputized the son of the local Amir, (Khwaja) Abu Ahmad Abdal (d. 966). Under the leadership of Abu Ahmad’s descendants, the Chishtiyya as they are also known, flourished as a regional mystical order.
