The Meaning of Urs — From Mourning to Celebration
- The 722nd Urs of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia in Delhi
- A Saint Who Bridged Hearts and Faiths
The 722nd Urs of Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia is being celebrated in Delhi from October 9–13, 2025. Justice Markandey Katju reflects on the spiritual essence of Urs — a festival that celebrates a saint’s union with the Divine — and on the timeless legacy of Nizamuddin Aulia and his disciple Amir Khusro.
The Urs of Sufi saint Nizamuddin Aulia
By Justice Markandey Katju
The 722nd Urs of renowned Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia is being celebrated from 9th October to 13th October 2025 in Delhi at the dargah of the saint.
Urs are celebrations held at a dargah where a sufi saint is buried, and it is held on his death anniversary. Now this may sound odd : a death anniversary should be an occasion to express sorrow. Why is it celebrated ?
To explain this, one must know that the word 'urs' is an Arabic word literally meaning a wedding. It is believed that on his death, the Sufi saint was united with God, and hence this is an occasion for celebration.
Though an atheist, I am very fond of visiting dargahs, and have great respect for sufi saints, as explained below :
I have been to numerous dargahs, e.g. Ajmer Sharif, Kaliyar Sharif ( near Roorkee ), Dewa Sharif ( near Lucknow ), etc. In particular, I have visited the dargahs of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia and Amir Khusro ( they are adjacent to each other ) several times.
Here is a story of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia and his disciple Amir Khusro
A form of spiritual music called qawwali is sung during the urs
All are cordially invited to the urs of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia in Delhi
(Justice Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. These are his personal views.)
