Generally it is misconceived that the Chishty order owes its origin to Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty R.A. In fact the fountain head of the Chishties is Hazrat Khwaja Abu Ishaque Shami R.A.

Once Hazrat Khwaja Abu Ishaque Shami R.A. approached Hazrat Khwaja Mimshad Alo Deenari, in Baghdad, with the intention of becoming his disciple. After the formers initiation, Hazrat Khwaja Mimshad Alo Deenari asked him by what name he was known by. He replied, 'This humble being is called Abu Ishaque Shami". 

There upon Hazrat Khawaja Mimshad Alo Deenari said to him, 'From today onward, we will call Abu Ishaque Shami Chishty and besides, whosoever enters the spiritual fold till the day of resurrection will be likewise called Chishty'.  

Therefore, whosoever enters this Chishty sect, is entitled to be called a Chishty. With the consent and command of his spiritual guide and teacher, Hazrat Khwaja Mimshad Alo Deenari, Hazrat Khwaja Abu Ishaque of Syria, reached Chisht and busied himself in worship and Mujaheda.

At this place there were also some prominent saints of his time, namely Hazrat Khwaja Ahmed Chishty, Hazrat Khwaja Mohammed Chishty, Hazrat Khwaja Abu Yousuf Chishty, Hazrat Khwaja Qutubuddin Mowdood Chishty, all of whom lived, worked and died in Chisht.This is the reason why all the disciples subsequently come to be known as Chishties. All the above mentioned prominent saints, spiritual teachers, guides and precursors of Hazrat Khwaja Sahib came to be entitled Chisht and called Chishty.

The Chishtya Order is one of the most popular and influential mystic orders of Islam. It derives its name from CHIST, a village near Herat in Afghanistan, where the real founder, Hazrat Khwaja Abu Ishaq Chishty (RA) of Syria, had settled by the command of his spiritual guide, Hazrat Khwaja Mamshad Ali Dinwari (RA).

When Hazrat Abu Ishaq Chishty (RA) arrived at the Khanqah of Hazrat Mamshad Ali Dinwari (RA), the Sheikh asked him of his name. He replied "Abu Ishaq SHAMI", and the Sheikh then said to him, "From this day people will refer to you as Abu Ishaq Chishty", and that he should go to Chist in Afghanistan and spread the mystic order so that people in and around Chist could receive spiritual guidance from him. Furthermore, the Sheikh said that all those people that would enter his (Khwaja Abu Ishaq Chishty) silsila, would be known as Chishty until the day of judgment.

The Chishtya Order flows from Hazrat Maula Ali (RA), leading to his spiritual descendants,
Khwaja Hasan Basri,
Khwaja Abde Wahid ibne Zaid ,
Khwaja Fuzail ibn Ayaz ,
Khwaja Ibrahim bin Adham ,
Khwaja Huzaifa Mir'ashi ,
Khwaja Hubaira Basri ,
Khwaja Mamshad Ali Dinwari ,
Khwaja Abu Ishaq Chishty (FOUNDER of the Order),
Khwaja Abu Ahmed Chishty ,
Khwaja Muhammad Chishty ,
Khwaja Abu Yusuf Chishty ,
Khwaja Maudood Chishty ,
Khwaja Haji Shareef Zindani ,
Khwaja Usmaan Harooni and
Khwaja Muinuddin Chisty Hasan Sanjeri Ajmeri.

Hazrat Khwaja Muinuddin Chishty , also known as Khwaja Ghareeb Nawaaz, brought the silsila to India at the close of the 11th century, and established its centre in Ajmer. From here, the sufi order spread throughout India and became a force in the spiritual life of the people of India. After his demise, his spiritual desendants and successors, viz. Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Kaki , Hazrat Khwaja Fariduddin Ganje Shakar , Hazrat Makhdoom Alauddin Ali Ahmed Sabir Kalyari and Hazrat Khwaja Nizamuddin Awliya Mahboob e Ilahi and their successors in turn, continued this noble mission.