Sheikh Salim Chishti was born in the year 1478 as a humble descendant of the Punjabi mystic Sheikh Farid. He spent his life in quiet devotion within the Chishti Order, a Sufi tradition that emphasized love and service over political power.
Emperor Akbar traveled to the village of Sikri specifically to ask the saint to pray for a male heir to the throne. After a year of waiting, the queen Mariam-uz-Zamani gave birth to a son whom Akbar named Salim, forever linking the future emperor Jahangir to the saint.
The tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti was constructed between the years 1580 and 1581 by Akbar himself. The structure features intricate white marble and red sandstone, with a unique dome that has become an architectural icon.
A daughter of Sheikh Salim Chishti became the foster mother of the emperor's son, Prince Salim, who would later reign as Jahangir. Her son, Qutb-ud-din Khan Koka, was made the governor of Bengal and Orissa, granting him immense power and influence within the imperial structure.
The descendants of Sheikh Salim Chishti live in the Gazipur District of Amenabad, Talebabad, and Chandrapratap, with notable figures including Chowdhury Tanbir Ahmed Siddiky who serves as the Commerce Minister of Bangladesh. His great grandson Kursheed Aleem Chishti lives there representing the 16th generation of the saint's lineage.
The entire complex was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986, preserving the legacy of a man who never sought power but commanded it through faith. The site remains a place of pilgrimage where visitors walk the same paths that Akbar once trod in search of spiritual guidance.