Chadar/Chaddar

A chadar is an intricately woven or embroidered cloth offered at the tombs of revered Sufi saints. Purchasing a Chadar (ceremonial cloth) in Amritsar is deeply significant as an act of spiritual devotion and respect used for offerings at Sufi shrines and dargahs. Laying a chadar on a saint's grave represents deep reverence, gratitude, and a heartfelt prayer for blessings or forgiveness.

Amritsar serves as a cultural hub where local textile distributors and markets supply traditional and floral chadars (phoolon ki chadar) for pilgrims traveling to major shrines

This chadar, in green (signifying spirituality in Islam) is embroidered and fringed in gold. It is adorned with mosque symbols and the numbers 786, a numerical shorthand for the Arabic phrase Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim ("In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful").

  • 786 is often embroidered on chadars to invoke divine blessings and to avoid writing the name of God on cloth that might be discarded or handled disrespectfully. While widespread, scholars clarify this is a later cultural practice rather than an established teaching from the Qur'an or the Prophet Muhammad.

    In many South Asian and Middle Eastern Muslim communities, 786 is used as a numerical shorthand for the Arabic phrase. This is calculated using the Abjad system, where each Arabic letter is assigned a numerical value. Adding the values of the letters in Bismillah equals 786.

  • Title: Chadar/Chaddar

  • Date: 2019

  • Geography: Punjab, India

  • Medium: Nylon

  • Dimensions: H. 85 in.  W. 40 in.

  • Provenance: Purchased in Amritsar, India

  • Inventory Number:  IN.45