Khidmat" Before Fajr Prayer
An hour before the 'Salat' of Fajr, khadims and devotees of Khwaja Saheb gather in Begami Dalan which is the main entrance to the Mazaar (Grave) and lies to the east of the tomb. Azan is recited by one of the khadims after which the Kalid Bardar opens the lock that guards the main door. Through this entrance the khadims enter into the tomb and stand in between the main entrance and a small door, which is still closed. Before opening this small door the Kalid Bardar sends Darood and Salaam to the holy Prophet, his descendants and to Huzoor Gharib Nawaz. The small door is then opened and khadims enter into the tomb. After entering into the tomb, they prepare for 'Khidmat'.
Some stand round the first enceinte of the Mazaar, some enter in between space of the two enceintes and some enter in between the space of the Holy Mazaar and the second enceinte. Flowers and chadar are removed from the Mazaar which is then cleansed and fresh flowers and chadar are offered. Once this ceremony is over, khadims standing in between the two enceintes and outside the second enceinte start cleaning the floor with 'Farasha' ( a special dust remover made with peacock feathers).
During this ceremony devotees are not permitted to enter the tomb. For them the southern door of the tomb is open, where they are allowed to enter into the tomb and sit in the open space near the shrine of Hazrat Bibi Hafiza Jamal, daughter of Khwaja Gharib Nawaz. Once the khadims are finished with the ritual of Khidmat inside the tomb, the devotees are allowed to enter into the tomb and perform Ziarat of the Mazaar. This ceremony ends before the call of Azaan for Salat of Fajr.
"Khidmat" After Zohr Prayer
An hour after zohr prayers another ceremony is performed which is also known as Khidmat. At this time, though the doors of the tomb are closed the southern door is used for entrance into the tomb. At the time of this ceremony, devotees are permitted to enter the tomb. They are allowed to stand in between the space of the walls of the tomb and the enceinte of the Mazaar. At this time after removal of the flowers and chadar, sandal, attar, kewra and rose water are presented on the Mazaar. khadims who perform this ceremony offer prayers loudly. At the end of prayers fresh flowers and chadar are presented on the Mazaar. The floor of the tomb is also cleansed in traditional manner. Women are not permitted to enter the tomb during the entire period of this ceremony.
Lighting or Danka
Every day about 20 minutes before Maghrib prayer the ceremony of lighting is held. The way in which this ceremony is performed is that some khadims bring candles (especially prepared for this purpose) in their hands towards the Chhoti Deg. As soon as they start moving from the Chhoti Deg towards the Holy Tomb, drums are beaten.
Everyone starts gathering inside the tomb, those who can not enter the tomb stand outside on either side of the main entrance in the Begami Dalan.
At this time too, women are not permitted to enter into the tomb. khadims after touching the candles on to the heads of the devotees reach inside the tomb with prayers of blessing for devotees. They place those candles in the lamps. The unlighted candles are now lighted. The lamps in which the candles are placed are four in number. khadims hold these lamps in their hands and keep them above their heads. One of them recite Persian verses for the glory of the Holy Saint. With the end of those verses the people disperse and the lamps are placed in four corners of the Holy Tomb.
In the local language this ceremony is called 'Danka'.
Kadka
This last ceremony of the day is popularly known as 'Kadka' and is performed in traditional manner. This ceremony is held after an hour and a half of Isha prayers. After this ceremony the door of the main entrance into the Holy tomb is closed and locked.
According to an old tradition, 20 minutes before closing the main entrance of the Holy Tomb when about one fifth part of the night has passed, a person loudly calls to ring five and with his voice the clock sounds five times.
The khadims ready to perform this function request the devotees to vacate the tomb, the devotees come out of the tomb and stand on either side of the entrance. The khadims then close the other doors from inside and make a search inside the entire tomb to check if there is no one inside the tomb. At least three khadims join in this service. They clean the surroundings of the Mazaar in the same way as they do in the morning and evening Khidmat. They come out of the tomb one by one with the sand and dust of the floor kept in a fine cloth and keep the same in a shelf inside Sandali-Masjid. When the third and the last khadims come out, a person duly appointed again calls in a loud voice to ring six bells. The bell sounds six times. As soon as the voice of the sixth bell sounds, a qawwal starts to sing a special song in an Indian language which is called Kadka. As soon as the last verse of the Kadka is recited, the main entrance of the tomb is closed and locked. The Khadim on duty keeps the key with him and also keeps a watch of the tomb throughout the night.
