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Legend Of Kaki
Khwaja Qutub-ud-Din Bakhtyar Kaki, popularly known as Qutub-Sahib, and
surnamed 'Kaki' because during his meditation he was fed on small cakes
known as 'kaks', was born at Ush in Persia. He came to India with the
earliest Muslim conquerors after journeying through Khurasan and Baghdad
and became a disciple, and later a spiritual successor, of Khawaja
Mu'inu'd-Din Chishti of Ajmer. He lived during the reign of Iltutmish and
died in 1236.
Making Of The Memorial
His grave, originally plain and earthen, but now enclosed within marble
balustrades and surmounted by a dome resting on pillars, completed as late
as 1944, is the main shrine in the dargah. It lies in the middle of a
rectangular enclosure, which has been embellished by different rulers of
Delhi, the most pleasing part being the western wall
containing floral multi-coloured tiles, said to have been fixed by
Aurangzeb.
The saint was held in high esteem by different rulers and several of them
lie buried in the various enclosures around his grave, the whole place
being turned into a kind of necropolis. Among those buried here are
Bahadur Shah I, Shah 'Alam II, Akbar II and members of their families.
Bahadur Shah II prepared a grave here for his burial, but it remained
unutilized, as he was deported to Rangoon where he died and was buried.
The dargah is provided with several gates, halls for different purposes,
such as the 'Naubat-Khana' (drum-house), 'Majlis-Khana' (assembly-house)
and 'Tosh-Khana' (robe-chamber), mosques, tanks and a baoli.
According to an inscription on its main northern gate, it was erected in
1542, during Sher Shah's reign by Shaikh Khalil, a descendant of saint
Faridu'd-Din Shakarganj, who was himself a disciple and successor of
Khwaja Qutub-ud-Din Kaki.
Important Mosques
Among important mosques is the small marble-built Moti Masjid (pearl
mosque) with three arched openings, and double-storyed minars at the
eastern corners of its courtyard. It is believed to have been built about
1709 by Bahadur Shah I. Farrukhsiyar added two gates to the enclosure of
the dargah.
Ruins Of Zafar Mahal
Outside the western entrance of the dargah, known as the Ajmeri gate, are
the ruins of Zafar-Mahal, a palace built by Akbar II, the main gateway of
which is said to have been reconstructed by Bahadur Shah II and named
after his "nom de plume" Zafar. Built of red sandstone relieved
by marble, it is a lofty, three-storeyed imposing structure, with arcades
inside it flanked by rooms on the same pattern as in the Chhatta-Chowk in
the Red Fort.
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