The Shrine of Nizamuddin Auliya (top right), Mosque behind the shrine of Nizammuddin (bottom right) [From 'Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi’, an album consisting of 89 folios containing approximately 130 paintings of views of the Mughal and pre-Mughal monuments of Delhi, as well as other contemporary material, with an accompanying manuscript text written by Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe (1795-1853), the Governor-General’s Agent at the imperial court. Acquired with the assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund and of the National Art-Collections Fund.] The shrine of the celebrated Saint Nizamoodeen (the Regulator of the Faith) is situated to the S.S.E. from Dehly distant about a mile from the mausoleum of the Emperor Hoomaioon the Propitious - see page 9 [f. 12]. Nizamoodeen who was also entitled the Prince of Holy Men, the Saint, the Magnificent, the Munificent and the Beloved of God, was born at Ghuznee in Afghanistan, about the year AD 1237, provided the date of the Mahomedan era be correct viz. in 635 of the Hegirah or the year of the flight of the Prophet Mahomet. The progenitors of Nizamoodeen were natives of Bokhara. When young the subject of this memoir appears to have accompanied his father to Hindoostan, and to have resided for sometime at Budaoon in Rohilkhund: but at an early age, native historians say 20, being already eminent for his scientific and theological attainments he resigned all secular pursuits and retired to the town of Ujoodhun in the Providence of Mooltan. Having perfected himself as a disciple of a very eminent Seer and devotee then residing in that country, Nizamoodeen returned to Dehly after a lapse of 18 years and according to oriental tradition, witnessed the reigns of the Seven Monarchs. (1) Moizoodeen Kaikobad AD 1286 (2) Jullaloodeen (3) Khiljee “ 1288 (4) Alaoodeen Khiljee “ 1295 (5) Kootooboodeen (6) Mobaruck (7) Shah “ 1357 (8) Khoosro (9) Khan “ 1321 (10) Ghiasoodeen (11)Toghluck “ 1321 (12) Sooltan (13) Mohumud Shah “ 1325 (1) Dear to Religion (2) Glory of Religion (3) Name of Tribe (4) Glory of the Faith (5) Pole Star or Pillar of the Faith (6) Prosperous (7) a King (8) Fairfaced (9) Lord (10) Aid of Religion (11) Proper name (12) a King (13) The name of the Prophet, literally Praised It is related that the Emperor Ghiasoodeen Toghluck when returning from Bengal declared that his arrival at Dehly he would cause Nizamoodeen to be ejected from the Imperial City, on which Nizamoodeen replied “Hunoz Dehly door ust,” ‘as yet Dehly is far distant.’ and it so happened that on approaching the capital, the Emperor was met by his eldest son Jouna Khan (‘Ancient Lord’) who received him with Magnificence in a wooden pavilion erected for the occasion. During the ceremonies the building gave way and crushed the Monarch with five other persons. This misfortune may have been accidental but the unusualness of erecting such a structure at all, the opportune absence of the eldest Prince at the moment and the circumstance of the 2nd and favorite son being involved in the same calamity with the father, fixed strong suspicions on the Heir Apparent. The Mosque and large Baolee or Reservoir contiguous to the shrine was built by Nizamoodeen himself. His tomb which is visited by all religious devotees, Hindoos as well as Mahomedans, was erected by some of his disciples: but in the reign of the Emperor Shah Juhan Khuleeboolla Khan (‘Friendly Lord’), a noble of the state, not only embellished this much revered shrine but constructed the buildings annexed thereto. [The shrine of Nizamuddin Auliya. Nizamuddin Auliya died in 1325. The original tomb was repaired by Feroz Shah Tughlaq (r.1351-88), which has disappeared. The present structure, was built by Faridum Khan in 1562-63, and was added to and repaired by several people. It consists of a small-square chamber, with verandahs on all four sides. The roof is surmounted by a white marble dome, with vertical black stripes.] Inscribed: naqsha-i dargah-i hazrat-i Nizam al-Din sahib. [The mosque beside the shrine of Nizamuddin known as the Jamaat Khana mosque. It was built in 1325 by Khizr Khan, the son of Alauddin Khalji (r.1296-1316), and is the oldest building in the Nizamuddin area. The mosque built of red sandstone, stylistically resembles the Alai Darwaza, near the Qutb Minar.] Inscribed: naqsha-i masjid nazd-i maqbara-i hazrat-i Nizam al-Din sahib. Source : British Library

Its such a neglected place today

Sameer: The shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya is not "neglected" as you say - it is actually revered by thousands of people. I think what you mean is that it is crowded, extremely unclean, and swarming with beggars and 'looters' of all kinds. It is vey depressing to visit such places to witness the extreme poverty and suffering of the sick and disabled people who have nowhere else to go. H. Nizamuddin himself was an exceptionally brilliant man who had collected some of the greatest intellectuals (like Amir Khusro - the poet, Badyuni - the historian, and others) of the time around him. I wish they cleaned the area - but mention that to the "Faithful" and they will be furious. The shrine has been visted by Taimur and every Mughal Emperor from Babur onwards. Shah Jahan's daughter Jahan Ara is buried there. The lower picture is even more interesting historically. It is the red stone masjid built by Sher Shah Suri after expelling Humayun from India. It is located inside the Old Fort (Purana Qila) and architecturally one of the most beautiful buildings I have seen. After Sher Shah's Afghan descendents had 'self-destructed' themselves, Humayun returned to India as the Emperor and used to pray in the same masjid. He slipped on the steps of the observatory/ library closeby and died shortly afterwards. It was the call for evening prayers from this masjid that Humayun paused, got caught in his cloak, and slipped on the staircase. The stone steps are unusually high - perhaps because the Afghans were tall people. I think the building is called 'the Sher Mandal'.

@Asad sir ! Of course its one of the most revered shrines in the Indian sub continent and by neglected I meant its got a step motherly treatment by the govt. Its indeed depressing to see unclean streets and allies. Beggars swarming the place. In fact I went to Nizamuddin 6 months ago. Delhi had got a make over for the common wealth games. Delhi streets were clean and well maintained by as i entered the Nzamuddin Alley It was a pathetic sight. the street was full of puddles and rainwater and dirty and neglected as ever

The shrine of H Nizamuddin Auliya (r.a.) is the only constant in Delhi for the last 686 years whether it was the time of Mamluke Sultans,Khaljis, Tuglaqs , Lodis, the splendouros reign of the Mughals,the majestic British Raj with all its pomp and ceremony and then eventually India's self rule. Sultans, emperors, the common folk and the destitute have all been thronging the shrine to be blessed ever since. The skyscape of Delhi has seen countless changes and the rise and fall of dynasties par log tab bhi jholi pasaray huay aatay thay aaj bhi jholi pasaray huay aatay hain. Once H Nizamuddin and Khusrau came upon a group a Brahmins engaged in prayer. The Shaykh remarked: “Har Qaum raast rahay deenay wa qibla gaahey” (Each people have their own path and direction in prayer) Khusrau spontaneously completed the verse: “ Man Qabla raast , ber terfe kajkulahey” (I have straightened by direction of prayer towards the slanting cap) Alluding to H Nizamuddin who wore his cap with a slant. Khusrau continues: “Har Ashiqe yaad agar dar qibla gard butkada Aaashqaane dost raba kafoor imaan kar neest” (Lovers of the beloved take us to the temple of idols Lovers of the Friend do not bother with infidelity and faith !) Devotees who seek the blessings of one of the greatest luminaries of the Chishti silsila begin with offering homage to Amir Khusrau. This is the place from where the practice of singing qawwaali began in India and the world. The dargahs of the Indian subcontinent continue to resonate and reverberate with the poetry of Khusrau as they have through centuries.

Sameer: We should not expect the government to do everything. In fact, it is best to keep the government at bay from all religious shrines. There are thousands of devotees coming to visit the shrine everyday. Did it ever occur to anyone to get down to clean the narrow alleys, fix the broken door, and clear all the self-appointed and quarrelsome "Sajjada Nashins"? It is all due to lack of "saleeqa" amongst us and internal money-based politics. There is nothing pious about these 'mutawallis' - they are all phoney. The same is true for the family that runs the Jama Masjid in Delhi. Piety is an individual trait; it does not run in families - not even in the Chishti family.

I would not hesitate to recommend Mirza Kushwaha to sit on the Board that administers the Hazrat Nizamuddin complex.

@ Asad sir I agree with you people should take the broom and clean the streets themselves but the ground reality in India is something else. most of the educated and prosperous Indian Muslims have either become Tableequi or Salafist. The people who come to shrines of Auliyas come from slums . poor localities or even those who are rich lack education and are from the trader class. without the help of Govt help things don't move in Indian system. As far as so called families are concerned they are all cronies of various political parties. So the future is very bleak

@ Asad uncle many thanks but I would rather that I am able to offer haazri at the the shrine of the patron saint of Delhi for ziyara till age and my feet permit.

Digvijay: Mirza Ghalib wrote: "Go haath ko jumbish nahin, aankhon mein to dum hai rahnay do abhi saaghar-o meena mere aagay" Sameer: I am willing to go there and do cleaning if they will let me do it but I will need help. It is just out of my respect for his Sufi intellect and his support of intellectual activity around him. Interestingly, Minhaj Siraj in his "Tabakaat-i-Nasiri" (~1262) refers to a young student by the name Nizamuddin who seems very bright and promising - undoubtedly the Nizamuddin Auliya.

@ Asad sir. I will be most happy to join you in this cause.

@Asad Ahmed Sir you have depth knowledge of medieval period, However please enlighten how Bukhari family is keeping hold of Jama Masjid, and other religious places posts also seems to be hereditary. Will i finally conclude my thoughts that in Islam there is no place of Democracy, the perception widely criticized by the west? Your comment please.

do see what the Agha Khan foundation is doing in that area. Also i dont think it should be a problem to see poverty etal near any shrine in south asia, why do you think Ajmer is called khwaja gharib nawaaz. we must not assess everything from our middle class, sterile eyes. :)

Humayun's Tomb - Nizamuddin Basti Urban Renewal Initiative on facebook and www.nizamuddinrenewal.org

Irfan Zuberi,Vardhna Puri,Iqtedar Alam

@sarovar zaidi . do u have a face book community for the same?

Mr Shamim Anwer: Contrary to widely held misconceptions, I don't think that Islam is incompatible with democracy. It appears so because the corrupt leaders of the Islamic world have been cunningly presenting themselves as the 'defenders of the faith'. The King of Saudi Arabia has the official title of "Custodian of the Three Holy Sites of Islam" - one of which is already under enemy control. Colonel Qaddafi was until today the President of the "Al-Jamhooriya Al-Arabiya Al-Libiyah" i.e. the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Republic. Republics don't go around slaughtering their own people. The greatest robber in Pakistan is the President of the 'Islamic Republic' himself. Thus, Kings and dictators have consolidated their positions by creating imaginary enemies of the state and instilling fear among their populations while, in reality, snatching freedoms from their people. The widespread illiteracy in the Muslim world helps this process. We keep half of our population behind the veil, and of the remaining half, they are content with reading religious books. As a result we are distressingly under-represented in the modern knowledge-based world despite the intellect, talent, and creativity of the Islamic people. Our over-reliance on faith dampens all reasoning. When there is an earthquake, an epidemic, or a strike of lightening, we ascribe it to Allah without ever attempting to inquire about it. Thus, we suppress all curiosity and reasoning. It is true that we made impressive progress in the past but that was before the tyrants took over. In the early history of Islam, most decisions were made by consensus - today they are at the whims tinpot dictators. The concept of Caliphate was corrupted when it became hereditary under the Omayyads, the Abbasids, and the Ottomans. The idea of the Caliphate was originally intended to be democratic and non-hereditary. It is now obsolete, anyway. As an undergradute, I was required to take a course on Theology. The Professor was a learned man trained - not in Deoband - but at Al-Azhar. What we learnt was that Islam preaches love, compassion, tolerance, respect, and use of intelligence. What they are doing now is just the opposite - killing innocent people believing that they are serving their religion, blowing themselves up believing that they will end up in Paradise. The Islam I learnt never mentioned anything about cruelty, terrorism, and such horrible acts of savagery. Hence, the kind of Islam these people are practising may not be compatible with democracy - but true Islam is. There is nothing in Islam that contradicts the idea of democracy. After all, the very concept of democracy was transmitted to the West by the Muslims from the Greeks.

@ASAD SIR. i completely agree with you. the authoritarian dictators have been deliberately pushing this view about islam and democracy to justify their own miss rule. and we must not forget that today we have malaysia. and turkey which are a great example of democracy

The link on 'Nizamuddin Renewal' provided by Ms Sarover Zaidi (above) is an excellent informative summary of the good work being done by the Aga Khan Foundation and the Tata Trust in that locality. I wish there was more of this kind of activity throughout India in which local people could participate. I am glad they are also cleaning up the baoli constructed by the Saint ( which was the source of his trouble with Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq) since the water is badly polluted. Somehow, its sanctity has not prevented it from becoming polluted.

The lower drawing of Sher Shah Suri's Masjid illustrates how quickly the shape of the Afghan dome evolved into the elegant Mughal dome as seen in Humayun' tomb.