India Habitat Centre

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IHC Walk: April 8, 2007, 7:0 a!
Qutb Complex and Bakhtiyar Kaki's shrine
"ar#a$ o% &utb'(a$ib )&utbuddin *ak$tiyar +aki,
Location: Located near Gandak ki Baoli in the Mehrauli village, about 400 meters from Adham
Khan's tomb.
-i!e to .isit: !en on all da"s
/re%erred -i!in#s: sunrise to sunset
Ad!ission 0ee: #ree and o!en to all
/$oto#rap$y c$ar#es: nil
Ho1 to Reac$: $ourists can either take local buses from various !oints %ithin the cit" to reach this
monument, %hich is located in south &elhi, or the" can hire auto'ricksha%s and ta(is or take the metro
rail.
2earest Rail1ay (tation: )i*amuddin +ail%a" ,tation
2earest 3etro (tation: -entral ,ecretariat
0unctional 3etro (tation: -entral ,ecretariat
2earest International Airport: .ndira Gandhi .nternational Air!ort
-i!e re4uired %or si#$tseein#: about /0 minutes
Located near Gandak ki Baoli in the Mehrauli village, about 400 meters from Adham Khan's tomb lies
the &argah of 0utbuddin Bakhti"ar Kaki, !o!ularl" kno%n as 0utb ,ahib. ,urnamed as Kaki, 0utb
,ahib is held in high esteem and has been highl" regarded for centuries, as he %as the disci!le and
s!iritual successor of Kh%a1a Mu'inu'd &in -hishti of A1mer. Born at 2sh in 3ersia, he came to .ndia
in the late 45th centur" and lived here during the reign of 6m!eror .ltutmish 74544'45/89, the founder
of the ,lave d"nast". $he &argah is considered to be a ver" sacred !lace b" !ilgrims of different
religions. .t is said that if a !ilgrim %ho trul" believes in the saint, makes a %ish and ties a thread near
the grave, his %ishes %ill be fulfilled. After the fulfillment of the %ish, the !ilgrim should return to
thank the thread and untie the thread. ne can see man" colorful threads tied in the marble screens.
0utb ,ahib died in 45/8 and his grave is the main shrine of the dargah, %hich %as decorated b" man"
later rulers. At !resent the grave lies in the middle of a rectangular enclosure, %hich is beautifull"
embellished and surmounted b" a dome built about 80 "ears ago. $he %estern %all is :uite attractive as
it is decorated %ith colored floral tiles added on Aurang*eb's orders. $he dargah has man" other
structures like the assembl" house, robe chamber, mos:ue, drum house tanks and several im!osing
gates. $he northern gate of the &argah bears an inscri!tion that declares that ,haikh Khalil, a
descendent of saint #aridu'd'&in ,hakargan1, the successor of 0utb ,ahib built it in 4;45. -lose to the
&argah's A1meri Gate, to its left, is Moti Mas1id. Aurang*eb's son, Bahadur ,hah ., built it in 4<0=.
>ith three arched o!enings and double minars, the mos:ue is an imitation of Aurang*eb's Moti Mas1id
at +ed #ort.
?ust as in the )i*amuddin shrine, there are man" graves %ithin the !remises of this dargah for there
%ere man" %ho %anted to be buried close to the saint. Among the those buried here are the Mughal
em!erors Bahadur ,hah . 74<0<'459, ,hah Alam .. 74<;='4@089, Akbar .. 74@08'/<9 and man" !ersons
of ro"al blood. $he last Mughal em!eror, Bahadur ,hah .. too %anted to be buried here as he !re!ared
his o%n grave but after the 4@;< %ar the British de!orted him to +angoon %here he died and %as
buried.
(pecial Attraction5 Annual 67ent: $he best time to visit the dargah is during the month of Rabi-ul-
Awwal. Ao%ever, #rida"s and $hursda"s are also good da"s to visit and e(!erience the qawwalis and
celebration in the dargah.
2earby -ourist Attractions: Aathi Gate B Cafar, ?amali Kamali Mos:ue, Adham Khan's tomb,
0utab Minar, Gandhak ki Baoli and +a1on'ki'Bain B mos:ue.
2earby /laces to 6at: $hai >ok Ambavata -om!le(, saka Aurobindo Marg, +ed ,na!!er
Aurobindo Marg and a number of roadside food stalls are there nearb" to the 0utab com!le(.
2earby ($oppin# .enues: Ambavata ,ho!!ing -om!le(, Mehrauli, Aau* Khas Dillage, ,ahara Mall
and &$ Mall in Gurgaon.
htt!EFF%%%.indf".comF!laces'to'see'in'delhiFsouth'delhiFdargah':utb'sahib.html
&utbuddin *ak$tiar +aki
&utbuddin *ak$tiar +aki %as a reno%ned Muslim ,ufi m"stic, saint and
scholar in the -hishti rder from &elhi, .ndia. Ae %as the disci!le and
khalifa 7s!iritual successor9 of Moinuddin -hishti as head of the -hishti
rder. Ais most famous disci!le and s!iritual successor %as Baba #areed.
Kh%a1a 0utbuddin Bakhti"ar Kaki %as born in ;8= A.A. 744</ -.6.9 in a
to%n called GAushG or A%ash in Ma%ar'un')ahar 7$ranso(ania9. Kh%a1a 0utbuddin's original name
%as GBakhti"arG but his title %as G0utbuddinG. $he name GKakiG to his name %as attributed to him b"
virtue of a miracle that emanated from him at a later stage of his life in &elhi. Ae also belonged to the
direct lineage of the Aol" Muhammad, descending from HHAusa"n ibn AliIAussain Bin Ali9. Kha%a1a
Bakhti"ar Khaki %as one and half "ears old %hen his father died. Ais mother arranged for him ver"
good education and training.
>hen Kha%a1a Moinuddin -hishti %ent to .sfahan, 40 da"s before his demise, he took oath of
allegiance at his hands and received the Khilafat and Khir:ah 7,ufi cloak9 from him. $hus, he %as the
first s!iritual successor of Kha%a1a Gharib )a%a*, Kha%a1a Moinuddin -hishti r.a. $hereafter, his
s!iritual master asked him to go to .ndia and sta" there.
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>hen Kh%a1a 0utbuddin r.a. intended to kiss the feet of his 3ir and Murshid and seek his !ermission
to de!art, Kh%a1a Moinuddin understood it and asked him to be nearer, and %hen Kh%a1a Bakhti"ar
ste!!ed u! and fell at his 3irJs feet, Kha%a1a Moinuddin raised him u! and embraced him
affectionatel". A #ateha %as then recited and Kh%a1a Moinuddin advised his MuridE K)ever turn "our
face from the right !ath of ,ufism and $ruth. 3rove "ourself to be a brave man in this &ivine Mission.L
>hen he again fell at the feet of Kh%a1a Moinuddin over%helmed %ith love and grief at this tragic
hour of !arting, he %as again raised and embraced affectionatel" b" his 3ir. #ollo%ing this order, he
%ent to &elhi and sta"ed there. .t %as the !eriod of ,ultan ,hamsuddin .ltutmish.
Aardl" t%ent" da"s had !assed %hen ne%s %as brought b" a messenger that Kha%a1a Moinuddin
disa!!eared into the eternal &ivine bliss of the Almight" Allah.
Kh%a1a Bakhti"ar Kaki used to offer =; +akats of ,alah Hsections of !ra"erM during the 54 hours of
da" and night, along %ith /000 &urud ,harifs Ha !art of !ra"erM ever" night u!on the soul of the Aol"
3ro!het s.a.%.s. &uring the first / nights of his first marriage, he could not maintain the &urud ,harif.
$he Aol" 3ro!het s.a.%.s. sent a visionar" message to a !ious !erson named +ais Ahmed, asking
Aa*rat Bakhti"ar Kaki r.a. the reasons for his not reciting the &urud ,harif. Aa*rat Bakhti"ar Kaki r.a.
divorced his %ife forth%ith as a mark of re!entance and thereafter broke off all %orldl" ties and
devoted his full time to the devotion of God.
.t is narrated that in the earl" stages of his life, Aa*rat Kh%a1a 0utbuddin r.a. %ould take a na!, but in
the last !art of his life he ke!t a%ake all the time. Ae had also
committed the Koran to memor" and used to recite and finish it t%ice
dail". >henever an"thing came to his Khan:ah, he :uickl" distributed
these to the !oor and need". .f there %ere nothing, he %ould re:uest his
attendants and mureeds to distribute !lain %ater as a humble token of
his hos!italit".
,heikh )ur Bu( has %ritten in his book entitled G,ilsila tu*'*ahGE
GBakhti"ar Aushi %as a great devotee, m"stic and friend of God. .n
!rivate and !ublic he %as indulged in the remembrance of God. Ae %as habituated to eat little, slee!
little and s!eak little. Ae %as a to%ering !ersonalit" in the %orld of m"sticism.G
Ae had no !arallel in abandoning the %orld and suffering !overt" and hunger. Ae ke!t himself
engrossed in the remembrance of Allah. >henever someone came to him he %ould come back to his
senses after a %hile and %as then able to talk %ith him. After a ver" brief e(change he %ould sho% his
inabilit" to continue an" longer and sli!!ed into the same state of absor!tion once again.
nce Aa*rat Kh%a1a 0utbuddin %as coming back %ith his relatives and disci!les after offering 6id
,alah H6id !ra"ersM that he, all on a sudden, halted at a !lace in silence. After a %hile his relatives
submittedE G$oda" is the 6id da". Man" !eo!le %ould be a%aiting his arrival.L Aaving heard this
Aa*rat Kh%a1a r.a. came out of his lost state and uttered, K#rom this !iece of land . have the smell of
the !erfect men.L
$hereafter, he came home and after the meal %as over, he asked the !eo!le to call the o%ner of the
land to him. >hen the o%ner came to him, he !urchased that !iece of land from him. Later, Aa*rat
Bakhti"ar r.a. %as buried in the same soil.
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&eath also came to him in an unusual manner. .t is stated that once in an assembl" of ,ama Hreligious
musicM he ha!!ened to hear a verse of Aa*rat Ahmad ?am %ith the meaningE G$hose %ho are killed
%ith the dagger of surrender and !leasure get a ne% life from the 2nseen.G
Aa*rat Kh%a1a Bakhti"ar Kaki r.a. %as so much absorbed in and ins!ired %ith this verse that from that
da" on he ke!t on reciting it in a state of unconsciousness and gave his life in the same state. Ae
remained in this state of >a1d for / consecutive da"s and e(!ired on the 4th da". Ae died on the 44th
of +abi'ul'A%%al 8// A.A. n account of his e(traordinar" death, Aa*rat Kh%a1a 0utbuddin
Bakhti"ar Kak ir.a. is kno%n as G,hahid'e'MohabbatG or Mart"r of Allah's Love.
$he Ma*aar ,harif Hnoble tombM of Aa*rat Kh%a1a 0utbuddin Bakhit"ar Kaki r.a. lies near 0utub
Minar at old &elhi, .ndia.
Ae also en1o"s the follo%ing titles in the ,ufi %orldE 0utub'ul'A:taab, Malik'ul'Mashaa'ikh, +ais'us'
,aalikin, ,ira1'ul'Auli"a, etc.
htt!EFF%%%.aulia'e'hind.comFdargahFdelhi.htmN5
For more information on Delhi, please visit our special Delhi Documenta section in the HLRC:
Habitat Library & Resource Centre )HLRC,
India Habitat Centre
IInd Floor, Convention Centre, Lodhi Road
)e% &elhi, 3hE 548@ 5004'0= 6(tnE 50@4'@/, #a( E 548@ 5044,
6'mailE hlrcOindiahabitat.org, >eb siteE %%%.indiahabitat.org
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