https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Qutbuddin_Bakhtiar_KakiQutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki - Revision history2026-09-07T13:46:04ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Qutbuddin_Bakhtiar_Kaki&diff=142121&oldid=previmported>Ab.Saleem: /* Early life */2021-08-09T13:24:34Z<p><span class="autocomment">Early life</span></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Indian Sufi (1173–1235)}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}<br />
{{Infobox religious biography<br />
| title = [[Khwaja]]<br />
| name = Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki<br />
| image = Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki.jpg<br />
| caption = Dargah of Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki in Mehrauli, Delhi.<br />
| religion = [[Islam]]<br />
| alias = Malik-ul-Mashaa'ikh<br />
| lineage = [[Chishti Order]]<br />
| map_type =India Delhi#India<br />
| location = [[Delhi]]<br />
| Title = ''Qutub ul Aqtab''<br />
| Period = Early 13th century<br />
| Predecessor = [[Moinuddin Chishti]]<br />
| Successor = [[Fariduddin Ganjshakar]]<br />
| denomination = [[Sunni]]<br />
| order = [[Chisti]] [[Sufism]]<br />
| creed = [[Maturidi]]<br />
| jurisprudence = [[Hanafi]]<br />
| school = [[Sufism]]<br />
| birth_date = 1173<br />
| birth_place = [[Osh]], [[Qara Khitai]] (present-day [[Kyrgyzstan]])<br />
| death_date = {{death year and age|1235|1173}}<br />
| death_place = [[Dehli]], [[Delhi Sultanate]]<br />
| resting_place = [[Mehrauli]], Delhi<br />
| resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|28.519303|N| 77.179856|E}}<br />
| honorific prefix = [[Khwaja]]<br>[[Hazrat]]<br />
}}<br />
<br />
''Qutb ul Aqtab'' Khwaja Sayyid Muhammad Bakhtiyar AlHussaini '''Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki''' (born 1173-died 1235) was a Sunni Muslim [[Sufi]] mystic, saint and scholar of the [[Chishti Order]] from [[Delhi]], [[India]]. He was the disciple and the [[Silsilah|spiritual successor]] of [[Moinuddin Chishti]] as head of the Chishti order, and the person to whom the [[Qutb Minar]], Delhi is dedicated. Before him the Chishti order in India was confined to [[Ajmer]] and [[Nagaur]]. He played a major role in establishing the order securely in Delhi.<ref>Biographical encyclopaedia of Sufis By N. Hanif.Pg 321</ref> His [[dargah]] located adjacent to [[Zafar Mahal (Mehrauli)|Zafar Mahal]] in [[Mehrauli]], and the oldest dargah in Delhi, is also the venue of his annual [[Urs]] festivities. The Urs was held in high regard by many rulers of Delhi like [[Qutbuddin Aibak]], [[Iltutmish]] who built a nearby stepwell, ''Gandhak ki Baoli'' for him, [[Sher Shah Suri]] who built a grand gateway, [[Bahadur Shah I]] who built the Moti Masjid mosque nearby and [[Farrukhsiyar]] who added a marble screen and a mosque.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Delhi that no-one knows |last=Smith |first=Ronald Vivian |year=2005|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=81-8028-020-9|pages=11–12 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=f70gjLC5chgC&q=Qutbuddin+Bakhtiar+Kaki&pg=PA7}}</ref><br />
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His most famous disciple and spiritual successor was [[Fariduddin Ganjshakar]], who in turn became the spiritual master of Delhi's noted Sufi saint, [[Nizamuddin Auliya]], who himself was the spiritual master of [[Amir Khusrau]] and [[Nasiruddin Chirag-e-Delhi]].<br />
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Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki had much influence on Sufism in India. As he continued and developed the traditional ideas of universal brotherhood and charity within the Chisti order, a new dimension of Islam started opening up in India which had hitherto not been present. He forms an important part of the Sufi movement which attracted many people to Islam in India in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.<br />
People of every religion like [[Hindus]], [[Christians]], [[Sikhs]], etc. visiting his Dargah every week.<br />
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==Early life==<br />
Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki was born in 569 A.H. (1173 C.E.) in a small town called Osh (alternatively Awsh or Ush) in the [[Fergana Valley]] (present [[Osh]] in southern [[Kyrgyz Republic]] (Kyrgyzstan), part of historic [[Transoxania]]).<ref name=aulia/> According to his biography mentioned in, ''[[Ain-i-Akbari]]'', written in the 16th century by [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Akbar]]’s vizier, [[Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak]], he was the son of Sayyid Kamaluddin Musa Alhussaini, whom he lost at the young age of a year and a half.<ref name=ain>[http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main?url=pf%3Ffile%3D00702053%26ct%3D166 Qutbuddin Bakhtyar Kaki] ''[[Ain-e-Akbari]]'' by [[Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak|Abul Faza]], English translation, by [[Heinrich Blochmann]] and Colonel Henry Sullivan Jarrett, 1873–1907. The Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta., Volume III, Saints of India. (Awliyá-i-Hind), Page 363.</ref><ref>''Islamic Thought and Movements in the Subcontinent, 711-1947'', by Syed Moinul Haq. Published by Historical Society, 1979. ''Page 144''.</ref><ref>''Tabakat-i-Nasiri. A General History of the Muhammadan Dynasties of Asia, Including Hindustan, from A. H. 194 (810 A.D.) to A. H. 658 (1260 A.D.) and the Irruption of the Infidel Mughals into Islam''. Translated from Original Persian Manuscripts by Major H. By Abu-'Umar-i-'Usman. Published by Adamant Media Corporation. {{ISBN|1-4021-7110-2}}. ''Page 921''.</ref><br />
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Khwaja Qutbuddin's original name was Bakhtiyar and later on he was given the title Qutbuddin. He was a Husayni [[Sayyid]] and his lineage is recorded as follows: He is Qutbuddin Bakhtiar bin Kamaluddin Musa, bin Muhammad, bin Ahmad, bin Husamuddin, bin Rashiduddin, bin Raziuddin, bin Hasan, bin Muhammad Ishaq, bin Muhammad, bin Ali, bin Ja'far, bin [[Ali al-Ridha]], bin [[Musa al-Kadhim]], bin [[Ja'far al-Sadiq]], bin [[Muhammad al-Baqir]], bin [[Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin|Ali Zayn al-Abidin]], bin [[Husayn ibn Ali|Husayn]], bin [[Ali|Ali bin Abu Talib]] and [[Fatimah|Fatimah al-Zahra]], the daughter of [[Muhammad|Prophet Muhammad]]. His mother, who herself was an educated lady, arranged for his education by Shaikh Abu Hifs.<ref name=aulia/><br />
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Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki took [[oath of allegiance]] at the hands of Khawaja [[Moinuddin Chishti]], and received the [[khilafat]] and [[khirqa]] (Sufi cloak) from him, when Khawaja [[Moinuddin Chishti]] passed through [[Osh]] during his journey to [[Isfahan]], incidentally just forty days before his death. His spiritual master then guided him to India and asked him to stay there.<ref name=aulia>[http://aulia-e-hind.com/dargah/delhi.htm#2 Profile of Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki on aulia-e-hind.com website] Retrieved 6 January 2019</ref><ref>The Lamp of Love: Journeying with the Sabri Brothers<br />
by Amatullah Armstrong Chishti [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2278129.The_Lamp_of_Love] Retrieved 6 January 2019</ref> Thus, he was the first spiritual successor of Moinuddin Chishti.<br />
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== Later life ==<br />
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===Move to Delhi===<br />
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In obedience to the desire of his spiritual master, Moinuddin Chishti, Khwaja Bakhtiyar moved to the city of Delhi during the reign of [[Iltutmish]] (r. 1211-1236) of the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. Many people started visiting him daily.<ref>{{cite book |title=Life and culture in medieval India |last= Luniya|first=Bhanwarlal Nathuram |year=1978 |publisher=Kamal Prakashan |page= 354}}</ref><ref name=aulia/><br />
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He was called ''Kaki'' due to a [[keramat]] (miracle) attributed to him in Delhi.<ref name=aul>[http://www.aulia-e-hind.com/dargah/delhi.htm#2 2. Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki] Sufi Saints of Delhi.</ref> It is said that he asked his wife not to take credit from the local baker despite their extreme poverty. Instead he told her to pick up ''Kak'' (a kind of bread) from a corner of their house whenever needed. After this, his wife found that ''Kak'' miraculously appeared in that corner whenever she required it. The baker, in the meantime, had become worried whether the Khwaja had stopped taking credit due to being perchance angry with him. Accordingly, when the baker's wife asked the reason from the Khwaja's wife, she told her about the miracle of ''Kak.'' Although the ''Kak'' stopped appearing after this, from that day the people started referring to him as Kaki.<ref name=bio2/> <br />
[[File:Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki's tomb.jpg|right|210px|thumb|Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki's ''[[dargah]]'']]<br />
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Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki, like other Chisti saints, did not formulate any formal doctrine. He used to hold a ''[[majlis]]'', a gathering, where he gave his discourses or fatwas. Directed at the common masses, these contained an emphasis on renunciation, having complete trust in God, treating all human beings as equal and helping them as much as possible, etc. Whatever money was donated to him, he usually spent it on charity the same day.<br />
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He was a great believer in helping the needy without heeding the result. When an eminent disciple, Fariduddin Ganjshakar, asked him about the legality of [[amulet]]s (''[[tawiz]]'') which were controversial as they could lead to theological problems of semi-idolatory in Islam, he replied that the fulfilment of desires belonged to no one; the amulets contained God's name and His words and could be given to the people.<ref name=bio2>Biographical encyclopaedia of Sufis By N. Hanif. Pg 323</ref><br />
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He continued and extended the musical tradition of the Chisti order by participating in [[sema]] or ''' Mehfil-e-Sama'''. It is conjectured that this was with the view that, being in consonance with the role of music in some modes of Hindu worship, it could serve as a basis of contact with the local people and would facilitate mutual adjustments between the two communities.<ref>{{cite book<br />
| last = Faruqi<br />
| first = Zia ul Hasan<br />
| title = Fawa'id Al-Fu'ad--Spiritual and Literary Discourses of Shaikh Nizammuddin Awliya<br />
| publisher = South Asia Books<br />
| year = 1996<br />
| isbn = 81-246-0042-2 }}</ref> On the 14th of [[Rabi'-ul-Awwal]] 633 A.H. (27 November 1235 CE)<ref name=ain/> he attended a ''Mehfil-e-Sama'' where the poet [[Ahmad- e Jam]] sang the following verses:<br />
{{cquote|Those who are slain by the dagger of surrender;<br>Receive every moment a new life from the unseen.}}<br />
Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki was so overcome and enraptured by these verses that he fainted away. He died four days later while still in that state of ecstasy. His ''[[dargah]]'' (shrine) is adjacent to the [[Zafar Mahal (Mehrauli)|Zafar Mahal]], near [[Qutub Minar]] complex, in [[Mehrauli]], Delhi. After his death his will was read that emphasized that only the person who has done no [[haram]] and have never left the [[sunnah]] of [[Asr prayer]] may only lead his [[namaz-e-janaza]] (funeral prayer). This left to a brief lull as nearly everybody did not adhered to the contents of the will. Finally a teary eyed Illtutmish come out of the congregation saying that "I did not want to reveal my inner self to everybody but the will of Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki wants so". His Janaza prayer was finally led by Illtutmish as he was the only person who fulfilled and adhered to the contents of the will.<br />
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Left of the ''Ajmeri Gate'' of the dargah at Mehrauli, lies ''Moti Masjid'', a small mosque for private prayer built by Mughal emperor [[Bahadur Shah I]] in 1709, an imitation of the much larger [[Moti Masjid (Delhi)|Moti Masjid]] built by his father, [[Aurangzeb]], inside the [[Red Fort of Delhi]].<ref name=eich>''Eicher:City Guide - Delhi'', Eicher Goodearth Publications. 1998. {{ISBN|81-900601-2-0}}. ''Page 188''.</ref><br />
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===His influence over people===<br />
<br />
[[File:Gandhi visiting Mehrauli 1948.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Mahatma Gandhi]] visiting the [[Dargah]] during the Annual [[Urs]], 1948.]]<br />
As a well-known saint, Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki exercised great sway over the people. He continued the policy of non-involvement with the government of the day. This was the traditional way of saints of the Chisti order in South Asia,<ref>Islam in the Indian subcontinent By Annemarie Schimmel Pg 25</ref> as they felt that their linkage with rulers and the government would turn their mind towards worldly matters.<br />
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During the lifetime of the Khwaja he was held in great esteem by the Delhi Sultan, Iltutmish. It is contended that the [[Qutb Minar]], the world's tallest brick minaret, partially built by Iltumish, was named so after him.<ref>[https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/a-heritage-walk-through-three-chisti-shrines-in-new-delhi/article7568849.ece An afternoon with the saints] The Hindu (newspaper), Published 22 August 2015, Retrieved 6 January 2019</ref> He was also the favorite saint of the [[Lodhi dynasty]] which ruled over Delhi from 1451 to 1526.<ref>Jafar Sharif/Herclots.''Islam in India''. Oxford 1921, repr 1972. Pg 143</ref><br />
His importance continues to this day and can be gauged by the following historical fact. When [[Mahatma Gandhi]] launched his last fast-unto-death in Delhi in 1948, asking that all communal violence be ended once and for all, he was pressed by leaders of all denominations to end the fast. One of the six conditions that Gandhi put forward to end the fast was that Hindus and Sikhs as an act of atonement should repair the shrine of Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki which had been damaged during the communal riots.<ref>{{cite book |last=Azad |first=Abul Kalam |author-link=Abul Kalam Azad |year=2005 |orig-year=First published 1959 |title=India Wins Freedom: An Autobiographical Narrative |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q9_EW80LFjoC&pg=PA238 |location=New Delhi |publisher=Orient Longman |page=238 |isbn=81-250-0514-5}}</ref><br />
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===''Phoolwalon-ki-sair'' festival===<br />
{{Main|Phool Walon Ki Sair}}<br />
The darbaar shrine of Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki has also been the venue of the annual ''Phoolwalon-ki-sair'' (a festival of flower-sellers) in autumn, which has now become an important inter-faith festival of Delhi.<ref name=tim>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/282329.cms Say it with Flowers: Phoolwalon-ki-sair] The Times of India (newspaper), Published 2 November 2006, Retrieved 6 January 2019</ref><ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Where_religion_doesnt_define_identity/articleshow/3634454.cms Where religion does not define identity] Times of India (newspaper), Published 23 October 2008, Retrieved 6 January 2019</ref><br />
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The festival has its origins in 1812, when Queen Mumtaz Mahal, wife of the Mughal Emperor, [[Akbar Shah II]] (r. 1806-1837) made a vow to offer a ''chadar'' and flower ''pankha'' at the Dargah and a ''pankha'' at the [[Yogmaya Mandir]], also at Mehrauli, if her son Mirza Jehangir, who, after inviting the wrath of Sir Archibald Seton, the then British Resident of the Red Fort, was exiled to Allahabad, returned safely. And as the legend goes, he did, and so began the tradition.<ref name=tim/> The festival was stopped by the British in 1942, but later revived by the Indian Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] in 1961 to bridge the Hindu-Muslim gap, and inculcate secularist ideals.<ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Attack_took_place_close_to_emblem_of_Indian_secularism/rssarticleshow/3535097.cms Indian secularism] The Times of India (newspaper), Published 28 September 2008, Retrieved 6 January 2019</ref><br />
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===Royal grave enclosure===<br />
[[File:Tombs of Shah Alam and Akbar II, c1890s.jpg|thumb|The tombs of [[Shah Alam II]] and his son [[Akbar II]], with Moti Masjid in the background, next to the Kaki Mausoleum complex in 1890s ]]<br />
Incidentally, [[Akbar Shah II]] is now buried nearby in a marble enclosure, along with other [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]], [[Bahadur Shah I]] and [[Shah Alam II]].<ref name=eich/> An empty grave, also known as ''Sardgah'', of the last Mughal Emperor [[Bahadur Shah Zafar]], can also be found here, as he had willed to be buried next to the famous shrine, as did his previous Mughal predecessors. Unfortunately, he was exiled to Burma where he died. Talks of bringing back his remains here have been raised in the past, from time to time.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110415131414/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/05/21/stories/2007052151440200.htm Fulfilling Bahadur Shah’s last wish] Metro Plus Delhi, The Hindu (newspaper), Published 21 May 2007, Retrieved 6 January 2019</ref><br />
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==Titles==<br />
Honorary titles given to Qutbuddin Bakhityar Kaki include:<br />
* Qutub-ul-Aqtaab<br />
* Malik-ul-Mashaa'ikh<br />
* Rais-us-Saalikin<br />
* Siraj-ul-Auliya<br />
<br />
[[File:Moti Masjid, Mehrauli, Delhi.jpg|220 px|thumb|Moti Masjid, [[Mehrauli]], built by [[Bahadur Shah I]].]]<br />
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==Works==<br />
* {{cite book|title=Divan-i Khwajah Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki|url=https://archive.org/stream/divanikhvajahqu00kakiuoft#page/n223/mode/2up|year=1879|publisher=Kanpur Munshi Naval Kishaur|language=ur}}<br />
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==Gallery==<br />
<gallery><br />
File:Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki's tomb, Mehrauli, Delhi.jpg|Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki's tomb, Mehrauli<br />
File:Courtyard of the Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki's dargah complex.jpg|Courtyard of the Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki's dargah complex.<br />
File:Entrance to grave enclosure within Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki's dargah compound.jpg|Entrance to grave enclosure within Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki's dargah compound.<br />
File:Gandhak ki Baoli, Mehrauli.jpg|''Gandhak ki Baoli'', a [[stepwell]] in Mehrauli, built by [[Iltutmish]] for the saint.<br />
File:Entrance to the Dargah complex of Qutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaki.jpg|''Entrance to [[dargah]] complex''.<br />
</gallery><br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
* [[Turabul Haq Dargah]]<br />
* [[Moinuddin Chishti]]<br />
* [[Ashraf Jahangir Semnani]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
* [http://www.aulia-e-hind.com/dargah/delhi.htm All Sufis Of Delhi, India and the whole World]<br />
* [https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/a-heritage-walk-through-three-chisti-shrines-in-new-delhi/article7568849.ece An afternoon with the saints] ''[[The Hindu]]'' (newspaper).<br />
* [http://wikimapia.org/#lat=28.518968&lon=77.1799207&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2&show=/8599162/Dargah-Hazrat-Qutubuddin-Bakhtyar-Kaki-Rehmatullah-Aleh Dargah Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, Mehrauli]<br />
* [http://ignca.nic.in/asp/showbig.asp?projid=sdecttosa0001 Images of enclosure containing Mughal royal tombs] [[IGNCA]]<br />
* [http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/addorimss/a/019addor0004308u00000000.html "Dargah of Qutb-Sahib at Mehrauli", 1845 painting], *<br />
* [http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1200_1299/sufism/qutbsahib/qutbsahib.html 1814 painting]<br />
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{{South Asian Muslim Saints}}<br />
{{Hanafi scholars}}<br />
{{Maturidi}}<br />
{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki}}<br />
[[Category:1173 births]]<br />
[[Category:1235 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Hanafis]]<br />
[[Category:Maturidis]]<br />
[[Category:Indian Sufis]]<br />
[[Category:Chishtis]]<br />
[[Category:Dargahs in India]]<br />
[[Category:People from Delhi]]<br />
[[Category:People from Osh]]<br />
[[Category:Mehrauli]]<br />
[[Category:13th-century Indian Muslims]]<br />
[[Category:Sufi shrines in India]]<br />
[[Category:Indian people of Arab descent]]</div>imported>Ab.Saleem