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JAMALI KAMALI

Maulana Jamali’s mosque and tomb are located within the Mehrauli Archaeological Park, on the western side of the Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, about 300 m south of Balban’s Tomb. This early Mughal complex consists of a mosque and a tomb built by the sixteenth century poet, traveller, and Sufi Sheikh Fazlullah who wrote under the pen name of Jamali. 

Jamali was a famous court poet of the Lodi and Mughal period. He was also known as Jalal Khan. Jamali was introduced to Sufism by Sheik Samauddin.



 The mosque built in 1528, stands in an enclosed court and is surmounted by a single high dome with five recessed niches on the western wall. It is built in red sandstone and Delhi quartzite faced with intricate details in white marble. The main façade is sparse but delicate in its carved ornamentation. Some of the features of this mosque are fluted pilasters flanking the central arch, carved bands and medallions in the spandrels, and pendant lotus buds below the parapet which decorates the facade of the prayer hall, pierced by five arched openings. 



Adjoining the mosque, to the north, lies the tomb of Maulana Jamali, built in 1529, during the lifetime of the saint. The entire complex was the khanqah or hospice of the saint, where he lived and preached. When he died in 1536, Maulana Jamali was buried in this chamber. The tomb is inscribed with some of his own verses. 


The tomb chamber contains two graves. The central one is believed to be that of Maulana Jamali and the other is claimed to be that of Kamali, a companion of the saint about whom nothing is known. The enclosure within which the tomb stands alongside an adjoining enclosure that contains several other graves.




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