Page:The Architecture of Ancient Delhi Especially the Buildings Around the Kutb Minar 1872 by Henry Hardy Cole.djvu/179

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BELOW the Kutb pillar and to the east of Ala-ud-din's Gateway, is situated a small tomb which contains the remains of Muhammad Ali Masjid, also known by the soubriquet of Husain Pai Minar, and Muhammad Fakir Syud Imâm Zamin. This man was a celebrated Muhammadan priest who officiated in the principal Masjid in Delhi during the reign of Sikandar Lodi (A.D. 1488-1517). During the first part of Humayun's reign in A.D. 1535, Muhammad Ali had this building erected with a view of using it during his lifetime as a dwelling-a sort of hermit's retreat-and when his death occurred in A.D. 1537 he was there interred according to the wishes which he left on record.

It frequently happens that both Pathan and Mogul tombs have previously served the purpose of a residence or pleasure resort during the lifetime of the founder. In the majority of cases a garden is first enclosed by a wall of more or less ornamental character, then a pavilion is erected in its centre which is called a “Baradari;" literally this word means "twelve doored," but the term is frequently applied to pavilions having a larger number of openings or entrances. When the builder dies it is customary to deposit his remains in this central building, and if he is a man of note and position the bodies of his wife and family are placed under the same roof. A contemporaneous building of this class in the neighbourhood and close to the Kutb Minar is the tomb called Molana Jumali, which Fiez-ul-la Khan used as a retreat in A.D. 1528, and where he was buried in A.D. 1535. Both buildings are designed in the style of the “late Pathan" architecture, and their