If you stand by the walls of Purana Qila (the Old Fort) and look across the busy Mathura Road, your gaze will inevitably fall upon a majestic red sandstone portal. This is the entrance to the Khairul Manazil Mosque, one of the most underrated monuments in Delhi. While crowds of tourists flock to Purana Qila and India Gate, this 16th-century mosque remains in the shadows.
The name Khairul Manazil translates from Arabic as "the most blessed of houses" or "the best of dwellings". But this is not just a beautiful name — it is a chronogram. If the letters of the name are written in Persian calligraphy and converted into numerical values, they add up to the year of the mosque`s construction — 969 AH, which corresponds to 1561–1562 AD. In this hidden code lies the key to understanding the entire history of the monument.
History: The Woman Who Ruled an Empire
The mosque was built in 1561 by order of Maham Anga — the wet nurse and foster mother of the young Emperor Akbar. In those years, when the thirteen-year-old Akbar had just ascended the throne, real power in the empire lay in the hands of his former wet nurse. Maham Anga was one of the most influential women at the Mughal court, and popular rumour credits her with actually governing the empire during Akbar`s early reign. As a sign of her power and piety, she ordered the construction of this mosque.
The construction was overseen by Shihabuddin Ahmad Khan, an influential courtier and governor of Delhi who was a relative of Maham Anga. This was not just a mosque — a madrasa (Islamic school) was established alongside it immediately. Along three sides of the spacious courtyard were two-storey cells where students lived and studied. Thus, Khairul Manazil was not only a place of prayer but also a major educational centre.
One historical legend is associated with the mosque. In 1564, while returning from the dargah (shrine) of Nizamuddin Auliya, an assassination attempt was made on Akbar near the walls of this very mosque. According to one version, the hired assassin missed because of the emperor`s short stature and wounded another soldier. The emperor survived, and the mosque forever remembered that day.
In later times, during the struggle for independence, the mosque witnessed tragic events: British troops shelled it with cannons, suspecting that revolutionaries were hiding inside. Traces of cannonballs can still be seen on its walls.
Architecture: A Union of Two Eras
The Khairul Manazil Mosque is a unique monument of a transitional period. Its main facade, facing east, is executed in the Mughal style in red sandstone, with elegant white marble detailing and carved medallions. This imposing entrance once opened directly onto the old road leading from Bengal to Peshawar.
However, the mosque`s internal layout, its planning and construction techniques are the legacy of the Delhi Sultanate, an earlier era. The walls are built of rough stone, bound with lime mortar and covered with plaster. Here you will not find the exquisite marble inlays characteristic of later Mughal structures. This building is the product not of a single architectural style but of an entire historical cross-section.
Interior Layout of the Khairul Manazil Mosque
You enter through majestic gates with a deep pointed arch. Passing through them, you find yourself in a vast rectangular courtyard. In the centre of the courtyard is a shallow octagonal ablution pool (hawz). It is dry now, but once its water reflected the sky of Delhi. Next to it is an ancient well, which still contains water. Along three sides of the courtyard stretch the ruins of two-storey cells that served as classrooms and dormitories for the madrasa students.
Prayer Hall of the Khairul Manazil Mosque
The western wall, facing Mecca, is the main sanctuary of the mosque. The prayer hall is divided into five arches. The central arch is the largest and tallest, leading to the main hall, which is crowned by a massive dome on a sixteen-sided drum. On either side are four more arches leading to side chambers with flatter vaults.
The interior decoration of the prayer hall of the Khairul Manazil Mosque was once richly adorned with colourful tiles (kashi), most of which have fallen away over the centuries, but fragments can still be discerned.
Inscriptions
Above the central arch of the prayer hall, a marble plaque with a Persian inscription has been preserved. It states that the mosque was built during the reign of Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar "the greatest of the Mughal emperors", by order of "Maham Begum, the most exalted among the chaste and noble women".
Atmosphere and How to Get There
Today, Khairul Manazil is a quiet, sparsely visited place where Friday prayers are still held. Most tourists pass by, unaware of its existence. But it is precisely in this silence that its special value lies. People come here not for crowds or noisy excursions, but to touch a history that has been almost forgotten.
The mosque is located on Mathura Road, directly opposite Purana Qila (opposite the main entrance to the Old Fort) and the Delhi Zoo. Entry is free.
Khairul Manazil is not only an architectural monument but also a keeper of the complex and multifaceted history of Delhi, built by a woman who effectively ruled an empire, having survived an assassination attempt on Emperor Akbar and artillery shelling by British troops. Today it is an active mosque, combining a Mughal facade with the layout of the Delhi Sultanate era, which makes it a unique example of a transitional period in Indian architecture.
