QUTAB COMPLEX, NEW DELHI

Hallway inside the Qutb complex.
Pillars and the ceiling.



The most famous monument situated in the complex is the Qutb Minar; other important constructions in the complex are the Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque, the Alai Gate, the Alai Minar, the Iron pillar, and the tombs of Iltutmish, Alauddin Khilji and Imam Zamin; surrounded by Jain temple ruins.

Remnants of the earlier Jain structure.

Sanctuary of the Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque, Qutub Minar complex

A pavilion

A pavilion inside Qutab complex

Sun shadow clock

Parrots at Qutb complex

The Entrance to the Qutab Complex

A Chattri at the entrance.

Mosque

The mosque at the entrance to the "Qutab Complex".

QUWWAT UL-ISLAM MOSQUE, QUTAB COMPLEX, NEW DELHI

East entrance domed ceiling, Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque




Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque (Might of Islam) (also known as the Qutb Mosque or the Great Mosque of Delhi) was built by Qutb-ud-din Aybak, founder of the Mamluk or Slave dynasty. It was the first mosque built in Delhi after the Islamic conquest of India and the oldest surviving example of Ghurids architecture in Indian subcontinent. The construction of this Jami Masjid (Friday Mosque), started in the year 1193 CE, when Aibak was the commander of Muhammad Ghori's garrison that occupied Delhi. The Qutub Minar was built simultaneously with the mosque but appears to be a stand alone structure, built as the 'Minar of Jami Masjid', for the muezzin to perform adhan, call for prayer, and also as a qutb, an Axis or Pole of Islam. It is reminiscent in style and design of the Arhai-din-ka Jhompra or Ajmer mosque at Ajmer, Rajasthan, also built by Aibak during the same time, also constructed by demolishing earlier temples and a Sanskrit school, at the site.
According to a Persian inscription still on the inner eastern gateway, the mosque was built by the parts taken by destruction of twenty-seven Jain temples built previously during Tomars and Prithvi Raj Chauhan, and leaving certain parts of the temple outside the mosque proper. Historical records compiled by Muslim historian Maulana Hakim Saiyid Abdul Hai attest to the iconoclasm of Qutb-ud-din Aybak. This pattern of iconoclasm was common during his reign, although an argument goes that such iconoclasm was motivated more by politics than by religion.

Pillared hallway inside the mosque (Remains of Jain temple hallway)

Outside view of Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque

Sanctuary of the Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque

Sanctuary of the Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque, Qutub Minar complex

Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque & its inscription

The mosque is built on a raised and paved courtyard, measuring 141 ft. X 105 ft, surrounded by pillared cloisters added by Iltutmish between 1210 and 1220 CE. The stone screen between prayer hall and the courtyard, stood 16 mt at its highest was added in 1196 CE, the corbelled arches had Arabic inscriptions and motifs. Entrances to the courtyard, also uses ornate mandap dome from temples, whose pillars are used extensively throughout the edifice, and in the sanctuary beyond the tall arched screens. What survives today of the sanctuary on the western side are the arched screens in between, which once led to a series of aisles with low-domed ceilings for worshippers . Expansion of the mosque continued after the death of Qutb. Qutbuddin's successor Iltutmish, extended the original prayer hall screen by three more arches. By the time of Iltutmish, the Mamluk empire had stabilized enough that the Sultan could replace most of his conscripted Hindu masons with Muslims. This explains why the arches added under Iltutmish are stylistically more Islamic than the ones erected under Qutb's rule, also because the material used wasn't from demolished temples. Some additions to the mosque were also done by Alauddin Khilji, including the Alai Darwaza, the formal entrance to the mosque in red sandstone and white marble, and a court to the east of the mosque in 1300 CE.

Quwwat al-Islam Mosque with its five corbelled arched screens

The mosque is in ruins today but indigenous corbelled arches, floral motifs, and geometric patterns can be seen among the Islamic architectural structures. To the west of the Quwwat ul-Islam mosque is the tomb of Iltutmish which was built by the monarch in 1235.

IMAM ZAMIN'S TOMB, QUTAB COMPLEX, NEW DELHI

Imam Zamin's tomb next to the Alai Darwaza.
Tomb of Imam Muhammad Ali, or Imam Zamin, stand on a raised courtyard, next to the Alai Darwaza. According to an inscription of the eastern entrance to the tomb, Imam Zamin was a saint from Turkestan, who settled in India in around 1500, during the Sikander Lodhi. He built his tomb during his lifetime, and was buried here after his death in 1539 CE. The sandstone structure has dome on an octagonal base, while its interior is finished in polished white plaster, and contains fine, perforated jalis, or screens common in Lodhi period architecture.

Imam Zamin's Maqbara

Interior of the tomb

ALAI DARWAZA (ALAI GATE), QUTAB COMPLEX, NEW DELHI

The Alai Darwaza (Alai Gate) is the main gateway from southern side of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque. It was built by the first Khilji Sultan of Delhi, Ala-ud-din Khilji in 1311 CE, who also added a court to the pillared to the eastern side. The domed gateway is decorated with red sandstone and inlaid white marble decorations, inscriptions in Naskh script, latticed stone screens and showcases the remarkable craftsmanship of the Turkish artisans who worked on it. This is the first building in India to employ Islamic architecture principles in its construction and ornamentation
The Slave dynasty did not employ true Islamic architecture styles and used false domes and false arches, this makes the Alai Darwaza, the earliest example of first true arches and true domes in India. It is considered to be one of the most important buildings built in the Delhi sultanate period. With its pointed arches and spearhead of fringes, identified as lotus buds, it adds grace to the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque to which it served as an entrance.

Plaque at Alai Darwaza

Interior of Alai Darwaza

Interior of Alai Darwaza, resembling Timber ornamentation, Qutb complex.

ALAI MINAR, QUTAB COMPLEX, NEW DELHI

Alauddin Khilji started building the Alai Minar, after he had doubled the size of Quwwat ul-Islam mosque. He conceived this tower to be two times higher than Qutb Minar in proportion with the enlarged mosque. The construction was however abandoned, just after the completion of the 24.5 meter high first storey core; soon after death of Ala-ud-din in 1316 CE, and never taken up by his successors of Khilji dynasty. The first story of the Alai Minar, a giant rubble masonry core, still stands today, which was evidently intended to be covered with dressed stone later on. Noted Sufi poet and saint of his times, Amir Khusro in his work, Tarikh-i-Alai, mentions Aladdin's intentions to extend the mosque and also constructing another minar.

Ala-ud-din conceived a very ambitious construction programme when he decided to build the second tower of victory when he returned in triumph from his Deccan campaign. However, the Sultan died before even the first storey was finished and the project was abandoned. Ala-ud-din, felt compelled to increase even further the size of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque. His scheme called for increasing the size of the enclosure four times, providing ceremonial entrance gateways on each side, and a great minar, twice the size of the Qutb. This is the unfinished base of the mammoth tower begun by Ala-ud-din Khilji intended to give competition to Qutb Minar.