Devil Soul
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Who lies beneath Kotli Maqbra?
AOWN ALI
On the famous GT road, a few kilometers from Gujranwala, a junction “Morr Eminabad” connects to a village that silently seeps the subcontinent’s history and ancient folktales. The town ‘Eminabad’ is home to a number of religiously significant monuments; a Gurdwara, temples and a crumbling mosque all peacefully coexisting.
A travel writer Salman Rashid believes the mosque can possibly be one of the oldest in Pakistan, built during the Lodhi dynasty. The Gurdwara Rori Sahib, three Shiva temples, and a Hindu water tank dating back to the pre-Mughal era are one of the historical sites found in this otherwise small village.
A few kilometers ahead, towards the east, in the town of Kotli Maqbra is a mesmerising octagonal structure raised on a platform with four minarets on each side.
It is hard to miss the arched edifice rising above the fields as one approaches Kotli Maqbra. The conical minarets with cupola at the center are all built in lock brick work and glazed tiles with geometric and floral patterns on the exterior.
The minarets are quite similar to the early 17th century buildings like Jahangir Tomb, Dai Anga Mosque and the Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore. The arched entrance to the underground grave chamber is on the southern side, with three graves wrapped in green silk sheets that bear Islamic inscriptions on them.
Rashid in his book, Gujranwala, The Glory That Was writes:
“...built as it is in the middle of a great nowhere and in the absence of any accessible historical reference to it, it has quite naturally acquired a metaphysical complexion and the local attribute it to jinns”.
While Salman Rashid wrote this book in the early 90s, it seems the local narrative has changed since then, people from nearby villages now acknowledge the building as a man-made structure.
They now believe the tomb to be associated with Sheikh Abdul Nabi, Sadrus Sudur (Chief Qazi) during Akbar’s era.
This idea is based on the research of some of our renowned archeologists, for example Ihsan H. Nadiem in an article on historic monuments in Gujranwala writes:
“The tomb is associated with Sheikh Abdul Nabi who was a tutor of the great Akbar. The sheikh reached the status of Sadrus Sudur but was exiled to the holy places (Makkah and Madina) when the emperor was poisoned by Sheikh Faizi and Abul Fazal.
“He was ordered not to return to his country unless called by the emperor. On receiving rumors of disturbed conditions in India under Akbar he, however, came back without the permission of the emperor and settled in Ahmadabad in Gujarat in 1583. He was, therefore, arrested by Akbar and sent to prison under the charge of his old rival, Abul Fazal.
“Another version tells of his having been murdered, while yet another attributes it as a natural death. But both accounts agree that it happened in 1584.”
Furthermore, in the same article, the veteran archaeologist says that there is no dated inscription record about the monument yet the architectural features on comparative basis suggests it dates back to the early 17th century of Shahjahan’s rule (1628-1658).
However, the comparative historical notes suggest that Sheikh Abdul Nabi was imprisoned and died in Fatehpur Sikri in 1583.
It seems strange that the body of a person who was oppressed by the emperor was shifted so far away, and for what reason?
Why was he buried in this great wilderness, as it surely has been towards the end of 16th century when the sheikh died.
Our archeologists do not accommodate this query.
But the historic record that we do have is a testament to the fact that Sheikh Abdul Nabi, the Sadrus Sudur, was buried in Narnaul in the Indian state of Haryana. This place is not too far from Fatehpur Sikri where the sheikh died while in prison.
The other school of thought regarding the tomb relates it to the Diwan Abdul Nabi Khan who is said to be the governor of Wazirabad under Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb’s era.
Dr. Saif ur Rahman Dar the archeologist and Salman Rashid the travel writer are leading on this thought.
Dr. Dar even establishes that Diwan Abdul Nabi Khan was a tutor of the grandchildren of Nawab Saad Ullah Khan, the prime minister, under Shah Jahan.
AOWN ALI
On the famous GT road, a few kilometers from Gujranwala, a junction “Morr Eminabad” connects to a village that silently seeps the subcontinent’s history and ancient folktales. The town ‘Eminabad’ is home to a number of religiously significant monuments; a Gurdwara, temples and a crumbling mosque all peacefully coexisting.
A travel writer Salman Rashid believes the mosque can possibly be one of the oldest in Pakistan, built during the Lodhi dynasty. The Gurdwara Rori Sahib, three Shiva temples, and a Hindu water tank dating back to the pre-Mughal era are one of the historical sites found in this otherwise small village.
A few kilometers ahead, towards the east, in the town of Kotli Maqbra is a mesmerising octagonal structure raised on a platform with four minarets on each side.
It is hard to miss the arched edifice rising above the fields as one approaches Kotli Maqbra. The conical minarets with cupola at the center are all built in lock brick work and glazed tiles with geometric and floral patterns on the exterior.
The minarets are quite similar to the early 17th century buildings like Jahangir Tomb, Dai Anga Mosque and the Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore. The arched entrance to the underground grave chamber is on the southern side, with three graves wrapped in green silk sheets that bear Islamic inscriptions on them.
Rashid in his book, Gujranwala, The Glory That Was writes:
“...built as it is in the middle of a great nowhere and in the absence of any accessible historical reference to it, it has quite naturally acquired a metaphysical complexion and the local attribute it to jinns”.
While Salman Rashid wrote this book in the early 90s, it seems the local narrative has changed since then, people from nearby villages now acknowledge the building as a man-made structure.
They now believe the tomb to be associated with Sheikh Abdul Nabi, Sadrus Sudur (Chief Qazi) during Akbar’s era.
This idea is based on the research of some of our renowned archeologists, for example Ihsan H. Nadiem in an article on historic monuments in Gujranwala writes:
“The tomb is associated with Sheikh Abdul Nabi who was a tutor of the great Akbar. The sheikh reached the status of Sadrus Sudur but was exiled to the holy places (Makkah and Madina) when the emperor was poisoned by Sheikh Faizi and Abul Fazal.
“He was ordered not to return to his country unless called by the emperor. On receiving rumors of disturbed conditions in India under Akbar he, however, came back without the permission of the emperor and settled in Ahmadabad in Gujarat in 1583. He was, therefore, arrested by Akbar and sent to prison under the charge of his old rival, Abul Fazal.
“Another version tells of his having been murdered, while yet another attributes it as a natural death. But both accounts agree that it happened in 1584.”
Furthermore, in the same article, the veteran archaeologist says that there is no dated inscription record about the monument yet the architectural features on comparative basis suggests it dates back to the early 17th century of Shahjahan’s rule (1628-1658).
However, the comparative historical notes suggest that Sheikh Abdul Nabi was imprisoned and died in Fatehpur Sikri in 1583.
It seems strange that the body of a person who was oppressed by the emperor was shifted so far away, and for what reason?
Why was he buried in this great wilderness, as it surely has been towards the end of 16th century when the sheikh died.
Our archeologists do not accommodate this query.
But the historic record that we do have is a testament to the fact that Sheikh Abdul Nabi, the Sadrus Sudur, was buried in Narnaul in the Indian state of Haryana. This place is not too far from Fatehpur Sikri where the sheikh died while in prison.
The other school of thought regarding the tomb relates it to the Diwan Abdul Nabi Khan who is said to be the governor of Wazirabad under Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb’s era.
Dr. Saif ur Rahman Dar the archeologist and Salman Rashid the travel writer are leading on this thought.
Dr. Dar even establishes that Diwan Abdul Nabi Khan was a tutor of the grandchildren of Nawab Saad Ullah Khan, the prime minister, under Shah Jahan.
