Jamali Kamboh

Shaikh Jamaluddin Kamboh Dehlwi (died 1536), known as Jamali Kamboh, ^[a] was a 16th-century Indian Sufi saint and poet from Delhi during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal eras. He was a part of the Suhrawardiyya order and a pupil of poet Jami and of Shaikh Sama'al-Din Kamboh. ^{[1] [2]}

He was father of Shaikh Gadai Kamboh. ^[3] His tomb is situated in the Mehrauli Archeological Park, close to the Qutb Minar in Delhi.

Biography

Jamali Kamali tomb, Mehrauli Archeological Park, Delhi

Jamali came from a Punjabi Muslim Sunni family but was initiated into Sufism by his teacher Shaikh Sama'al-Din Kamboh. ^[3] He was the tutor of Sultan Sikandar Lodhi and had married the daughter of Shaikh Sama'al-Din Kamboh. He lived at Mehrauli during the reign of Sultan Sikandar Lodhi (reign 1489–1517) and later composed panegyrics to the first of the Mughal emperor, Babur (b. 1483, d. 1530) and his successor Humayun.

Jamali Kamboh was a poet at the court of Sultan Sikandar Lodhi. The Sultan who himself was a poet (he wrote poetry under the pen-name Gulrukh) patronized learning and literary acquisitions and used to show his poetry to Shaikh Jamali for corrections and improvement. ^{[4] [5]}

Jamali Kamali Masjid, Mehrauli Archaeological Park

As a poet in Persian, Shaikh Jamali had been styled Khusrau-i-sani ("Khusrau, the second"). ^{[6] [7]} He wrote Siyar-i-Arifin (completed between 1530 and 1536) in Persian which is an account of the Chishti and Suhrawardi Sufis of the period. He also authored other works called Masnawi , Mihr wa Mähi Shaikh and a Diwan of verses. ^[8]

Shaikh Jamali had once admonished Sultan Sikandar Lodi for his shaven chins and for his failure to observe the obligatory prayers, fasts and for his mundane indulgences. ^[9]

He died in 1536 while accompanying the Mughal emperor Humayun in the latter's expedition to Gujarat. His son Shaikh Gadai Kamboh, a scholar and philosopher, was also his disciple and successor. ^[3]

Tomb of Jamali Kamali

His tomb and a mosque, known as Jamali Kamali, is situated near the Qutab Minar opposite the Ahinsa Sthal on Mehrauli's bypass. The tomb of Jamali-Kamali is situated just near the mosque on north side which has 7.6 m (25 ft) square structure. It is painted in sharp red and blue colours. It contains a few Quranic inscriptions. The inside walls are adorned with inlaid coloured tiles inscribed with Jamali's poems. There are graves of Jamali Kamali built of marble material. ^[10]

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  Tomb of Jamali Kamboh, Mehrauli, Archeological Park, Delhi
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  Graves of Jamali Kamali, Mehrauli, Archeological Park, Delhi
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  Interior decoration on the roof of tomb of Jamali kmali, Mehrauli, Archeological Park, Delhi
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  Closer view of interior decoration on the roof of tomb of Jamali kmali, Mehrauli, Archeological Park, Delhi

Notes

1. Also: Shaikh Hamid bin Fazlullah, Dervish Jamali Kamboh Dehlwi, Shaikh Jamal-uddin Kamboh Dehlwi or Jalal Khan.

References

1. A Critical Study of Indo-Persian Literature: During Sayyid and Lodi Period. p. 41. Syeda Bilqis Fatema Husaini. Persian Literature.
2. The Gazetteer of India  : History and Culture. 1973. p 460. Pran Nath Chopra. India Gazetteers Unit.
3. Fisher, Michael Herbert (2019). A Short History of the Mughal Empire. I.B. Tauris. p. 67. ISBN   978-0-7556-0491-3.
4. Social and Cultural Trends in Islamic India, 1206-1719 A.D. 1989. p 148. M. P. Srivastava.
5. Journal of Research (Humanities), 1977, p 4, University of the Punjab.
6. Journal of Research (Humanities), 1977, p 4, University of the Punjab; Mirati Sikandari Or, The Mirror of Sikandar, 1899, p 195, Sikandar ibn Muḥammad (Manjhū Akbar Sikandar ibn Muḥammad); Iranian Influence in Mughul India, 1978, p 4, Yar Muhammad Khan.
7. Note: "Amir Khusrau who flourished during the reign of Alauddin (1295 AD-1315 AD) was called the "Philip Sidney of the East" (see fn 1, Mirati Sikandari Or, The Mirror of Sikandar, 1899, p 195).
8. Dictionary of Indo-Persian Literature. 1995. p. 278-79. Nabi Hadi. Biography & Autobiography.
9. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Pakistan, 1963. p. 101, Asiatic Society of Pakistan. Oriental Philology.
10. Peck, Lucy (2005). Delhi -A thousand years of Building. New Delhi: Roli Books Pvt Ltd. p. 234. ISBN   81-7436-354-8. Archived from the original on 12 March 2006. Retrieved 25 July 2009.