Across
the road from Humayun's tomb, the 'dargah' or shrine of revered Sufi
saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliyaa has its devotees all over the Islamic
world. A settlement has sprung up here known as 'Nizamuddin' for short.
This shrine also houses the tomb of Amir Khusrau, a famous poet and the
saint's beloved disciple. Encroachments plaque the shrine and the area
itself seem to belong to another century. The shrine was built by
Muhammad Tughluq and is one of the sacred places of pilgrimage. Other
tombs situated in the complex of the shrine belong to Begum Jahan Ara,
Shah Jahan's favorite daughter and Mirza Ghalib. Every Thursday, one can
hear qawwalis here around sunset.Shaikh Nizamu'd-Din was born at Budaun in 1236. He came to Delhi with his mother and became the disciple of the famous saint Shaikh Farid Shakarganj. The rulers such as Ala-ud-Din Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq were devoted to him. It is said that he had already prophesized beforehand that city of Tughluqabad could never prosper and that Ghiyath-ud-Din Tughluq, who was then in Bengal, would never see Delhi again. He died in 1325. The original tomb has been renovated many times and the present tomb was built in 1562. The area around the tomb is regarded as sacred. Twice every year, 'urs' is held to commemorate the death anniversaries of Hazrat Nizamu'd-Din Auliya and Amir Khusrau.
