Not much is known about Bibi Fatima Sam except that she was the adopted sister of Baba Farid and her Dargah in midst of the residential area of Kakanagar is an oasis of peace.
The dargah when made originally in the 13th century was on the outskirts of Inderpat village, near the Nakhas Gate of Delhi. It was a sprawling complex which had a mosque attached to it as well as a small pond. It used to consist of merely a roof built over her grave. In 2002, Muhammed Adil, a businessman in Daryaganj, commissioned the new domed structure and is restricted to just a small compound and a Government school has been made between the Dargah and the Mosque.Bibi Fatima Sam was a very pious lady and Baba Farid and Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya often came to her Dargah when they wanted complete peace.
” The saints will cast away both worldly and religious blessings to give a piece of bread or a drink of water to someone in need.This state is something one cannot obtain by one hundred thousand fasts and prayers .”
Bibi Fatima Sam
A small earthen pot of water is kept in a corner of her Dargah
HAzrat Nizamuddin Auliya said for her, ” When the lion has come out of the forest, nobody asks if it is male or female ; the children of Adam must obey and show respect ,whether it is male or female.”Shaykh NasirudDin Mahmud Chiragh-I Dihli, he says, “One day , Mawlana Husam al-Din Came into the presence of Shaykh Nizam al-Din (may God sanctify their secrets). He said, “Mawlana Husam al-Din, today we saw one of the substitutes.” He asked, “Where did you see him?” He said, that he had made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Bibi Sam; which is near the enclosure of a pool. A man appeared carrying cucumbers on his head, which he brought down to the edge of the pool. He stored the cucumbers away and performed ablutions in such a way that he was astonished. When he finished his ablutions, he performed two cycles of ritual prayer with perfect equanimity. Maulana Hisamuddin was very surprised to see the way he washed the basket of cucumbers. He related the story to his mother who
said, ‘This is the way to prepare the burial shroud, to wash the corpse, and to perform the burial in the tomb.’ She gave him about twenty dirhams and said, ‘This is the fortune of your whole life. When your father went into gardens, he picked cucumbers and vegetables and sold them. Thus he spent his life . you also pick cucumbers and vegetables and sell them. Don’t support yourself in any way but this.’ ”
This story was repeated by the mutawalli of the dargah ,who very patiently answered all my questions about the Bibi. I saw a few people praying there and I too wanted to pray . I was a bit apprehensive as there was only the one room with the main shrine and most Mutawallis of Dargahs have reservations about women. He very politely told me to pray in the corner of the room hidden from view by the shrine so I would not be disturbed. I am glad that at least in a dargah of a lady, ladies are respected and treated at par.
One of the advantages of the these dargahs not being very popular is that there are no crowds and one can pray and meditate in peace. While I was there I saw a couple of people who had come in to offer their namaz
The adjoining wall leads to the Government school and across the street from the school is a small mosque known as Masjid Fatima bin SamBibi Fatima Sam reposed great faith in Hazrat Najibuddin Mutawakkil, The brother of Baba Farid and a great saint of the era, in fact she was a devotee. He treated her as his sister. When there was nothing in the house to eat, she used to send some bread. Once she sent only one loaf. He, out of a joke, said: “O, great God! Make the sultan of this city acquainted with our condition, so that he may send us something substantial!” Then he smiled and said: “Alas! The sultans do not possess that inward cleanliness, by which they may be acquainted (with our condition)”
In her book The Sufi Courtyard: Dargahs of Delhi, author Sadia Dehlvi writes: “Bibi Fatima Sam died on 17 Shaban 644 Hijri/1246 AD. She is called the Rabia of Delhi, after Rabia of Basra, the famous mystic of the eighth century.”
