(Pic by Aditya Pathak)
Khwaja Hazrat Noorudin was a Sufi saint of the Qadri silsila or order.
He came to India from Persia and decided to settle in the area which belonged to Sheikh Abu Bakr Toosi more popularly known as Matka Shah.
The area on which Pragati Maiden stands today was all part of his khanqah during Balban ‘ s reign and till much later.
Sheikh Toosi objected to the entry of someone whom he thought had come without permission into his territory.
Khwaja Noorudin told Matka Shah he had come here with his Peer’s ( spiritual masters blessings.
Not surprisingly Sheikh Toosi asked for proof.
Khwaja Noorudin covered himself with a cloth and within minutes came back with the sanad or letter from his Peer.
The speed impressed Matka Shah so much that he gave him the title of
Malik Yaar Parra’n – My friend won the wing
This story was told to us by Janab Mohammad Misbah whose family has been caretaker of the shrine for 600 years +.
Today the area is famous as Bagh e Bedil regarding which there’s a controversy dealt with below, again recounted by Janab Mohammad Misbah.
Janab Mohammad Misbah sahab led us to Khwaja sahab grave and prayed for us after offering the Fatima for the departed soul.
His advice – be constant in your prayers and faith.
Maangne waale ko sab kuch milta hai lekin Maangne waale ko zabaan chahiye ( Concentration & yaqeen ).
Regarding tomb of Mirza Abdul Qadir Bedil (1644-1720), a famous Persian poet, born in Patna.
Janab Mohammad Misbah sahab said that as per history Bedil lived in a haveli on the banks of the river Yamuna bought for him by Nawab Sharfuddin. He died there and was buried in a place chosen by him earlier in the haveli itself. This is proven by Urdu texts from that and later era.( ‘Nikat-e-Bedil’ published by Attaullah)
In 2006, when Emomali Rahmanov, the President of Tajikistan, visited India, he wanted to pay tribute to the poet, who is a major saint for Central Asians.
In consultation with Khwaja Hasan Nizami the present mazar and area spruced up for the Presidential visit.
The present building had been built some 80+years ago by a relative of Nizam of Hyderabad who took 1 lakh rupees from the Nizam to do so.
“But this is not the original mazar. This is actually Dargah Hazrat Khwaja Nooruddin Malak Yar-E-Parran,” said Abdul Misbah, Nayab Muttawalli, whose family has been the caretaker of the place for at least 600 years.
According to him , Bedil had died in his haveli and six months later his Afghan followes took his body and buried it in Kabul.
