LOST ORIGINAL MINIATURE AND VARIOUS COPIES,
OF ACTUAL FUNERAL OF EMPEROR SHAH JAHAN;
AND SURPRISING LINK OF THREE MANUSCRIPTS.

The Mughals created history, and loved the written record of it. They didn’t miss much and their historians wrote whatever they could. But even then things are missing. And no one jumps to their imagination for fear of losing credibility.

The death of Shah Jahan was inevitable. Jahan Ara had programs for a Royal procession, but Aurangzeb permitted Islamic rites, and buried him next to his wife Mumtaz Mahal, although that was not the actual plan. The whole dream of the Black marble Taj Mahal was gone. Certainly there would be original miniatures but seemingly lost with time. One sees copies coming up in the 18th Century and even in the 19th century. And certainly people stood by their Emperor till the end. But the original architect Mimar Ustad Ahmad had died in 1649 AD. The need for a new architect to plan the new burial was there and somebody would be there, along with the administrator of the Taj Mahal complex. Muhammed Salih calls it the “Rauza Munawara”, or the “Illumined Tomb.” So what is new? Three manuscripts reveal startling new information. A little information and background is necessary for the same. The three manuscripts of that period exist in reality.

Manuscript One

A copy of Zain Obain by Mir Waiz Kashfi, written by two partners. One of them is Mir Shah son of Mir Muhammed Ali Al-Hassani Al-Hussaini, and the other Lutufullah, and witten in both hand writings. Plain, no gold ornamentation. The year 1077 AH. Why is the year important? It is the year of death of Emperor Shah Jahan, and there seems to be a need for these both partners to be together at one place. Which one? 

Manuscript two

A copy of the Holy Quran with a hashiya on it. The calligrapher Syed Shah Muhammed Al-Hassani Al-Hussaini. The date 1091 AH. The Hashiya by Lutufullah Ahmad Muhandis. Dated 1092 AH. Whayt is important about this?

Syed Shah calls himself the Khakrob of Astana Munawara.  Who is a Khakrob, a dust cleaner, a maintenance person, or an administrator to keep things working. And what is Astana Munawara? Muhammed Salih the court historian calls the Taj Mahal Rauza Munawara. Syed Shah goes one step further and calls it Astana Munawara. The house of Taj Mahal.

Both partners together in the premises of the Taj Mahal, spending their time in writing books, and working on maintenance and architectural modifications. What can be more clear than that?

Manuscript three

A risalah on MANTIQ by Syed Shah, found in the library of Muhammed Hanif, Imam of Wazeer Khan Mosque, and calligraphed by Luufullah Ahmad Muhandis.

All three linked together. The secrets of history are ever there. It needs intelligence to find the secrets. Vey clear who was there at the Taj mahal doing these things.