VOTE MOULA ALI PAHAD AS SEVEN WONDER OF HYDERABAD

Salamun Alaikum: The famed Maula Ali Dargah, tucked away in a quiet part of the Secunderabad, was built by the Asaf Jahis, in memory of Hazrat Ali, the son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad.

There are 500 steps, that were commissioned by the erstwhile Hyderabad State’s last Nizam, Osman Ali Khan, that leads one to the top of the Moula Ali gutta or hillock, where the dargah is located. Legend has it that Yakoob, a eunuch from the court of Ibrahim Quli, used to have a recurring dream, in which he had a vision of the imprint of Hazrat Ali or Moula Ali’s palm, which rested on the hillock.

One day, while Yakoob was around the Moula Ali hillock, he saw in the rocks the imprint of the palm exactly as it appeared in his dream. A shrine was built around it by king Ibrahim Qutub Shah, and later a mosque was built too. Unlike many dargahs, which usually house the mortal remains of a saint, this one is unique since it is built to commemorate a miracle. The easiest way to reach the Dargah however is to take the rough steps cut into the hillock from its eastern Khushaal Khan gateway.

There are many locks hanging along a chain at the entrance of the dargah. Believers place a lock on the chain and make a mannat or a wish. If the wish came true, then it has to be unlocked. The hillock once also had a naubat or drum that was beaten to announce that the wish of a devotee has been fulfilled.