File:14th century Alai Darwaza inscription southern gate Qutb complex Delhi 2.jpg

English: These inscriptions are found on the Alai Darwaza, the gateway to the Qutb complex in Mehrauli, south Delhi. The Alai Darwaza has three arched entrances with piers (gates) on the east, west and south side. Each is inscribed. The faded background photo shows two of these entrance-gates of the Alai Darwaza (derivative work of Alai Darwaza 05.jpg, available with CC4.0 license from wikimedia commons.)

The inscription with the monument is a notable illustration of Indo-Islamic architecture at the oldest known mosque in India.

• Sayed Ahmad Khan published the first complete set of these inscriptions in the 19th-century. Carr Stephen published the first translations of these inscriptions in the 19th-century. Ghulam Yazdani published a more scholarly analysis and revised translation of these inscriptions in early 20th-century.
• These are found on the gateway to the Qutb complex.
• Language: Persian with a strong admixture of Arabic
• Date: 1310 CE (710 AH)
• Style: bold, vigorous Naskh letters (1.5 feet high), Pathan style fonts
• Attribution: Sultan Alauddin Khalji

Summary of translation:

• Right pier: Credits the building to the Sultan, praises him and calls him the "lord of the kings of his time, the emperor, majestic as Moses and powerful as Solomon, the protector of the rulings of Muhammadan law". He is described as the "extender of the foundation of Islamic customs", the base of Abu Hanifa faith, the "pruner of the branches of the leaders of infidels, the demolisher of the foundations of idol-temples, the builder of the bases of Islamic institutions".
• Left pier: More praise and accomplishments of the Sultan. Refers to him as the "subjugator of the infidels of the East and China, the subduer of evil-doers on the face of the earth, the conqueror of forts". It credits him for building this mosque, the kissing place sanctified by men of piety. It also records the date of inscription as 15th of Shawwal 710 AH (Sunday 7th March 1310 CE).
• Outer arch: describes the spaciousness and height of the mosque as well known as Baitu-l-Muqadilas (Jerusalam) and attributes it to Alauddunya waddini-z-zafr, Abu-l-Muzaffar Muhammad Shah, the Sultan.
• Inner arch: calls the Sultan as the "right arm of Khilafat", the helper of the Prince of the Faithful, and states "may God spread the shade of his [Sultan] sovereignty over the head of all creation till the Day of Judgment".

Additional details and a complete translation of this inscription can be found in Epigraphia Indo-Moslemica 1917–1918, by Ghulam Yazdani (pages 23–30). Additional commentary on these inscriptions and its historical notability was published by Carr Stephen in Archaeology and Monumental Remains of Delhi (pages 54–68).

This is a photograph of a personal copy of the archived original 2D ink estampage published by Ghulam Yazdani in 1919 issue of Epigraphia Indo-Moslemica. It is in public domain. Wikimedia commons PD-Art guidelines apply. Any rights I have as a photographer, I herewith donate to wikimedia commons with public domain (CC0) license.