Later Mughals v1.c6.s25.13

v1.c6.s25.13

The word Sayyid or Lord, which is confined to the descendants of the Prophet, appears in the above titles because Bahadur Shah, on very insufficient grounds claimed Sayyid lineage. This claim had never been made by any of his predecessors of the house of Taimur. The story goes that one Sayyid Shah Mir, a descendant of Abdul Qadir Jilani, resorted to the country near Kashmir which was ruled by Bahadur Shah's maternal grandfather. The Rajah became a disciple of and gave his daughter in marriage to the Sayyid. They had issue one son and one daughter. Then the Sayyid set out on a pilgrimage to Mecca and was never heard of again. The children were brought up secretly by their grandfather. Then the Emperor Shah Jahan demanded tribute of money and a daughter from that Rajah. The Sayyid's daughter accompanied by presents was sent to him. The girl was instructed by Muhammadan teachers appointed by the Emperor, and in due course married to Prince Aurangzeb. Her Muhammadan name was Kalimat-un-nissa, commonly called Nawab Bai Begam, and the sarai in Khandesh, at the foot of the Fardapur Pass, was built by her. This place was for a long time held by her in jagir. There is a ward in Aurangabad founded by her and called after her Baiji-pura. If the above story about the faqir is true, which is very unlikely, Bahadur Shah was of Sayyid descent through his mother. [K. K. i. 594.]