Moth
ki Masjid, also known as "the mosque from Lentil" now lies
deserted and secluded. This mosque was built during the rule of Sikandar
Lodi around 500 years ago and has a legend attached to its origin. It is
believed that one day Sikandar Lodi gave a grain of moth (a type of
lentil) to his loyal minister Wazir Miya Bhoiya as a reward, just for
fun. The minister took those seeds and started planting the seeds year
after year. Gradually the seeds multiplied many times and a day came
when they could be sold for money, enough for the construction of a
mosque. So, the minister went to the King and asked for his permission
to build the mosque. Sikandar Lodi got very impressed with the intelligence of his minister and laid the foundation of the mosque himself. The Moth Masjid of Delhi was built according to the Indo-Islamic style of architecture. Unlike the traditional mosques, it has no minarets, calligraphic decorations and embellishments, etc. Rather, it is a small and simple mosque that marked the resumption of architectural activity during Lodi dynasty rule. Made up of red sandstone, the Delhi Moth ki Masjid boasts of a small semicircular dome and windows with latticework screens. It is believed that this mosque served as the private mosque of Sikandar Lodi's minister.
