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Jahanara Begum was the eldest surviving daughter of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal and the elder sister of Aurangzeb.

After the death of Mumtaz Mahal in 1631, Jahanara became an exceptionally influential woman within the Mughal imperial family. She received the high position of Padshah Begum and played an important role within the royal household and court.

During the war of succession, Jahanara supported her brother Dara Shikoh and her father Shah Jahan. Her political position was initially affected after Aurangzeb seized power, but the relationship between the siblings later improved.

After Shah Jahan's death, Jahanara again occupied a high position within the imperial family and received considerable respect during Aurangzeb's reign. In the examination tradition, the title ‘Sahibat-uz-Zamani’, meaning ‘Lady of the Age’, is associated with its conferment upon Jahanara by Aurangzeb.

Jahanara also had a deep connection with the Sufi tradition. She was particularly influenced by the Chishti order and wrote a biographical work on Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.

She died in 1681 CE at Delhi and was buried within the Nizamuddin Auliya Dargah complex. Her tomb is particularly famous for its remarkable simplicity.

An important historical qualification is necessary. Scholarly sources differ concerning the timing of this title. Some accounts associate Sahibat-uz-Zamani with Jahanara during Shah Jahan's reign after Mumtaz Mahal's death, while other accounts describe it as an honour conferred later by Aurangzeb or posthumously.

Therefore, the identity of the person is clear—Jahanara, but the exact timing and circumstances of the conferment are not presented uniformly across the sources.