Named for its white marble,[2] the mosque was constructed during the reign of Bahadur Shah I, in the vicinity of the dargah of Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki.

The Moti Masjid is located in Mehrauli, to the west of Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki's dargah.

[3] During communal uprisings in the partition era, the Moti Masjid was attacked, despite being a protected monument.

This was amidst the occurrence of similar attacks on several other Islamic religious sites in Delhi, as part of larger anti-Muslim violence in the city.

[4] The Moti Masjid in Mehrauli is the last example in the Mughal tradition of providing small marble-faced mosques.