Muhammad Ali Jinnah's death occurred in 1948, and his final resting place was marked by a large white marble slab that was raised on a plinth accessed by marble steps.[1] In 1949, the Quaid-e-Azam Memorial Fund (QMF) was established, which received numerous suggestions for the establishment of a memorial to Jinnah.[2] By 1952, his mausoleum was capped by a small dome, with a cabinet that contained some of his personal effects along a wall near his grave.[3] The site had an air of neglect which angered many.[3] Fatima Jinnah and the QMF received numerous letters from concerned Pakistanis at the sad state of his tomb, and advocated for a more befitting monument to Jinnah.[3]

In 1952, the QMF proposed to erect 4 monuments across Pakistan to Jinnah's memory: a mausoleum and mosque on the current site in central Karachi, a Dar-ul-Uloom religions school in Punjab and a University of Science and Technology in East Pakistan.[4] In 1954, an Indian architect was selected to design the mausoleum, but was later dismissed.[2] In 1955, a Turkish architect was hired, but his plan was rejected as well.[2]

In 1957, the Government of Pakistan held an international competition to design a new mausoleum for Jinnah.[5] The competition was initially won by British architect William Whitfield,[6] of the Raglan Squire and Partners firm. The state's efforts to select a design were paralleled by the efforts of the Jinnah's sister, Fatima Jinnah, who sought input from the public in the design of a monument to her brother.[5] Fatima Jinnah effectively vetoed the 1957 proposal, and assumed control of the QMF. She then commissioned architect Yahya Merchant,[7] a Bombay based architect who was a personal friend of Jinnah,[2] to design the monument.

President Ayub Khan laid the foundation stone for the monument on 31 July 1960. It was inaugurated by Yahya Khan on 18 January 1971.[3] The gardens surrounding the mausoleum were not completed until 24 December 2000.[3]