While exploring the streets and monuments of Lahore, I happened to enter the replica of Delhi's Jama Masjid in Lahore, known as Badshahi Masjid. The only difference between the Delhi and Lahore mosques is that the Lahore one is bigger than the one in Delhi's Shahjahanabad.
Having seen Badshahi Masjid, I'm reminded of one saying in Punjabi, "Jinne Lahore nahin vekhya, unnew kuchh nahin vekhya!" (He who hasn't seen Lahore has seen nothing!) The Badshahi Masjid or Emperor's Mosque was built in 1673 by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan while Delhi's Jama Masjid was built in 1648 by Shahjahan. It is one of the city's best known landmarks and a major tourist attraction, which epitomises the beauty and grandeur of the Mughal era.
Capable of accommodating over 75,000 worshippers, Badshahi is the second largest mosque in Pakistan, after the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad. Badshahi Masjid is one of the famous locations where Qari Basit (1927-88), a widely acclaimed Egyptian Quranic Reciter, recited the Quran.
The mosque was built under the patronage of the sixth Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb Alamgir. It was completed in 1673 under the supervision of Aurangzeb's foster brother Muzaffar Hussain, who was appointed governor of Lahore in May 1671 and held this post until 1675. He was also Master of Ordinance to the emperor.
The construction of the mosque took about two years, from May 1671 to April 1673. The mosque was built opposite the Lahore Fort, illustrating its stature in the Mughal empire. Along with the mosque, a new gate was built at the fort, Alamgiri Gate, named after the emperor.
From 1852 onwards, piecemeal repairs were carried out under the supervision of the Badshahi Mosque Authority. Extensive repairs were carried out from 1939 to 1960 at a cost of about 4.8 million rupees, which brought the mosque back to its original shape and condition. The blueprint for the repairs was prepared by the late architect Nawab Zen Yar Jang Bahadur.
In 2000, the marble inlay in the main vault was repaired under the supervision of Saleem Anjum Qureshi. On the occasion of the second Islamic Summit held at Lahore on February 22, 1974, 39 heads of Muslim states offered their Friday prayers in the Badshahi Masjid, led by Maulana Abdul Qadir Azad, the Khatib of the mosque.
Recently, a small museum has also been added to the mosque complex, which contains relics of Muhammad, his cousin, and his daughter, Hazrat Fatima Zahra.
Much like its founder, the mosque is bold, vast and majestic in its expression. It was the largest mosque in the world for a long time. The interior is richly embellished with stucco tracery (Manbatkari) and panelling, with a fresco touch, all in bold relief, as well as marble inlay. The exterior is decorated with stone carvings as well as marble inlay on red sandstone, specially of loti form motifs in bold relief. The embellishment has Indo-Greek, Central Asian and Indian architectural influences.
Beautiful ornamental merlons inlaid with marble lining add grace to the perimeter of the mosque. Various architectural features like the dalans, aisles, four minarets, a projecting central transept of the prayer chamber and the grand entrance gate sums up the history of the development of the mosque's
architecture.
The north enclosure wall of the mosque was laid close to the Ravi river bank. As a result, a majestic gateway could not be provided on that side and, to ensure symmetry, the gate had to be omitted on the south wall as well. Therefore, a four aiwan (square) plan, like the Jama Masjid in Delhi, could not be adopted here. The walls were built with small kiln-burnt bricks laid in kankar (concrete), lime mortar, and had a veneer of red sandstone.
The steps leading to the prayer chamber and its plinth are in variegated marble. The prayer chamber is very deep and is divided into seven compartments by rich engraved arches. Out of the seven compartments, three, marbled, double domes have superb curvature, while the rest have curvilinear domes with a central rib in the interior and a flat roof above.
In the aisle on the eastern front, the ceiling of the compartment is flat with a ghalatan (curved border) at the cornice level. The original floor of the courtyard was laid with small kiln-burnt bricks laid in the mussalah (pulpit) pattern.
The present red sandstone flooring was laid during the last repairs (1939-60). The original floor of the prayer chamber was in-cut. Dressed bricks with marble and Sang-i-Abri lining, which formed the mussalah, were also replaced by a marble mussalah during these repairs. There are only two inscriptions in the mosque, one of which is on the gate. This is a must-see monument if you happen to visit Lahore.
Having seen Badshahi Masjid, I'm reminded of one saying in Punjabi, "Jinne Lahore nahin vekhya, unnew kuchh nahin vekhya!" (He who hasn't seen Lahore has seen nothing!) The Badshahi Masjid or Emperor's Mosque was built in 1673 by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan while Delhi's Jama Masjid was built in 1648 by Shahjahan. It is one of the city's best known landmarks and a major tourist attraction, which epitomises the beauty and grandeur of the Mughal era.
Capable of accommodating over 75,000 worshippers, Badshahi is the second largest mosque in Pakistan, after the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad. Badshahi Masjid is one of the famous locations where Qari Basit (1927-88), a widely acclaimed Egyptian Quranic Reciter, recited the Quran.
The mosque was built under the patronage of the sixth Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb Alamgir. It was completed in 1673 under the supervision of Aurangzeb's foster brother Muzaffar Hussain, who was appointed governor of Lahore in May 1671 and held this post until 1675. He was also Master of Ordinance to the emperor.
The construction of the mosque took about two years, from May 1671 to April 1673. The mosque was built opposite the Lahore Fort, illustrating its stature in the Mughal empire. Along with the mosque, a new gate was built at the fort, Alamgiri Gate, named after the emperor.
From 1852 onwards, piecemeal repairs were carried out under the supervision of the Badshahi Mosque Authority. Extensive repairs were carried out from 1939 to 1960 at a cost of about 4.8 million rupees, which brought the mosque back to its original shape and condition. The blueprint for the repairs was prepared by the late architect Nawab Zen Yar Jang Bahadur.
In 2000, the marble inlay in the main vault was repaired under the supervision of Saleem Anjum Qureshi. On the occasion of the second Islamic Summit held at Lahore on February 22, 1974, 39 heads of Muslim states offered their Friday prayers in the Badshahi Masjid, led by Maulana Abdul Qadir Azad, the Khatib of the mosque.
Recently, a small museum has also been added to the mosque complex, which contains relics of Muhammad, his cousin, and his daughter, Hazrat Fatima Zahra.
Much like its founder, the mosque is bold, vast and majestic in its expression. It was the largest mosque in the world for a long time. The interior is richly embellished with stucco tracery (Manbatkari) and panelling, with a fresco touch, all in bold relief, as well as marble inlay. The exterior is decorated with stone carvings as well as marble inlay on red sandstone, specially of loti form motifs in bold relief. The embellishment has Indo-Greek, Central Asian and Indian architectural influences.
Beautiful ornamental merlons inlaid with marble lining add grace to the perimeter of the mosque. Various architectural features like the dalans, aisles, four minarets, a projecting central transept of the prayer chamber and the grand entrance gate sums up the history of the development of the mosque's
architecture.
The north enclosure wall of the mosque was laid close to the Ravi river bank. As a result, a majestic gateway could not be provided on that side and, to ensure symmetry, the gate had to be omitted on the south wall as well. Therefore, a four aiwan (square) plan, like the Jama Masjid in Delhi, could not be adopted here. The walls were built with small kiln-burnt bricks laid in kankar (concrete), lime mortar, and had a veneer of red sandstone.
The steps leading to the prayer chamber and its plinth are in variegated marble. The prayer chamber is very deep and is divided into seven compartments by rich engraved arches. Out of the seven compartments, three, marbled, double domes have superb curvature, while the rest have curvilinear domes with a central rib in the interior and a flat roof above.
In the aisle on the eastern front, the ceiling of the compartment is flat with a ghalatan (curved border) at the cornice level. The original floor of the courtyard was laid with small kiln-burnt bricks laid in the mussalah (pulpit) pattern.
The present red sandstone flooring was laid during the last repairs (1939-60). The original floor of the prayer chamber was in-cut. Dressed bricks with marble and Sang-i-Abri lining, which formed the mussalah, were also replaced by a marble mussalah during these repairs. There are only two inscriptions in the mosque, one of which is on the gate. This is a must-see monument if you happen to visit Lahore.