The Badshahi Mosque

Not surprisingly, wherever Muslims traveled across the earth, one of the first things they did was to construct a mosque. Prayer was a part of their daily lives, and the mosque as necessary as a roof over their heads. Throughout history, Muslim conquerors, rulers and communities of commoners have built mosques that not just mirror the orthodox style of Islamic engineering but also epitomize the style and taste of their patrons or builders.

Mosques were a distinctive feature of Mughal life styles. They are to be found across the subcontinent.The city of Lahore is especially favored. It has one of the grandest examples of Mughal religious architecture – the Badshahi Mosque, near the royal fort. The Badshahi Masjid or Imperial Mosque was built between 1671 and 1674 during the rule of Aurangzeb Alamgir, the sixth Mughal emperor. 

Although the mosque owes much to the building precedents for which Shah Jahan (Aurangzbe’s father) was known, Aurangzeb had never been Shah Jahan’s favorite. His elder brother Dara Shikoh was. A gentle and scholarly prince much beloved by the emperor as well as by the Hindu majority of the Mughal’s subjects, Dara Shikoh was a disciple of Hazrat Mian Meer. When Hazrat Mian Meer passed away and was buried in what is at present the Cantonment, Dara Shikoh paid his profound guide an exceptional reverence. He developed a path starting from Lahore’s Akbari Gate to the tomb of Hazrat Mian Meer proposed to import red sandstone tiles from Jaipur for it. Before this act of piety could be completed, Aurangzeb usurped the throne, imprisoned his father Shah Jahan, captured the fleeing Dara Shikoh and eliminated him.

Aurangzeb, in contrast to the aesthete/poet Dara Shukoh, was the militant – preferring the sword to the pen. He was dispatched by his father on various military missions to quell insurrection in princedoms in the south-west and as far south as the Deccan. That experience in the field made him an efficient,ruthless commander.

Soon after his accession, Aurangzeb was approached by Fidai Khan, who suggested that the red sandstone blocks imported from Jaipur could be better used to build a mosque. The mosque was built under the supervision of Fidai Khan Koka, his name is imprinted on a marble plaque affixed at the main entrance of the mosque. The mosque is of imperial proportions but too large for just one man. The emperor in any case had the Moti Masjid within the fort for his private use. Fidai Khan picked a site for the mosque opposite and within walking distance of the royal apartments in the Lahore fort. The open space between known now as the Hazuri Bagh was used to allow congregations before or after prayers or royal occasions.

In any case, by then an interesting turn happened. Right when the improvement of the mosque was more Then for the most part, Aurangzeb went to Lahore and wanted to see the work in progress. When he proceeded onward the ‘deodhi’ or the gateway of the mosque he comprehended that the ‘zanan khana’ or the ladies fragment was clear from the highest point of the entryway. The point of view of the Fortification from the pillars of the mosque was essentially clearer. Aurangzeb was baffled and in a split second halted the advancement of the mosque. The improvement never proceeded and the mosque lay in an incomplete state.

The mosque’s full name “Masjid Abul Zafar Muhy-ud-Din Mohammad Alamgir Badshah Ghazi” is written in inlaid marble above the vaulted entrance. The mosque’s gateway faces east towards the Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort, which was also commissioned by Aurangzeb. The massive entrance and mosque are situated on a plinth, which is ascended by a flight of 22 steps at the mosque’s main gate.The gateway itself contains several chambers which are not accessible to the public. One of the rooms is said to contain hairs from the Prophet Muhammad’s, and that of his son-in-law Ali KW.

As a gateway to the west, and Persia in particular, Lahore had a strong regional style which was heavily influenced by Persian architectural styles. Earlier mosques, such as the Wazir Khan Mosque, were adorned in intricate kashi kari, or Kashan style tile work, from which the Badshahi Mosque would depart.Aurangzeb chose an architectural plan similar to that of Shah Jehan’s choice for the Jama Masjid in Delhi, though, built the Badshahi mosque on a much larger scale. Both mosques feature red sandstone with white marble inlay, which is a departure from typical mosque design in Lahore, in which decoration is done by means of intricate tile work.

The architects planned the mosque to signify endlessness and glory. Its notable features are stucco tracery (Manbatkari) and its marble design, the skill employed in the cutting of its stone slabs, the uniquely lotus shapes in white marble set in red sandstone. Discernible are embellishments that reveal Indo-Greek, Central Asian and Indian influences.

Other significant features are superb expanded merlons, brightened with marble lining, add style to the edge of the mosque and enhance the horizon. In various auxiliary features, for instance, the tremendous square yard, the side walkways (dalans), the four corner minars, the foreseeing central transept of the petition chamber, and the colossal section door.

Entrance to the mosque complex is via a two-storey edifice built of red sandstone which is elaborately decorated with framed and carved paneling on each of its facades. The edifice features a muqarna, an architectural feature from the Middle East that was first introduced into Mughal architecture with construction of the nearby and ornate Wazir Khan Mosque.

The north enclosure walls of the mosque had been laid close to the Ravi River bank, preventing the working from securing a grand door on that side. To ensure the symmetry of the entryway, no grand entryway could be based on the south side, as well. Thus, a four Aiwan plan like the earlier Jamia Mosque in Delhi, could not be replicated at the Badshahi Mosque. The methods provoking the appeal to the chamber and its plinth have been created with variegated marble.

The prayer chamber, astoundingly significant, disengages into seven compartments by rich engraved bends carried on hugely considerable docks. Out of the seven compartments, three two arches finished in marble have inventively splendid twist, while the rest have curvilinear vaults with a focal rib in their inside and level rooftop above. In the eastern front way, the top of the compartment runs level (Qalamdani) with a twisted periphery (ghalatan) at the cornice level.

The original floor of the courtyard had been laid with little kiln-burnt bricks set in the Mussalah pattern. The present red sandstone flooring had been laid amid the last broad repairs from 1939 to 1960 AD. Additionally, the first floor of the petition chamber had been developed utilizing cut and dressed blocks with marble and Sang-I-Abri lining, framing Mussalah. During the latest repairs, they had been replaced by marble Mussalah. 

Inside, the mosque isn’t too amazing, or enormous. However, the dark and white chequered flooring is very decent and it made for some awesome photos. Sound resounds all through the mosque, and whispering in one corner can be heard in a far off corner.

Outside the Badshahi Mosque, near its steps lies the tomb of the poet-philosopher Dr Sir Allama Muhammad lqbal. The mausoleum is a mixture of Afghan and Moorish styles of architecture and is constructed entirely of red sandstone, which was brought from Rajasthan. The tomb near the entrance of the mosque was constructed as a mark of respect and to pay homage to this great man who gave the very concept of a separate Muslim state for the Muslims of British India.

Although it is one of Pakistan’s most popular sight s, it is still a working mosque, and is therefore closed to tourists during prayer time. In general, the opening hours of the Badshahi mosque are from 9am until one hour before dusk each day, excluding 90 minutes each prayer time, and two hours during Friday noon prayers. It is advised to dress respectfully. 

History had not been kind to the Badshahi mosque. During the Sikh Raj, the Badshahi mosque was used as an ammunition store. It was badly damaged in the battle between the forces of Kunwar Sher Singh and Rani Chand Kaur in November 1841. After the British annexed the Punjab in 1849, they continued to use the mosque as an ammunition dump. In 1855, the British handed the mosque to the Muslims of Lahore, who restored it as a place of worship and prayer.

The Badshahi Mosque remains in many ways an enduring symbol of Lahore’s past, present and Muslim future.