Taj-ul-Masajid

The Taj-ul-Masajid (Arabic: تَاجُ ٱلْمَسَاجِد‎, romanized: Tāj-ul-Masājid, lit. 'Crown of the Mosques') or Tāj-ul-Masjid (تَاجُ ٱلْمَسْجِد), is a mosque situated in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the largest mosque in India and one of the largest mosques in Asia.[1][2]

Taj-ul-Masajid (تَاجُ ٱلْمَسَاجِد)[1]
Taj-ul-Masajid mosque.
Religion
Affiliation	Sunni Islam
Location
Location	Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
Geographic coordinates	23.262934°N 77.392802°E
Architecture
Type	Mosque
Style	Indo-Islamic architecture, Mughal architecture
Funded by	Sultan Shah Jahan, Begum of Bhopal, Bahadur Shah Zafar
Specifications
Capacity	175,000+
Interior area	23,000 m^2 (250,000 sq ft)[1]
Dome(s)	3
Minaret(s)	2

History

The construction work of this mosque started in the reign of the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar by Nawab Shah Jahan Begum (1844–1860 and 1868–1901) of Bhopal (Wife of Nawab Syed Siddiq Hasan Khan) and continued to be built by her daughter Sultan Jahan Begum, till her lifetime. The mosque was not completed due to lack of funds, and after a long lay-off after the War of 1857, construction was resumed in 1971 by Allama Mohammad Imran Khan Nadwi Azhari and Maulana Sayed Hashmat Ali Sahab of Bhopal. The construction was completed by 1985 and the entrance (eastern) gate was renovated grandly using ancient motifs from circa 1250 Syrian mosques by the contribution of the Emir of Kuwait to commemorate the memory of his departed wife.

Architecture

The mosque has a pink facade topped by two 18-storey high octagonal minarets with marble domes, an impressive main hallway with attractive pillars and marble flooring resembling Mughal architecture the likes of Jama Masjid in Delhi and the huge Badshahi Mosque of Lahore. It has a courtyard with a large tank in the centre. It has a double-storeyed gateway with four recessed archways and nine cusped multifold openings in the main prayer hall. The massive pillars in the hall hold 27 ceilings through squinted arches of which 16 ceilings are decorated with ornate petalled designs.

Annual congregation

Madrasah in the mosque

Aalmi Tablighi Ijtima is an annual three-day congregation that draws people from all over the world. It was held at Taj-ul-Masajid until it was shifted to Islam Nagar outside the city due to shortage of space.

Gallery

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  Taj-ul-Masajid gate
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  Entrance Gate of Taj-ul-Masajid
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  Taj-ul-Masajid aerial photo
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  Taj-ul-Masjid Ground
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  Tau-ul-Masajid Entrance gate
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  Madarsa in Taj-ul-Masajid
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  Carvings on wall
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  Clock showing Namaz Timing
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  Taj-ul-Masajid inside
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  Taj-ul-masajid inside
• 
  Taj-ul-masajid outside view

References

1. McCrohan, Daniel (2010). "The search for the world's smallest mosque". Lonely Planet.
2. "Taj-ul-Masajid". bhopal.nic.in. Retrieved 27 September 2014.