''THE BADSHAHI MOSQUE''

                  ''THE BADSHAHI MOSQUE''

The Badshahi Mosque (Punjabi, Urdu: بادشاہی مسجد‎, or Imperial Mosque) is a Mughal era mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled City of Lahore. The mosque is widely considered to be one of Lahore's most iconic landmarks.

Badshahi Mosque was commissioned by Emperor Aurangzeb in 1671, with construction of the mosque lasting for two years until 1673. The mosque is an important example of Mughal architecture, with an exterior that is decorated with carved red sandstone with marble inlay. Upon completion, it became world's largest mosque and remained so for 313 years until the expansion of Prophet's Mosque. It remains the largest and most recent of the grand imperial mosques of the Mughal-era, and is the second-largest mosque in Pakistan. After the fall of the Mughal Empire, the mosque was used as a garrison by the Sikh Empire and the British Empire, but is now one of Pakistan's most iconic sights.

The mosque is located adjacent to the Walled City of Lahore, Pakistan. The entrance to the mosque lies on the western side of the rectangular Hazuri Bagh, and faces towards the famous Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort, which is located on the eastern side of the Hazuri Bagh. The mosque is also located next to the Roshnai Gate, one of the original thirteen gates of Lahore, which is located on the southern side of the Hazuri Bagh.

Near the entrance of the mosque lies the Tomb of Muhammad Iqbal, a poet widely revered in Pakistan as the founder of the Pakistan Movement which led to the creation of Pakistan as a homeland for the Muslims of British India. Also located near the mosque's entrance is the tomb of Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, who is credited for playing a major role in preservation and restoration of the mosque.

Lahore was considered a strategic center as it protected the empire from potential invaders from the west. The city was made an imperial capital by the earlier Emperor, Akbar, who established the nearby Lahore Fort.

The sixth Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, chose Lahore for as the site for his new imperial mosque. Aurangzeb, unlike the previous emperors, was not a major patron of art and architecture and instead focused much of his reign on various military conquests, which added over 3 million square kilometres to the Mughal realm.

Badshahi Mosque is renowned for the carved marble and elaborate plasterwork that are used throughout the mosque's interior.

The mosque was built to commemorate military campaigns against the Maratha king Shivaji Bhonsle, although construction of the mosque exhausted the Mughal treasury and weakened the Mughal state. As a symbol of the mosque's importance, it was built directly across from the Lahore Fort and its Alamgiri Gate, which was concurrently built by Aurangzeb during construction of the mosque.

The mosque is heavily used during the Islamic month of ''RAMADAN''

 The main edifice at the site was also built from red sandstone, and is decorated with white marble inlay. The prayer chamber has a central arched niche with five niches flanking it which are about one third the size of the central niche. The mosque has three marble domes, the largest of which is located in the centre of the mosque, and which is flanked by two smaller domes.

Both the interior and exterior of the mosque are decorated with elaborate white marble carved with a floral design common to Mughal art. The carvings at Badshahi mosque are considered to be uniquely fine and unsurpassed works of Mughal architecture. The chambers on each side of the main chamber contains rooms which were used for religious instruction. The mosque can accommodate 10,000 worshippers in the prayer hall.

blog posted by: MUHAMMAD ALI MALIK