Historical facts behind some of the beautiful Masjids of the world (index added)
priyadarshini.....:
This First Post would serve as the index of all Beautiful Masjids discussed in this thread.
Click on the name of any of the Masjids listed here to Read in detail about them.
Masjid Nabawi , MEDINA
Masjid al-Haram-Makkah
JAMIA MASJID DELHI
Hagia Sophia, ISTAMBUL, TURKEY
Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque, Brunei
Sultan Mosque, Little india, Singapore
Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Masjid-Malaysia
Kapitan Keling Mosquem, Malasysia
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
King Abdul Aziz Masjid, Gibraltar
Al-Bukhari Masjid , Kedah Malaysia
Hassan II Masjid - Casablanca, Morocco
The Attarine Masjid, Attraine
The Putra Masjid, Malaysia
Xian Great Mosque in Xian People's Republic of China
Al-Aqsa Mosque-Jerusalem
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Oman
The Shah Faisal Masjid in Islamabad, Pakistan
Great Masjid of Algiers
Great Masjid of Tlemcen
Al-Hakim Masjid, Cairo
Al-Azhar University, Cairo
The Al-Rifa'i Masjid
Al Hussein Masjid
El-Mursi Abul Abbas Masjid
Masjid of Amr ibn al-As, Egypt
Masjid-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan
Masjid of Ibn Tulun
Masjid of Muhammad Ali
Qala'un Masjid
Great Masjid of Djenné
Djinguereber Masjid
The Jummah Masjid
Chinguetti Masjid
Great Masjid of Taza
priyadarshini.....:
Masjid Nabawi , MEDINA
Medina also transliterated into English as Madinah; officially al Madinat al Munawwarah is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of Muhammad.
It currently has a population of more than 1,300,000 people (2006). Medina was originally known as Yathrib, but later the city's name was changed to Madinat al-Nabi ("city of the prophet") or Al Madinah al Munawwarah ("the enlightened city" or "the radiant city"), while the short form Madinah simply means "city". Medina is celebrated for containing the tomb of Muhammad, and so ranks as the second holiest city of Islam, after Mecca (Makkah). Medina is 210 miles (338 kilometres north of Mecca and about 120 mi (193 km) from the Red Sea coast. It is situated in the most fertile part of all the Hejaz territory, the streams of the vicinity tending to converge in this locality. An immense plain extends to the south; in every direction the view is bounded by hills and mountains. The city forms an oval, surrounded by a strong wall, 30 to 40 feet (9 to 12 metres) high, that dates from the 12th century C.E., and is flanked with towers, while on a rock, stands a castle. Of its four gates, the Bab-al-Salam, or Egyptian gate, is remarkable for its beauty. Beyond the walls of the city, west and south are suburbs consisting of low houses, yards, gardens ,and plantations. These suburbs have also walls and gates. Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Mosque of the Prophet) stands at the east of the city and resembles the mosque at Mecca on a smaller scale. Its courtyard is almost 500 ft (152 m) in length, the dome is high with three picturesque minarets . The tomb of the prophet, who died and was buried here in 632 C.E., is enclosed with a screen of iron filigree, at the south side of which the hajji goes through his devotions, for all of which he pays, but is consoled with the assurance that one prayer here is as good as a thousand elsewhere.
The tombs of Fatimah (Muhammad's daughter) and Abu Bakr (first caliph and the father of Muhammad wife, Aisha), and of Umar (Umar ibn Khattab), the second caliph, are also here. The mosque dates back to the time of Muhammad, but has been twice burned and reconstructed.
priyadarshini.....:
Masjid al-Haram-Makkah
Makkah (in full: Makkah al-Mukarramah ) is an Islamic holy city in Saudi Arabia's Makkah province, in the historic Hejaz region. It has a population of 1,294,167 (2004 census). The city is located 73 kilometres (45 miles) inland from Jeddah, in the narrow sandy Valley of Abraham, 277 metres (909 ft)above sea level. It is located 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the Red Sea.
The city is revered by Muslims for containing the holiest site of Islam, the Masjid al-Haram. A pilgrimage to Mecca during the week of the Hajj is one of the Pillars of Islam, a sacred duty that is required of all able-bodied Muslims who can afford to go, at least once in their lifetime. People of other faiths are forbidden from entering the city.
The English word Makkah (uncapitalized), meaning "a place to which many people are attracted" is derived from Makkah.
priyadarshini.....:
JAMIA MASJID DELHI
The Masjid-i-Jahan Numa, commonly known as Jama Masjid of Delhi is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and completed in the year 1656 AD, it is one of the largest and best known mosques in India. It is also at the beginning of a very busy and popular street/center in Old Delhi, Chandni Chowk. (There are also Jama Masjids in many other cities with a history of Islamic rule, or large Muslim populations.)
Masjid-i-Jahan Numa means "the mosque commanding a view of the world", and the name Jama Masjid is a reference to the weekly congregation observed on Friday (the yaum al-jum`a) at the mosque. The courtyard of the mosque can hold up to twenty-five thousand worshippers. The mosque also houses several relics in a closet in the north gate, including a copy of the Qur'an written on deer skin. The cost incurred on the construction in those times was 10 lakh (1 million) Rupees.
Shah Jahan built several important mosques in Delhi, Agra, Ajmer and Lahore. The Jama Masjid's floorplan is very similar to the Moti Masjid at Agra, but the Jama Masjid is the bigger and more imposing of the two. Its majesty is further enhanced because of the high ground that he selected for building this mosque.
priyadarshini.....:
Hagia Sophia, ISTAMBUL, TURKEY
Hagia Sophia ("Holy Wisdom") is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum, in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Medieval Seville Cathedral in 1520.
The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, and was in fact the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site (the previous two had both been destroyed by riots). It was designed by two architects, Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The Church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among other things, a 50-foot (15 m) silver iconostasis. It was the patriarchal church of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the religious focus point of the Orthodox Byzantine Empire for nearly 1000 years.
In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and Sultan Mehmed II ordered the building to be converted into a mosque. The bells, altar, iconostasis, and sacrificial vessels were removed, and many of the mosaics were eventually plastered over. The Islamic features - such as the mihrab, the minbar, and the four minarets outside - were added over the course of its history under the Ottomans. It remained as a mosque until 1935, when it was converted into a museum by the secular Republic of Turkey.
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