The Badshahi Masjid is a Mughal era masjid in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan. The masjid is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled City of Lahore, and is widely considered to be one of Lahore’s most iconic landmarks.
The Badshahi Masjid was built by Emperor Aurangzeb in 1671, with construction of the masjid lasting for two years until 1673. The masjid is an important example of Mughal architecture, with an exterior that is decorated with carved red sandstone with marble inlay. It remains the largest masjid of the Mughal-era, and is the second-largest masjid in Pakistan. After the fall of the Mughal Empire, the masjid was used as a garrison by the Sikh Empire and the British Empire, and is now one of Pakistan’s most iconic sights.
Red clay stone and marbles were brought from the Jaipur and Makran city of the Rajasthan in India at that time for the construction of mosques. The minarets of the Masjid are leaning and not straight just like the leaning tower of Pisa, with each minaret having 204 steps to reach the top. The courtyard of a mosque has a capacity of 100,000 people to say prayers at one time.
During the British Raj, the mosque went with one of longest restoration period that lasted from 1939 to 1960. The restoration was initiated by Sir Sikander Hayat who is buried outside the Mosque in white marble grave, opposite to the Iqbal’s Tomb.
Fascinating Facts
Construction of the mosque began in 1671 under the direction of Muzaffar Hussain (Fida’i Khan Koka), Aurangzeb’s brother-in-law and the governor of Lahore
It was originally planned as a reliquary to safeguard a strand of the Prophet’s hair
Its grand scale is influenced by the Jama Mosque of Delhi which had been built by Aurangzeb’s father Shah Jahan
The plan of Badshahi mosque is essentially a square measuring 170 meters on each side
