Taj-ul-Masajid

{{Infobox religious building

| building_name = Taj-ul-Masajid

| image = Taj-ul-Masjid, Bhopal, India.jpg

| caption = The mosque in 2010

| image_upright = 1.4

| alt =

| map_type = India Madhya Pradesh

| map_size = 250

| map_relief = 1

| map_caption = Location of the mosque and dargah in Madhya Pradesh

| location = Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

| country = India

| coordinates = {{coord|23.263|77.393|region:IN-MP|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| religious_affiliation = Sunni Islam

| rite = Deobandi movement
(Tablighi Jamaat)

| consecration_year =

| status = Mosque

| functional_status = Active

| heritage_designation =

| leadership =

| website = {{URL|darululoomtajulmasajid.in}}

| architect =

| architecture_type = {{nowrap|Mosque architecture}}

| architecture_style = {{ubl|Indo-Islamic|Mughal}}

| founded_by =

| funded_by = {{ubl|{{nowrap|Shah Jahan Begum}}|{{nowrap|Sultan Jahan Begum}}}}

| general_contractor =

| facade_direction =

| established = {{nowrap|{{circa|1870s}} {{small|(as a congregation)}}}}

| groundbreaking = 1887

| year_completed = 1958

| construction_cost =

| specifications =

| capacity = {{circa|175,000}} worshippers

| length =

| width =

| width_nave =

| height_max =

| interior_area = {{cvt|23000|m2}}

| dome_quantity = Three

| dome_height_outer =

| dome_height_inner =

| dome_dia_outer =

| dome_dia_inner =

| minaret_quantity = Two

| minaret_height = {{cvt|67|m}}

| spire_quantity =

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| module = {{Infobox historic site

| embed = yes

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}}

The Taj-ul-Masajid ({{langx|ar|تَاجُ ٱلْمَسَاجِد|Tāj-ul-Masājid|Crown of Mosques}}), also known as the Tāj-ul-Masjid ({{langx|ar|تَاجُ ٱلْمَسْجِد}}), is a Sunni mosque, affiliated with Tablighi Jamaat, part of the Deobandi movement, located in Bhopal, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.{{Cite web |date=2013-03-16 |title=Wondrous Masajid |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/319283/wondrous-masajid.html |access-date=2021-06-26 |website=Deccan Herald |language=en}} With capacity for {{circa|175,000}} worshippers, it is the largest mosque in India and, {{as of|2014|lc=on}}, was the ninth largest mosque in the world.{{cite web |first=Daniel |last=McCrohan |title=The search for the world's smallest mosque |publisher=Lonely Planet |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/madhya-pradesh-and-chhattisgarh/bhopal/travel-tips-and-articles/the-search-for-the-worlds-smallest-mosque/40625c8c-8a11-5710-a052-1479d27731db |year=2010}}{{cite web |url=http://bhopal.nic.in/interest.htm |title=Taj-ul-Masajid |website=bhopal.nic.in |url-status=dead |access-date=27 September 2014 |archive-date=28 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928035805/http://bhopal.nic.in/interest.htm }}

History

The construction of the Taj-ul-Masajid was started by Nawab Shah Jahan Begum of Bhopal, in the newly built walled suburb of Shahjahanabad. The exact year when construction was started is unclear; Sharma{{who|date=April 2023}} estimated it to be 1871.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} The Bhopal-based journalist and the author of Masajid-e-Bhopal ({{Translation|The Mosques in Bhopal}}), Aarif Aziz stated the date as 1887.{{cite book |title=Masajid-e-Bhopal |date=November 2003 |publisher=Iqra Publishing House |location=Bhopal |pages=117–118 |edition=3rd}}

After Shah Jahan Begum died in 1901, the mosque continued to be built by her daughter, Sultan Jahan Begum, till the end of her lifetime. The structure was planned in the midst of three water bodies, namely: Munshi Hussain Talab; Noor Mahal Talab; and Motia Talab.{{Cite web |title=Raj Bhavan MP |url=http://governor.mp.gov.in/shahjahan.aspx |date= |access-date=2021-10-22 |website=The Hon'ble Governor of Madhya Pradesh }} Hamidullah Khan helped construct one gate of the mosque on the suggestions of Shah Jahan Begum.

The construction work was later on led by Islamic scholar Imran Khan Nadwi, whose brother Salman Khan Nadwi, supervised the constructions. The construction was complete by 1958 at an expenditure of 20 million Indian rupees. The entrance of the mosque was renovated with motifs from 13th century Syrian mosques donated by the Emir of Kuwait in memory of his late wife.{{cite news |last1=Mulchandani |first1=Anil |title=TAJ UL MASAJID |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/Bhopal/Taj-ul-Masajid/ps50138425.cms |access-date=7 April 2023 |work=The Times of India Travel |date=11 December 2015}}

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the mosque was used as a vaccination center.{{Cite news |date=2021-04-10 |title=Historical Taj-ul-Masajid premises in Bhopal used to vaccinate inter-faith people |url=https://www.siasat.com/historical-taj-ul-masajid-premises-in-bhopal-used-to-vaccinate-inter-faith-people-2122475/ |access-date=2021-06-26 |website=The Siasat Daily |language=en-US}}

Architecture

The Taj-ul-Masajid largely takes inspiration from Mughal architecture.{{cite web |title=Taj-Ul-Masajid: Crown of the mosques, Bhopal - the largest mosque in India |url=https://www.ravenouslegs.com/blog/taj-ul-masajid-crown-of-the-mosques-bhopal-the-largest-mosque-in-india |work=ravenouslegs.com |date= |access-date=19 September 2021 }} 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 the likes of Jama Masjid in Delhi and the Badshahi Mosque of Lahore.{{Cite news |date=2015-09-25 |title=Magnificent, and elaborate |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/homes-and-gardens/magnificent-and-elaborate/article7688689.ece |access-date=2021-06-26 |issn=0971-751X}} It has a courtyard with a large ablution 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.{{Cite web |work=4to40.com: Kids Portal For Parents |date=2021-04-11 |title=Taj-ul-Masjid, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh |url=https://www.4to40.com/religions-in-india/taj-ul-masjid-bhopal/ |access-date=2024-07-16 |language=en-US}}

The mosque also features a zenana, rare given that prayer from home was the norm for women at the time of the mosque's construction.{{Cite news |date=2018-12-15 |title=A queen's mark in Bhopal |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/sunday-herald/queens-mark-708134.html |access-date=2021-10-22 |website=Deccan Herald |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2013-03-16 |title=Wondrous Masajid |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/319283/wondrous-masajid.html |access-date=2021-10-22 |website=Deccan Herald |language=en}}

Annual congregation

Bhopal Tablighi Ijtema, an annual three-day congregation of the Tablighi Jamaat was hosted in the Taj-ul-Masajid between 1948 and 2001. It was shifted to Intkhedi.{{cite news |title=Madhya Pradesh: Muslims pour in as Ijtema begins |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/muslims-pour-in-as-ijtema-begins/articleshow/72190968.cms |access-date=18 September 2021}} outside the city due to shortage of space.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}