Wazir Khan Mosque
Template:Short description Template:Use Pakistani English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox religious building
The Wazir Khan MosqueTemplate:Efn is a 17th-century Mughal mosque located in the city of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The mosque was commissioned by the then governor of Punjab, Wazir Khan, during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a part of an ensemble of buildings that also included the nearby Shahi Hammam baths. Construction of the Mosque began in 1634, and was completed in 1641.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Considered to be the most ornately decorated Mughal-era mosque,<ref name="Masson">Template:Cite book</ref> Wazir Khan Mosque is noted for its intricate faience tile work known as kashi-kari, as well as its interior surfaces that are almost entirely embellished with elaborate frescoes. It is on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.<ref name="UNESCO2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Location
The mosque is located in the Walled City of Lahore along the southern side of Lahore's Shahi Guzargah, or "Royal Road," which was the traditional route traversed by Mughal nobles on their way to royal residences at the Lahore Fort.<ref name="archnet.org">Template:Cite web</ref> The mosque is situated approximately 260 meters west of the Delhi Gate,<ref name=Youlin>Template:Cite news</ref> where the Shahi Hammam is located.<ref name="archnet.org" /> The Masjid also faces a town square known as Wazir Khan Chowk, and the Chitta Gate. The mosque hosts the shrine of Saint Sakhi Saif Souf.
Background
The mosque was commissioned by the royal physician and the subahdar, or Viceroy, of Punjab, Hakim Ilam-ud-din Ansari, better known by his royal title of Wazir Khan.<ref name="WKM">Asher, p.225</ref><ref>Shelomo Dov Goitein. Studies in Islamic History and Institutions BRILL, 2010 Template:ISBN p 170</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Wazir Khan owned substantial amounts of property near the Delhi Gate, and commissioned the Wazir Khan mosque in 1634 in order to enclose the tomb of Miran Badshah,Template:Sfn an esteemed Sufi saint whose tomb now lies in the courtyard of the mosque.<ref name="WKM" /> Prior to the construction of the Wazir Khan Mosque, the site had been occupied by an older shrine to the saint.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Wazir Khan's mosque superseded the older Maryam Zamani Mosque as the Lahore main mosque for congregational Friday prayers.<ref name="WK22">Gharipour, p.87</ref>
Main construction of the mosque began under the reign of Shah Jahan in either 1634 or 1635, and was completed in approximately seven years. The chief architect of the Wazir Khan mosque remains unknown,Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> although Wazir Khan is documented to have employed artisans and craftsmen from his hometown of Chiniot, which was renowned for wood carving and stonework, to construct the mosque.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> During this period Ali Mardan Khan, Ahmad Lahori, Ala-ul-Mulk Tuni and Abdul Karim were the prominent architects active in Lahore, however, due to absence of any inscriptions on mosque connecting any of them with its construction, the identity of its architect remains uncertain.Template:Sfn
In the late 1880s, John Lockwood Kipling, father of Rudyard Kipling, wrote about the mosque and its decorative elements in the former Journal of Indian Art.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The British scholar Fred Henry Andrews noted in 1903 that the mosque had fallen into disrepair.Template:Sfn
Architecture
The mosque is built on an elevated plinth, with the main portal opening onto the Wazir Khan Chowk. The outer perimeter of the Wazir Khan Mosque measures Template:Convert by Template:Convert, with the long axis parallel to the Shahi Guzargah.<ref name="UNESCO">Template:Cite web</ref> It was built with bricks laid in kankar lime.<ref name="UNESCO" /> The mosque's interior is embellished with frescoes that synthesize Mughal and local Punjabi decorative traditions, while the exterior of the mosque is decorated with intricate Punjabi tile-mosaic known as kashi-kari.Template:Sfn<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref>
Decorative elements
Wazir Khan mosque is known for its elaborate embellishment in a style which draws from the decorative traditions from several regions. While other monuments in Lahore from the Shah Jahan period feature intricate kashi-kari tile work, none match the scale of the Wazir Khan Mosque.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Structure
Bricks facing the mosque's exterior are richly embellished with the Punjabi-style tile work known as kashi-kari.<ref name=":1" />Template:Sfn Persian-style colours used include Template:Transliteration (cobalt blue), Template:Transliteration (cerulean), white, green, orange, yellow and purple.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The façade of the entry portal facing Wazir Khan Chowk is decorated with elaborate tile work and calligraphy that includes verses of the Quran, the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, prayers for the Prophet, and calligraphic insignias.Template:Sfn Above the iwan entrance to the main prayer hall are verses from the Quran's surah al-Baqara written by the calligraphist Haji Yousaf Kashmiri.Template:Sfn
Frescoes
Unlike the contemporary Shah Jahan Mosque in Sindh, the interior walls of Wazir Khan Mosque are plastered and adorned with highly detailed buon frescoes. The interior decorative style is unique for Mughal-era mosques,<ref name="WK">Gharipour, p.87</ref> as it combines imperial Mughal elements with local Punjabi decorative styles.Template:Sfn The main prayer hall contains a square pavilion over which the mosque's largest dome rests — a Persian form known as Char Taq.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The underside of the dome feature frescoes depicting trees in pairs, pitchers of wine, and platters of fruit, which are an allusion to the Islamic concept of Paradise.Template:Sfn
Architectural embellishments
The arched niche at the mosque's entrance facing Wazir Khan Chowk is richly decorated with floral motifs, and features one of Lahore's first examples of a muqarna — an architectural element found at the Alhambra in Spain, as well as on several imperial mosques in Iran.<ref name="WK" /><ref name="Malik" /> The low domes over the prayer hall reflect the style of the earlier Lodi dynasty,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which ruled Lahore prior to the Mughal era.<ref name="Haig">Haig, p.561</ref>
Layout
Wazir Khan's mosque was part of a larger complex that included a row of shops traditionally reserved for calligraphers and bookbinders, and the town square in front of the mosque's main entrance.<ref name="CURRENT PROJECTS22">Template:Cite web</ref> The mosque also rented space to other types of merchants in the mosque's northern and eastern façades, and ran the nearby Shahi Hammam.<ref name="CURRENT PROJECTS22">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Revenues from these sources were meant to serve as a waqf, or endowment, for the mosque's maintenance.<ref name="Qasmi22">Template:Cite book</ref>
Entrance
Entry into Wazir Khan Mosque is through a large Timurid-style Iwan over a smaller portal which faces the Wazir Khan Chowk. The iwan is flanked by two projecting balconies. Above the iwan is the Arabic Islamic declaration of faith written in intricate tilework. The panels flanking the iwan contain Persian quatrains written by the calligraphist Muhammad Ali, who was a disciple of the Sufi saint Mian Mir.Template:Sfn The panel on the right of the iwan reads: Template:Blockquote
While the panel to the left of the iwan reads:
Entry through the small portal leads into a covered octagonal chamber which lies in the centre of the mosque's "Calligrapher's Bazaar."<ref name="WKM" /> The octagonal chamber lies in the centre of what is the first example of the Central Asian charsu bazaar concept, or four-axis bazaar, to be introduced into South Asia.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref> Two of the four axes are aligned as the Calligrapher's Bazaar, while the other two align in a straight line from the mosque's entry portal, to the centre of the main prayer hall.<ref name="auto" />
Courtyard
Passage through the portal and octagonal chamber leads into the mosque's central courtyard. The courtyard measures approximately 160 feet by 130 feet, and features high arched galleries surrounding a central brick paved courtyard — a typical feature of imperial Persian mosques in Iran.<ref name="WKM" />
The mosque's courtyard contains a pool used for the Islamic ritual washing, wudu that measures 35 feet by 35 feet. The courtyard features a subterranean crypt which contains the tomb of the 14th century Sufi saint Syed Muhammad Ishaq Gazruni, also known by the name Miran Badshah.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The courtyard is flanked on four sides by 32 khanas, or small study cloisters for religious scholars.<ref name="UNESCO" /> The mosque's four 107 foot tall minarets are located in each corner of the courtyard.<ref name="WKM" />
Main prayer hall
The mosque's prayer hall lies at the westernmost portion of the site, and is approximately 130 feet long and 42 feet wide.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is divided into five sections aligned into a single long aisle running north to south, similar to the prayer hall at the older Mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum.<ref name="WKM" />
The central section of the prayer hall is topped by a 31 foot tall dome with a diameter of 23 feet resting upon four arches that form a square pavilion — a Persian architectural form known as a Char Taq.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The remaining compartment in the prayer hall are topped by a 21 foot tall dome with a diameter of 19 feet,<ref name="UNESCO" /> built in a style similar to that of the earlier Lodi dynasty.<ref name="Haig" /> The northernmost and southernmost compartments also contain small cells which house spiral staircases that lead to the rooftop.<ref name="UNESCO" />
Walls of the prayer hall's interior are also decorated with calligraphy in both Arabic and Persian.<ref name="Malik">Template:Cite book</ref> Each wall is divided further, and contain unique mosaic designs.<ref name="Haig"/> The acoustic properties of the dome allow for the imam's sermon to be projected across the mosque's courtyard.
Conservation
The mosque complex is listed on the Protected Heritage Monuments of the Archaeology Department of Punjab.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1993 the site was added to UNESCO's tentative list for World Heritage Site status.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2004, the Government of Punjab embarked on conservations and restoration efforts for the mosque.<ref name="pakistantoday.com.pk">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2007, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture partnered with the Government of Punjab to restore the monument, and in 2009 began a two year long in-depth survey of the mosque as part of a larger effort to restore the Walled City of Lahore.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 2015, the site was mapped in 3D through a partnership between the Lahore University of Management Sciences and the United States Agency for International Development.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Restoration
The mosque has been under extensive restoration since 2009 under the direction of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the Government of Punjab,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> with contributions from the governments of Germany, Norway, and the United States.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Restoration works at Wazir Khan Mosque began in 2004.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2012, the Pilot Urban Conservation and Infrastructure Improvement Project—the Shahi Guzargah Project was launched by the Government of Punjab and the Aga Khan Trust for culture which restored a section of Shahi Guzargah between the mosque and Delhi Gate.<ref name="pakistantoday.com.pk"/> The project was completed in 2015 with support from the governments of Norway and the United States of America.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Prior to completion of the project's first phase, the vicinity around the Wazir Khan mosque had been encroached upon by illegally erected shops which blocked off much of the mosque from the surrounding neighbourhood. Tangled power lines further spoiled views of the mosque, and the Wazir Khan Chowk had been badly neglected and had shrunk in size due to illegally constructed shops. The first phase of the project removed illegally constructed shops, restoring views of the mosque. Wazir Khan Chowk was extensively rehabilitated by removal of encroachments, while the well of Dina Nath was restored. Power lines along the project corridor were also placed underground, and the Chitta Gate at the eastern entrance to Wazir Khan Chowk was rehabilitated.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Gallery
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The mosque features one of the earliest muqarnas in South Asia. -
A view of the main prayer chamber -
The mosque's dome is decorated with tile work. -
Richly embellished muqarna
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The mosque features short Lodi-style domes.
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Interior surface embellishments
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The mosque's pulpit dates from the colonial era
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The mosque's pulpit
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Wazir Khan Mosque in 1895.
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The mosque's courtyard
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A view of the mosque through an archway
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The courtyard ablution pool features a small fountain.
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The mosque after a rainstorm
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The entrance to the main prayer hall has two small towers.
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Decorative tile panels on the mosque's exterior
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Arabic calligraphy on glazed tile.
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Arabic calligraphy on glazed tile.
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Arabic calligraphy on glazed tile: "God is aplenty".
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Fresco in prayer chamber.
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Fresco in prayer chamber.
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Plaque at Wazir Khan Mosque.
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The mosque, illuminated at night.
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See also
- List of mosques in Pakistan
- Badshahi Mosque
- Shah Jahan Mosque
- Mosques of Lahore
- Islamic Architecture
- Mughal architecture
References
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Notes
- Template:Cite book
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- Template:Cite journal Read online at Scribd and Islamic arts.org, Template:Webarchive
Further reading
External links
Template:Commons category-inline
Template:Walled City of Lahore Template:Mosques in Pakistan Template:Cultural heritage sites in Punjab, Pakistan Template:Authority control
- Pages with broken file links
- Mosques completed in the 1640s
- Mosques in Lahore
- Mughal mosques
- Walled City of Lahore
- 1642 establishments in Asia
- Ravi Zone
- 17th-century mosques in Asia
- Mosque buildings with domes in Pakistan
- Mosque buildings with minarets in Pakistan
- Sunni mosques in Pakistan
- Sufi shrines in Pakistan