Mosque in Rabwah, Punjab, Pakistan
The
Aqsa Mosque
(
Urdu
:
????? ?????
,
romanized
:
Masjid-i Aqsa
) in
Rabwah
is the main and largest mosque of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
in Pakistan. Its foundation stone was laid down in 1966. The mosque was inaugurated on 31 March 1972 by the head of the worldwide community,
Mirza Nasir Ahmad
.
[1]
[2]
The building can accommodate up to 20,000 worshippers.
[3]
[4]
History
[
edit
]
Construction
[
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]
In 1964, it was decided that a
jama masjid
should be built in Rabwah as the capacity of the previous mosque (Masjid Mubarak) became insufficient. A donation appeal was launched on 7 July 1964 in
Al-Fazl
newspaper. The necessary funds were collected already on 21 July and appeal was stopped. The foundation stone, originated from the
Aqsa Mosque in Qadian
, was laid on 28 October 1966 by Mirza Nasir Ahmad in a ceremony attended by 5,000 guests.
[5]
[6]
[2]
[7]
Architecture
[
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]
The design was prepared by Abdul Rashid, at the behest of
Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad
who was the caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community at the time. The construction blueprint was already prepared during his lifetime, but the foundation could not be laid down by him due to the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
. The column-free main hall is 1,640 square meter and courtyard is 4,520 square meter in size. The design was said to be inspired by the
Badshahi Mosque
and
Jama Masjid, Delhi
. Together with the 6,500 m
2
large compound, the mosque can accommodate up to 20,000 worshippers.
[3]
[4]
The mosque has a total of 6 minarets, four of which are about 20 m and two are 12 m high.
[5]
[8]
The construction of the mosque cost approximately 1.5 million Rupees, most of which was borne by Muhammad Siddique Bani, on his request, his name was not published till his death. After his demise, the rest of the cost was paid by Sheikh Abdul Majeed.
[1]
[9]
[2]
Security
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]
On 26 April 1984, Pakistan passed an
Ordinance XX
and the head of worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community,
Mirza Tahir Ahmad
, migrated to London. Due to security concerns and
persecution of Ahmadis
in Pakistan, a boundary wall was built around the mosque premises. The construction started in July 1987 and was completed by February 1989.
[10]
See also
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
a
b
"Nusrat Jehan Project | Islam Ahmadiyya"
. Retrieved
2020-08-17
.
- ^
a
b
c
Shahid, Dost Muhammad.
Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat
. Vol. 23. p. 589.
- ^
a
b
Zahra-Malik, Mehreen (2017-12-27).
"Shunned by Pakistan's Muslims, Ahmadis Find Refuge in a City of Their Own (Published 2017)"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
2021-01-11
.
- ^
a
b
Valentine, Simon Ross (2008).
Islam and the Ahmadiyya Jama'at: History, Belief, Practice
. Hurst & Company. p. 102.
ISBN
978-1-85065-916-7
.
- ^
a
b
"Masjid Aqsa - Rabwah | Islam Ahmadiyya"
. Retrieved
2020-08-17
.
- ^
Shahid, Dost Muhammad.
Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat
. Vol. 23. p. 591.
- ^
Shahid, Dost Muhammad.
Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat
. Vol. 23. p. 587.
- ^
Shahid, Dost Muhammad.
Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat
. Vol. 28. p. 47.
- ^
Shahid, Dost Muhammad.
Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat
. Vol. 28. p. 46.
- ^
Shahid, Dost Muhammad.
Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat
. Vol. 28. pp. 48?49.
External links
[
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]
Aqsa Mosque