| Taj-ul-Masajid | |
|---|---|
 The mosque in 2010 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Sunni Islam |
| Rite | Deobandi movement (Tablighi Jamaat) |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Mosque |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | Bhopal,Madhya Pradesh |
| Country | India |
  Location of the mosque and dargah inMadhya Pradesh | |
| Coordinates | 23°15′47″N77°23′35″E / 23.263°N 77.393°E /23.263; 77.393 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Mosque architecture |
| Style | Indo-Islamic Architecture |
| Funded by | |
| Established | c. 1870s(as a congregation) |
| Groundbreaking | 1887 |
| Completed | 1958 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | c. 175,000 worshippers |
| Interior area | 23,000 m2 (250,000 sq ft) |
| Dome | Three |
| Minaret | Two |
| Minaret height | 67 m (220 ft) |
| Website | |
| darululoomtajulmasajid | |
| Part ofa series on the |
| Deobandi movement |
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| Ideology and influences |
| Founders and key figures |
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| Notable institutions |
| Centres (markaz) of Tablighi Jamaat |
| Associated organizations |
| Deobandi jihadism |
| Deobandi jihadism: |
TheTaj-ul-Masajid (Arabic:تَاجُ ٱلْمَسَاجِد,romanized: Tāj-ul-Masājid,lit. 'Crown of Mosques'), also known as theTāj-ul-Masjid (Arabic:تَاجُ ٱلْمَسْجِد), is aSunnimosque, affiliated withTablighi Jamaat, part of theDeobandi movement, located inBhopal, in the state ofMadhya Pradesh, India.[1] With capacity forc. 175,000 worshippers, it is thelargest mosque in India and, as of 2014[update], was the ninth largest mosque in the world.[2][3]
The construction of the Taj-ul-Masajid was started byNawabShah Jahan Begum of Bhopal, in the newly built walled suburb of Shahjahanabad. The exact year when construction was started is unclear; Sharma[who?] estimated it to be 1871.[citation needed] The Bhopal-based journalist and the author ofMasajid-e-Bhopal (transl. The Mosques in Bhopal), Aarif Aziz stated the date as 1887.[4]
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.[5]Hamidullah Khan helped construct one gate of the mosque on the suggestions of Shah Jahan Begum.[4]
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.[4] The entrance of the mosque was renovated with motifs from 13th century Syrian mosques donated by theEmir of Kuwait in memory of his late wife.[6]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, the mosque was used as a vaccination center.[7]
The Taj-ul-Masajid largely takes inspiration from Mughal architecture.[8] The mosque has a pink facade topped by two 18-storey high octagonalminarets withmarble domes, an impressive main hallway with attractive pillars, and marble flooring resembling the likes ofJama Masjid in Delhi and theBadshahi Mosque of Lahore.[9] It has a courtyard with a largeablution 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.[10]
The mosque also features azenana, rare given that prayer from home was the norm for women at the time of the mosque's construction.[11][12]
Bhopal Tablighi Ijtema, an annual three-day congregation of theTablighi Jamaat was hosted in the Taj-ul-Masajid between 1948 and 2001.[4] It was shifted to Intkhedi.[13] outside the city due to shortage of space.[citation needed]
