The Aqsa Mosque is the largest mosque of the

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...

in Pakistan. Its foundation stone was laid down in 1966. The mosque was inaugurated on March 31, 1972 by the head of the worldwide Community,

Mirza Nasir Ahmad Hāfiz Mirza Nasir Ahmad ( ur, ) (16 November 1909 – 9 June 1982) was the third caliph ( ar, خليفة المسيح الثالث, ''khalīfatul masīh al-Thālith''), head of the Ahmadiyya Community. He was elected as the third successor o ...

. This is the main mosque of the

Rabwah Rabwah (Urdu, pnb, ), officially known as Chenab Nagar ( ur, ), is a city in Chiniot District, Chiniot, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan on the bank of Chenab River. It was the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community since Septemb ...

which can accommodate up to 20,000 worshippers.

History

Construction

In 1964, it was desired that a

Jama Masjid A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.* * * * * * * ...

should be built in Rabwah as the Masjid Mubarak capacity became insufficient. An appeal for funds for the mosque was launched on 7 July 1964 in Al-Fazl newspaper and by 21 July 1964, the funds were arranged and appeal in the newspaper was stopped. The foundation stone was laid with a stone from the Aqsa Mosque, India by late Mirza Nasir Ahmad on 28 October 1966 in a ceremony attended by 5,000 guests.

Post 1984

On 26 April 1984, Pakistan passed an Ordinance XX and the head of worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community,

Mirza Tahir Ahmad Mirza Tahir Ahmad ( ur, ) (18 December 1928 – 19 April 2003) was the fourth caliph ( ar, خليفة المسيح الرابع, ''khalīfatul masīh al-rābi'') and the head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Community. He was elected as the fourt ...

migrated to London. Due to security concerns and

Persecution of Ahmadis The Ahmadiyya branch of Islam has been subject to various forms of religious persecution and discrimination since the movement's inception in 1889. The Ahmadiyya Muslim movement emerged from the Sunni tradition of Islam and its adherents beli ...

in Pakistan, a boundary wall was built around the mosque premises. The construction started in July 1987 and was completed by February 1989.

Construction and design

The design was prepared by Abdul Rashid, at the behest of

Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad ( ur, ) (12 January 1889 – 8 November 1965), was the second caliph ( ar, خليفة المسيح الثاني, ''khalīfatul masīh al-thāni''), leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the ...

who was the head 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 Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

. 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 The Badshahi Mosque ( Urdu, Punjabi: ; literally ''The Royal Mosque'') is a Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled ...

and Jama Masjid, Delhi. Together with the 6,500 m² large compound, the mosque can accommodate up to 20,000 worshippers. The mosque has a total of 6 minarets, four of which are about 20 m and two are 12 m high. 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.

History

Construction

Post 1984

Construction and design

See also

References

External links