The Aqsa Mosque is the largest mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community 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 Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in

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 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 Ordinance XX ( ur, آرڈیننس 20) is a legal ordinance of the Government of Pakistan that was promulgated under the regime of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq on 26 April 1984 and is meant to prohibit the practice of Islam and the usage of Islamic ...

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.

Construction and design

The design was prepared by Abdul Rashid, at the behest of Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad 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 and

Jama Masjid, Delhi The Masjid-i-Jehan-Numa (), commonly known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is one of the largest mosques in India. It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan between 1650 and 1656, and inaugurated by its first Imam, Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah Buk ...

. 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