Wazir Khan Mosque

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. The mosque is situated approximately 260 meters west of the Delhi Gate, where the Shahi Hammam is located. 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. 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, an esteemed Sufi saint whose tomb now lies in the courtyard of the mosque. Prior to the construction of the Wazir Khan Mosque, the site had been occupied by an older shrine to the saint. Wazir Khan's mosque superseded the older Maryam Zamani Mosque as the Lahore main mosque for congregational Friday prayers.

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, 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. 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.

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. The British scholar Fred Henry Andrews noted in 1903 that the mosque had fallen into disrepair.

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 279 ft by 159 ft, with the long axis parallel to the Shahi Guzargah. It was built with bricks laid in kankar lime. 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.

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.

Structure

Bricks facing the mosque's exterior are richly embellished with the Punjabi-style tile work known as kashi-kari. Persian-style colours used include fa (cobalt blue), fa (cerulean), white, green, orange, yellow and purple.[[File:9_Wazir_Khan_Mosque.jpg|thumb|The main prayer hall is richly embellished with Mughal frescoes.]]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. 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.

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, as it combines imperial Mughal elements with local Punjabi decorative styles. The main prayer hall contains a square pavilion over which the mosque's largest dome rests — a Persian form known as Char Taq. 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.

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. The low domes over the prayer hall reflect the style of the earlier Lodi dynasty, which ruled Lahore prior to the Mughal era.

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. The mosque also rented space to other types of merchants in the mosque's northern and eastern façades, and ran the nearby Shahi Hammam. Revenues from these sources were meant to serve as a waqf, or endowment, for the mosque's maintenance.

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. The panel on the right of the iwan reads:

While the panel to the left of the iwan reads:

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.

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.

The courtyard is flanked on four sides by 32 khanas, or small study cloisters for religious scholars. The mosque's four 107 foot tall minarets are located in each corner of the courtyard.

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. 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.

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. The remaining compartment in the prayer hall are topped by a 21 foot tall dome with a diameter of 19 feet, built in a style similar to that of the earlier Lodi dynasty. The northernmost and southernmost compartments also contain small cells which house spiral staircases that lead to the rooftop.

Walls of the prayer hall's interior are also decorated with calligraphy in both Arabic and Persian. Each wall is divided further, and contain unique mosaic designs. 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. In 1993 the site was added to UNESCO's tentative list for World Heritage Site status. In 2004, the Government of Punjab embarked on conservations and restoration efforts for the mosque. 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. 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.

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, with contributions from the governments of Germany, Norway, and the United States. Restoration works at Wazir Khan Mosque began in 2004.

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. The project was completed in 2015 with support from the governments of Norway and the United States of America.

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.

Gallery

File:Wazir Khan Mosque, Interior Fresco, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.jpg|The mosque features one of the earliest muqarnas in South Asia. File:Internal Elevation - Courtyard of Wazir Khan Mosque, Lahore.jpg|A view of the main prayer chamber File:Lahore 052 copy.jpg|The mosque's dome is decorated with tile work. File:Interior of Wazir Khan Mosque.jpg|Richly embellished muqarna File:Domes of Wazir Khan Mosque.JPG|The mosque features short Lodi-style domes. File:Wazeer Khan Mosque, Lahore.jpg|Interior surface embellishments File:Pulpit of Wazir Khan Mosque description.jpg|The mosque's pulpit dates from the colonial era File:Pulpit of Wazir Khan Mosque.jpg|The mosque's pulpit File:Wazir Khan Mosque in 1895.jpg|Wazir Khan Mosque in 1895. File:Masjid Wazeer Khan, Lahore.jpg|The mosque's courtyard File:Masjid wazir khan dehli gate lahore.jpg|A view of the mosque through an archway File:A fountain for ablution inside Wazir Khan Mosque's courtyard.jpg|The courtyard ablution pool features a small fountain. File:16 Wazir Khan Mosque.jpg|The mosque after a rainstorm File:Masjid Wazir Khan 7.JPG|The entrance to the main prayer hall has two small towers. File:Wazir Khan Mosque DSC 0778.jpg|Decorative tile panels on the mosque's exterior File:Arabic Calligraphy at Wazir Khan Mosque.jpg|Arabic calligraphy on glazed tile. File:Arabic Calligraphy at Wazir Khan Mosque2.jpg|Arabic calligraphy on glazed tile. File:Arabic Calligraphy3.jpg|Arabic calligraphy on glazed tile: "God is aplenty". File:Tile art at Wazir khan Mosque.jpg|Fresco in prayer chamber. File:Wazir khan mosque, tile art1.jpg|Fresco in prayer chamber. File:June21 2004-Wazir Khan Mosque Lahore1.jpeg|Plaque at Wazir Khan Mosque. File:Courtyard of Wazir Khan Mosque, Lahore.jpg File:Wazir Khan Mosque at night.jpg|The mosque, illuminated at night.

References

Notes

• Read online at Scribd and Islamic arts.org,

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