Taj ul Masajid

The most impressive monument of Bhopal, the Darul Uloom Tajul Masajid is one of the biggest mosques in India. It is a striking pinkish red sandstone building with a trio of white bulbous domes over a long facade flanked by colossal marble domed minarets on both sides. Enter the mosque through a double-storey gateway with archways. The entrance courtyard holds a bathing tank. The main hallway, floored in marble, has fine trellised screens and eleven recessed arches along the Quibla wall. The hall is noted for its massive pillars that hold up the ceiling, which has some ornate petaled designs. The construction began during the reign of Shah Jehan Begum (who ruled Bhopal princely state from 1868 to 1901) and who embarked on a building spree that resulted in not just mosques and palaces but also far-sighted infrastructural initiatives like a postal system, new schools, dams, lakes, and a railway service between Hoshangabad and Bhopal. She also revamped the tax revenue systems and improved the military. But the huge spending is said to have impoverished the princely state. In consequence the Taj ul Masajid was not completed even under her daughter because of lack of funds.

During the 1970s and ‘80s, work on completing the construction was undertaken and the entrance was renovated with the addition of ancient motifs from circa 1250 Syrian mosques by the contribution of the Emir of Kuwait to commemorate the memory of his departed wife. The majesty of the mosque building, called the Mother of Mosques, is denoted by the extra `a’ in the name. It is important to note that the mosque is closed to non-Muslims during namaaz hours.