Al-Aqsa Mosque

Bayt al-Muqaddas

Al-Aqsa Mosque also known as Al-Aqsa and Bayt al-Muqaddas, is the third holiest site in Islam and is located in the Old City of Jerusalem. The site on which the silver domed mosque sits, along with the Dome of the Rock, is referred to as al-Haram ash-Sharif ("the Noble Sanctuary"), or the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism. Muslims believe that Muhammad was transported from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to al-Aqsa during the Night Journey. Islamic tradition holds that Muhammad led prayers towards this site until the seventeenth month after the emigration, when God directed him to turn towards the Kaaba.

The mosque was originally a small prayer house built by the Rashidun caliph Umar, but was rebuilt and expanded by the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik and finished by his son al-Walid in 705 CE. After an earthquake in 746, the mosque was completely destroyed and rebuilt by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur in 754, and again rebuilt by his successor al-Mahdi in 780. Another earthquake destroyed most of al-Aqsa in 1033, but two years later the Fatimid caliph Ali az-Zahir built another mosque which has stood to the present day.

During the periodic renovations undertaken, the various ruling dynasties of the Islamic Caliphate constructed additions to the mosque and its precincts, such as its dome, facade, its minbar, minarets and the interior structure. When the Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, they used the mosque as a palace and the Dome of the Rock as a church, but its function as a mosque was restored after its recapture by Saladin in 1187. More renovations, repairs and additions were undertaken in the later centuries by the Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ottomans, the Supreme Muslim Council, and Jordan. Today, the Old City is under Israeli control, but the mosque remains under the administration of the Jordanian/Palestinian-led Islamic Waqf.

Siddiqa Fatima Zahra Mosque (Kuwait)

Siddiqua Fatima Zahra Mosque

Siddiqua Fatima Zahra Mosque is a mosque located in the city Dahiya Abdullah Mubarak, near Kuwait International Airport, in Kuwait.
The work was started in February 2008 and was completed in June 2011. The total area is 3200 square meters, which can hold around 3500 males with a separate area for 500 females. Four minarets stand 33 meters tall (42 meters from the ground), and there is a dome 16 meters wide and 22 meters high. The marble was imported from Iran, and the marble was worked on by the Iranian/Indian artisans working 24/7 for 8 months.
Near the mosque, there is a library, a community center for mail, a separate community center for ladies, and one Dewaniya. The parking lot can hold about 1000 cars. The building is centrally air conditioned.

Masjid e Tooba

Masjid e Tooba

Masjid e Tooba or Tooba Mosque is in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, and is locally known as the Gol Masjid.

Masjid e Tooba was built in 1969 in Defence Housing Society Karachi, Karachi. It is just off main Korangi Road. Masjid e Tooba is often claimed to be the largest single-dome mosque in the world. It is also major tourist attraction in Karachi. Masjid e Tooba is built with pure white marble. The dome is 72 meters (236 feet) in diameter and is balanced on a low surrounding wall with no central pillars. Masjid e Tooba has a single minaret standing 70 meters high. The mosque is the 18th largest in the world with the central prayer hall having a capacity of 5,000 people.

It was built keeping acoustics in mind. A person speaking inside one end of the dome can be heard at the other end. This mosque was designed by Pakistani architect Dr Babar Hamid Chauhan and the engineer was Zaheer Haider Naqvi.

Wazir Khan Mosque

Wazir Khan Mosque

The Walled City of Lahore or Old Lahore is a historical and chaotic section of the Pakistani city which used to be protected by walls, and entered through 13 gates. Today, the walls are gone but most of the gates have remained. The Wazir Khan Mosque in Old Lahore can be reached by passing through the Delhi Gate. The magnificent mosque, with four minarets of about 33 metres each and five turnip-shaped domes, is built entirely with small bricks and was named after the governor who ordered its construction in 1634. One of the most beautiful mosques in Pakistan, it is best known for its incredible mosaics of myriads of brightly coloured glazed tiles, found all over the external and internal walls, so meticulous and rich in details as to make Wazir Khan a stunning piece of art, in addition to a religious site. This mosque is also famous for having been the first to include a 22-shop bazaar in its original planning, still today a unique feature among mosques worldwide.

Badshahi Mosque

Badshahi Mosque

The Badshahi Mosque ( Imperial Mosque) in Lahore was commissioned by the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Constructed between 1671 and 1673, it is the second largest mosque in South Asia and the fifth largest mosque in the world. It is Lahore's most famous landmark and a major tourist attraction. The mosque's architectural plan is similar to that of the Jama Masjid in Delhi; it also functions as an idgah. The courtyard which spreads over 276,000 square feet, can accommodate one hundred thousand worshippers and ten thousand worshippers can be accommodated inside the mosque. The minarets are 196 feet (60 m) tall. In 1993, the Government of Pakistan included the Badshahi Mosque in the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Faisal Mosque

Faisal Mosque

 Faisal Mosque is the largest mosque in Pakistan, located in the national capital city of Islamabad. Completed in 1986, it was designed by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay, shaped like a desert Bedouin's tent, is an iconic symbol of Islamabad throughout the world.

It is situated at the north end of Faisal Avenue, putting it at the northernmost end of the city and at the foot of Margalla Hills, the westernmost foothills of the Himalayas. It is located on an elevated area of land against a picturesque backdrop of the Margalla Hills. This enviable location represents the mosque's great importance and allows it to be seen from miles around day and night.