Shah Jahan Mosque, Thatta

{{Short description|17th-century mosque in Pakistan}} {{For|the Ahmadiyya Mosque in England|Shah Jahan Mosque, Woking}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox religious building | building_name = Shah Jahan Mosque | native_name = {{nq|شاہ جہاں مسجد}} | image = File:Shah jahan mosque -Thatta 1 (asad aman).jpg | caption = The mosque is considered to have the most elaborate display of tile work in South Asia.<ref name=khazeni/><ref name=UNESCO/> | location = Thatta<br>Pakistan | religious_affiliation = Islam | rite = | province = Sindh | district = Thatta | coordinates = {{Coord|24|44|50|N|67|55|41|E|type:landmark_region:PK-SD|display=inline,title}} | consecration_year = 1647 | status = | leadership = | architect = | architecture_type = | architecture_style = Safavid, Timurid, Mughal | facade_direction = | year_completed = {{Start date and age|1659}} | construction_cost = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | height_max = | dome_quantity = 93 | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | materials = Red bricks and tiles | website = }}

The '''Shah Jahan Mosque''' ({{langx|ur|{{nq|شاہ جہاں مسجد}}}}, {{langx|sd|مسجد شاهجهاني،}}), also known as the '''Jamia Masjid of Thatta''' ({{langx|ur|{{nq|جامع مسجد ٹھٹہ}}}}, {{langx|sd|شاھجھاني مسجد ٺٽو}}), serves as the central mosque for the city of Thatta, in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Constructed in the 17th-century, the mosque is considered to have the most elaborate display of tile work in South Asia,<ref name=khazeni/><ref name=UNESCO/> and is also notable for its geometric brick work – a decorative element that is unusual for Mughal-period mosques.<ref name=asher/>

It was built during the reign of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who bestowed it to the city as a token of gratitude,<ref name="khazeni" /> and is heavily influenced by Central Asian architecture – a reflection of Shah Jahan's campaigns near Samarkand shortly before the mosque was designed.<ref name="khazeni" />

==Location== The mosque is located in eastern Thatta, the capital of Sindh in the 16th and 17th centuries before Sindh's capital was shifted to nearby Hyderabad. It is located near the Makli Necropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site is approximately {{convert|100|km}} from Karachi.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Hasan |first=Masudul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JAoMAAAAIAAJ |title=Short Encyclopaedia of Pakistan |date=1975 |publisher=Ferozsons |pages=177 |language=en |chapter=Thatta |oclc=1129476980 }}</ref>

==Background== thumb|left|The mosque's tile work exhibits Timurid influences introduced during Shah Jahan's campaigns in Central Asia.

Shah Jahan sought refuge in Thatta from his father, Emperor Jahangir, after he had rebelled against him.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sluglett |first1=Peter |title=Atlas of Islamic History |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781317588979 }}</ref> Shah Jahan was impressed by the hospitality he received by the Sindhi people, and ordered construction of the mosque as a token of gratitude.<ref name=khazeni/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lari |first1=Yasmeen |title=Traditional architecture of Thatta |date=1989 |publisher=Heritage Foundation }}</ref>

Construction of the mosque may have also been partially motivated by a desire to help alleviate the effects of a devastating storm that impacted the region in 1637,<ref name=asher/> and which had nearly destroyed Thatta.<ref name=khazeni/>

Shah Jahan's campaigns in Central Asia during this era influenced the mosque's architectural style, as Timurid influences were introduced into the Mughal Empire as his armies pressed towards Samarkand, in modern-day Uzbekistan.<ref name=khazeni/> Despite the fact that the Emperor was not in the region during its construction, and so was unlikely directly involved in its construction, its profuse tile-work and intricate brick work indicate that it was funded by the Mughal's imperial coffers.<ref name=asher/>

==History== thumb|The entryway to the main prayer hall is from the central courtyard.

Persian inscriptions at the mosque indicated that it was built between 1644 and 1647,<ref name=asher/> during the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. An eastern addition was completed in 1659,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Khan |first1=Ahmed Nabi |title=Islamic Architecture in South Asia: Pakistan, India, Bangladesh |date=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195790658 }}</ref> during the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb.

The mosque's ''mihrab'' had initially been incorrectly aligned with Mecca. The Sufi mystic, Makhdum Nooh, who is buried in the nearby city of Hala is said to have been approached by the mosque's planners in order to correct its alignment. Popular tradition maintains that Makhdum Nooh then corrected the error overnight by the power of his prayer, thereby ensuring his status as a saint.<ref name=anna>{{cite book |last1=Suvorova |first1=Anna |title=Muslim Saints of South Asia: The Eleventh to Fifteenth Centuries |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781134370061 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QK0aLjQtX2cC&q=shah+jahan+thatta&pg=PA14 |access-date=16 July 2017 }}</ref> Historical records show that the mosque's ''mihrab'' had actually been rebuilt a century after the mosque's construction.<ref name=anna/>

==Architecture== [[File:Shah Jahan Mosque Aerial View.jpg|thumb|An aerial view of Shah Jahan Mosque, displaying caravanserai style architecture.<ref name=":0" />]]

The Shah Jahan Mosque was constructed in the style of a caravanserai − having a great courtyard enclosed by domed apartments.<ref name=":0" /> Its architectural style is overtly influenced by Turkic and Persian styles.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kaplan |first1=Robert |title=Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power |date=2010 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=9780679604051 }}</ref> The mosque is characterized by extensive brickwork and the use of blue tiles, both of which were directly influenced by Timurid architectural styles from Central Asia<ref name=asher>{{cite book |last1=Asher |first1=Catherine |title=Architecture of Mughal India, Part 1, Volume 4 |date=1992 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521267281 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ctLNvx68hIC&q=thatta&pg=PA349 |access-date=16 July 2017 }}</ref><ref name=khazeni/> − from where the previous rulers of Sindh, the Tarkhans, had hailed before the region was annexed by the Mughals in 1592.<ref name=asher/>

===Decorative elements=== ====Tile work==== {{multiple image | perrow = 1 | header_align = center | header = Interior views of tile-decorated domes of the mosque | total_width = 400 | image1 = PK Thatta asv2020-02 img08 Shah Jahan Mosque.jpg | caption1 = The mosque's main dome has tiles arranged in a stellate pattern to represent the night sky.<ref name=asher/> | image2 = PK Thatta asv2020-02 img03 Shah Jahan Mosque.jpg | caption2 = A secondary dome decorated with tile work }}

The profuse use of tiles is considered to be the most elaborate display of tile work in the Indian Subcontinent.<ref name=khazeni/><ref name=UNESCO/> Unlike the Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore, another Shah Jahan era mosque, the mosque in Thatta does not employ the use of fresco.

The mosque's tiles represent a direct influence of the Timurid style.<ref name=khazeni>{{cite book |last1=Khazeni |first1=Arash |title=Sky Blue Stone: The Turquoise Trade in World History |date=2014 |publisher=Univ of California Press |isbn=9780520279070 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mnclDQAAQBAJ&q=shah+jahan+thatta&pg=PA68 |access-date=16 July 2017 }}</ref> The mosque employs cobalt blue, turquoise, manganese violet, and white tiles.

The mosque's dome is embellished with exquisite blue and white tile-work arranged in stellated patterns to represent the heavens.<ref name=asher/> Its walls feature calligraphic tile work, signed by ''Abdul Ghafur'' and ''Abdul Sheikh''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ghafur |first1=M.A. |title=The Calligraphers of Thatta |date=2004 |publisher=Indus Publications |isbn=9789695290101 |page=52 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iiHWAAAAMAAJ&q=shah+jahan+thatta |access-date=16 July 2017 }}</ref>

The tiles' location and arrangement displays Persian Safavid influence,<ref name=khazeni/> and features several colours on a single tile,<ref name=asher/> unlike tile work at Lahore which featured a single colour on each tile.<ref name=asher/> The use of multicolour tiles and floral patterns reflects Persian Kashani influences.<ref name=UNESCO/>

====Brick work==== {{multiple image | perrow = 2 | total_width = 300 | image1 = Circles in Shah Jahan Mosque ( Thatta ).JPG | caption1 = The mosque showcases brickwork in geometric patterns. | image2 = PK Thatta asv2020-02 img05 Shah Jahan Mosque.jpg | caption2 = Brickwork along corridors }}

The mosque features extensive brickwork laid in geometric patterns, which is a decorative element unusual for Mughal era mosques,<ref name=asher/> and is an element of Timurid architecture adopted for use in the mosque.<ref name=asher/> The mosque's brickwork was also influenced by Sindhi vernacular styles, which in turn was influenced by Persian architecture.<ref name=asher/> Brick work is most notable in the arcades surrounding the central courtyard, while concentric rings of brick are used to embellish the underside of peripheral domes.

===Layout===

The layout of the mosque may have been influenced by the conservative Timurid-style Humayun Mosque in Kachhpura, near the city of Agra,<ref name=asher/> in modern-day India. The main entryway into the mosque complex is through a Persian-style ''charbagh'', or quadrangle garden.

It has a four-iwan layout. The main prayer hall is set to the west of its central courtyard, which features iwans, or portals, in each of its four cardinal directions. The courtyard is rectangular in shape, and measures {{Convert|169|ft}} by {{Convert|97|ft}}. It is surrounded by aisled galleries, which are lined with 33 arches.

The mosque's ''mihrab'' features pierced screens – an element that is commonly employed on Mughal funerary monuments, but unusual in Mughal mosques.<ref name=asher/> The mosque features excellent acoustics; a person speaking on one end of the dome can be heard from the other end when the speech exceeds 100 decibels.<ref name="dawn.com">{{cite news |title=Shahjahan Mosque: Thatta's timeless splendour |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1192268 |access-date=17 July 2017 |agency=Dawn }}</ref> Prayers in the main prayer hall can be heard throughout the entire building.<ref name=UNESCO>{{cite web |title=Shah Jahan Mosque, Thatta |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1286/ |website=UNESCO |access-date=17 July 2017 |archive-date=3 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003131103/https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1286/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The mosque is unusual for its lack of minarets. It has a total of 93 domes, the most of any structure in Pakistan.<ref name="dawn.com"/> {{Panorama |image = File:Shah Jahan Mosque10.jpg |height = 200 |alt = |caption = A panoramic view of the mosque's courtyard, showing three of the mosque's four ''iwans'' }}

==Conservation== Restoration works were carried out by Emperor Aurangzeb in 1692, as well as by Murad Ali Khan Talpur in 1812.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shah Jahan Mosque, Thatta, Pakistan |url=http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/sid/886/pakistan/thatta/shah-jahan-mosque |website=Asian Historical Architecture |access-date=17 July 2017 |archive-date=11 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611213952/http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/sid/886/pakistan/thatta/shah-jahan-mosque |url-status=live }}</ref> The mosque was inscribed on the tentative UNESCO World Heritage list in 1993,<ref>{{cite web |title=Shah Jahan Mosque, Thatta |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1286/ |publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |access-date=7 December 2013 |archive-date=3 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003131103/https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1286/ |url-status=live }}</ref> but has not been conserved to the same high standards as the Wazir Khan Mosque or Badshahi Mosque in northern Pakistan.<ref name="dawn.com"/>

==Gallery== <gallery widths=200 heights=200> File:PK Thatta asv2020-02 img04 Shah Jahan Mosque.jpg|The mosque's mihrab File:The Other Portion of Beautiful Shah Jahan Mosque.jpg|Arcades around the central courtyard feature bricks laid in geometric patterns File:Shahjahan Mosque Thatta Sindh.JPG|A close up view of mosque's geometric brickwork File:Intricate tile work on the ceiling - Shah Jahan Mosque.jpg|Some peripheral domes feature colored tiles as well as brick. File:Inside this architectural feat - Shah Jahan Mosque.jpg|Arches off of the central prayer chamber are decorated with blue Sindhi tiles File:Shah jahan mosque -Thatta 7(asad aman).jpg|View from the gardens File:Shahjahan Mosque.jpg|A view of the mosque's courtyard File:Shah Jahan Mosque Thatta Sindh Pakistan 8.jpg|Pillar relief corner File:Details in the Entrance portal in one of the iwans - Shah Jahan Mosque.jpg|The mosque's ''iwans'', or entry portals, are also decorated with tile work. </gallery>

==Further reading== * Khan, Ahmed Nabi and Robert Wheeler. ''Islamic Architecture in South Asia''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. * Lari, Yasmeen. ''Traditional Architecture of Thatta''. Karachi: Heritage Foundation, 1989. * Kamil Khan Mumtaz. ''Architecture in Pakistan''. Singapore: Concept Media Pte Ltd, 1985. * Nadiem, Ihsan H. ''Historic Mosques of Lahore''. Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 1998. * Nadiem, Ihsan H. Makli: ''The Necropolis at Thatta''. Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 2000.

==See also== * List of mosques in Pakistan * Wazir Khan Mosque – another Shah Jahan period mosque, considered to be the most elaborately decorated Mughal mosque.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Shah Jahan Mosque, Thatta}} * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1U92MMRbhA Video of the Shah Jahan Mosque, Thatta]—YouTube * [https://www.orientalarchitecture.com/sid/886/pakistan/thatta/shah-jahan-mosque Oriental Architecture – Shah Jahan Mosque]

{{Mosques in Pakistan}} {{Mughal Empire}}

Category:1647 establishments in Asia Category:Grand mosques Category:Mosque buildings with domes in Pakistan Category:Mosques completed in the 1650s Category:Mosques in Sindh Category:Mughal mosques Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in 1659 Category:Thatta District Category:Tourist attractions in Thatta