Faisal Mosque is the mosque in Islamabad,
Pakistan. Located on the foothills of Margalla Hills in
Islamabad, the mosque features a contemporary design consisting
of eight sides of concrete shell and is inspired by a Bedouin
tent.[2] The mosque is a major tourist attraction, and is
referred as a contemporary and influential feature of Islamic
architecture.[3][4]
Construction of the mosque began in 1976 after a $120 million
grant from Saudi King Faisal, whose name the mosque bears. The
unconventional design by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay was
selected after an international competition.[5] Without a
typical dome, the mosque is shaped like a Bedouin tent,
surrounded by four 260 feet (79 m) tall minarets. The design
features eight-sided shell shaped sloping roofs forming a
triangular worship hall which can hold 10,000 worshippers, while
the surrounding porticoes and the courtyard up-to 200,000 more.
[6]
Combined the structure cover an area of 54,000 square ft, the
mosque dominates the landscape of Islamabad.[7] 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
national park. The largest mosque in Pakistan, the Faisal Mosque
was the largest mosque in the world from 1986 until 1993, when
it was overtaken by mosques in MENA region. Faisal Mosque is now
the fourth largest mosque in terms of capacity.[8]
Contents
1 History
2 Design
3 Capacity
4 References in literature
5 Gallery
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
History
The impetus for the mosque began in 1966 when King Faisal bin
Abdul-Aziz supported the initiative of the Pakistani Government
to build a national mosque in Islamabad during an official visit
to Pakistan.
In 1969, an international competition was held in which
architects from 17 countries submitted 43 proposals. The winning
design was that of Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay.[9]
Construction of the mosque began in 1976 by National
Construction of Pakistan, led by Azim Khan and was funded by the
government of Saudi Arabia, at a cost of over 130 million Saudi
riyals (approximately 120 million USD today). King Faisal bin
Abdul Aziz was instrumental in the funding, and both the mosque
and the road leading to it were named after him after his
assassination in 1975. The mosque was completed in 1986, and
used to house the International Islamic University. Many
conservative Muslims criticised the design at first for its
unconventional design and lack of a traditional dome structure,
but most criticism ended when the completed mosque's scale,
form, and setting against the Margalla Hills became evident.
Design
The Faisal Mosque is the work of Turkish architect Vedat
Dalokay, who won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the
project. The mosque's architecture is modern and unique, lacking
both the traditional domes and arches of most other mosques
around the world.
Shah Faisal Masjid, also known as Faisal Mosque, located in the
start of Margala hill sector E-7 Islamabad Pakistan
The mosque's unusual design is a departure from the long history
of South Asian Islamic architecture, fusing contemporary lines
with the more traditional look of an Arab Bedouin's tent, with
its large triangular prayer hall and four minarets. However,
unlike traditional masjid design, it lacks a dome. The minarets
borrow their design from Turkish tradition and are thin and
pencil like.
Interior of Faisal Mosque
The shape of the Faisal Mosque is an eight-sided concrete shell
inspired by a desert Beduoin's tent and the cubic Kaaba in
Mecca, flanked by four unusual minarets inspired by Turkish
architecture. The architect later explained his thinking to
design school students:
“ I tried to capture the spirit, proportion and geometry
of Kaaba in a purely abstract manner. Imagine the apex of each
of the four minaret as a scaled explosion of four highest
corners of Kaaba – thus an unseen Kaaba form is bounded by the
minarets at the four corners in a proportion of height to base.
Now, if you join the apex of each minaret to the base of the
Shah Faisal Mosque akin to Kaaba.
minaret diagonally opposite to it correspondingly, a four-sided
pyramid shall be bound by these lines at the base side within
that invisible cube. That lower level pyramid is treated as a
solid body while four minarets with their apex complete the
imaginary cube of Kaaba.
”
Entrance is from the east, where the prayer hall is fronted by a
courtyard with porticoes. The International Islamic University
was housed under the main courtyard, but recently relocated to a
new campus. The mosque still houses a library, lecture hall,
museum and cafe. The interior of the main tent-shaped hall is
covered in white marble and decorated with mosaics and
calligraphy by the famous Pakistani artist Sadequain, and a
spectacular Turkish-style chandelier. The mosaic pattern adorns
the west wall, and has the kalimah written in early Kufic
script, repeated in mirror image pattern.
Nekka Phullai is the adjacent hill to the mosque in Margalla
Hills.
Capacity
The Faisal Mosque has covered area of 5,000 m2 (54,000 sq ft).
It can accommodate 10,000 worshipers in its main prayer hall,[1]
24,000 in its porticoes,[1] 40,000 in its courtyard,[1] and
another 200,000 in its adjoining grounds[citation needed].
Although its covered main prayer hall is smaller than that of
the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca (the world's third largest
mosque), Faisal Mosque has the third largest capacity of
accommodating worshipers in its adjoining grounds after the
Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) of Mecca, the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi
(Prophet's Mosque) in Medina[citation needed]. Each of the
Mosque's four minarets are 80 m (260 ft) high (the tallest
minarets in South Asia) and measure 10 x 10 m in circumference.
History of Faisal Mosque
King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia both suggested (in
1966) and largely funded the Faisal Mosque, which is named in
his honor.
Ever since its conception, the mosque has been regarded as the
national mosque of Pakistan, and as such it symbolizes the hopes
and aspirations of the new nation.
The architect was Vedat Dalokay of Turkey, whose design was
chosen in 1969 after an international competition. Constructed
was completed in 1986.
What to See at Faisal Mosque
The Faisal Mosque 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.
The mosque's architecture is strikingly modern and unique,
lacking both the traditional domes and arches of most other
mosques around the world.
The shape of the Faisal Mosque is an eight-sided concrete shell
inspired by a desert Beduoin's tent and the cubic Ka'ba in
Mecca, flanked by four unusual minarets inspired by Turkish
architecture. The architect later explained his thinking to
design school students:
Entrance is from the east, where the prayer hall is fronted by a
courtyard with porticoes. The International Islamic University
was housed under the main courtyard, but recently relocated to a
new campus. The mosque still houses a library, lecture hall,
museum and cafe.
The interior of the main tent-shaped hall is covered in white
marble and decorated with mosaics, calligraphy by the Pakistani
artist Sadeqain, and a spectacular Turkish-style chandelier.
The prayer hall can accommodate 10,000 worshippers. (There is
room for an additional 24,000 in the porticoes and 40,000 in the
courtyard.)
The mausoleum of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, whose 1988 funeral
at the site was the largest in the history of Pakistan, is
located adjacent to the mosque.
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