Dai Anga Mosque (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: ) is a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

situated to southeast of the

Lahore Railway Station Lahore Junction Railway Station (Urdu, ), is the main railway station in Lahore, Pakistan. It is among the oldest railway stations of the Indian subcontinent. Construction commenced shortly after the 1857 War of Independence. It was built in th ...

, in the city of

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

in Pakistan's Punjab province. The mosque is said to have been built in 1635 in honour of the wetnurse of the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

Emperor

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

Dai Anga Born as Zeb-un-Nisa, Dai Anga (Urdu: ), was the wet-nurse of the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan. Her family was closely associated with the Mughal empire. Her husband Murad Khan served in the court of Emperor Jahangir as Magistrate of Bikaner, and he ...

Background

Born as Zeb-un-Nisa, Dai Anga was well respected in the royal family. The mosque was said to be commissioned by her, and built prior to her departure for the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

. Her family was closely associated with the Mughal empire. Her husband Murad Khan served Emperor

Jahangir Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...

as Magistrate of Bikaner, and her son Muhammad Rashid Khan, was the best archers in the kingdom, and died fighting in the service of Shah Jahan's eldest son

Dara Shikoh Dara Shikoh (20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659), also transliterated as Dara Shukoh, was the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Dara was designated with the title ''Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba'' () and was favoured ...

. The Tomb of Dai Anga is known as the "Gulabi Bagh," and is also located in Lahore.

History

The mosque was said to have been built in 1635, however, the inscriptions in the mosque date it to 1649. The mosque also bears inscriptions that refer to its construction being supervised by a certain Maqbul, whose identity is uncertain. After

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...

came to power, the mosque was used as a

gunpowder magazine A gunpowder magazine is a magazine (building) designed to store the explosive gunpowder in wooden barrels for safety. Gunpowder, until superseded, was a universal explosive used in the military and for civil engineering: both applications re ...

. Following the British annexation of Punjab in 1849, the mosque was converted into a private residence for Henry Cope, editor of the Lahore Chronicle. Cope then sold it to the Punjab and Delhi Railway Company, under whom the building was used as an office for the railway traffic superintendent. In 1903, the building was reclaimed as a mosque and conserved.

Architecture

The mosque was designed on a scaled down version of larger Mughal mosques, such as the nearby

Badshahi Mosque The Badshahi Mosque (; ) is a Mughal Empire, Mughal-era congregational mosque, imperial mosque located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was constructed between 1671 and 1673 during the rule of Aurangzeb, opposite of the Lahore Fort on the north ...

. The mosque is fronted by an 84-foot wide courtyard, while the building itself is divided into three section. The central section is the largest and is topped by a 19-foot dome. This is flanked by two smaller sections with 16-foot domes. The central portion of the mosque is elaborately decorated with predominantly blue, orange, and yellow qashani tile work. The interior also displayed fine frescoes previously, unfortunately these have largely been replaced by modern tiles. The exterior of the mosque has been embellished with fine tile work, echoing similarities to the tiles of the

Wazir Khan Mosque The Wazir Khan Mosque (, ''Wazīr Khã Masīt''; Persian language, Persian, ) is a 17th-century Mughal Empire, Mughal masjid located in the city of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. The mosque was commissioned by the then governor ...

. The exterior features rich decorative works in tile as well.

Conservation

The mosque is listed on the Protected Heritage Monuments of the Archaeology Department of Punjab.

References

External links

History of Dai Anga Mosque

Asian Historical Architecture website
{{Cultural heritage sites in Punjab, Pakistan Mosques completed in the 1630s Religious buildings and structures completed in 1635 Mosques in Lahore 1635 establishments in Asia Mughal mosques 17th-century mosques in Asia Sunni mosques in Pakistan Mosque buildings with domes in Pakistan Mosque buildings with minarets in Pakistan