Tariq Maqbool

Moti Masjid is a well known historical mosque of Mughal era, located near the Alamgiri Gate, the main entrance to the Lahore fort on the western side. It is very close to other splendid structures of Lahore fort, ‘the Shish Mahal’ and ‘Naulakha Pavilion.’Moti in Urdu language means pearl and thus it means the Pearl mosque. It was customary among the Mughals to use generic names for the gemstones to name religious buildings. Other such examples are Mina Masjid (Gem Mosque) and Nagina Masjid (Jewel Mosque) in Agra fort. This mosque was built in the reign of emperor Nur-ud-Din Jahangir. The evidence comes from the following Persian inscription recorded over the arched entrance leading to the outer court-

“In the twelfth year of the fortunate reign of His Imperial Majesty the shadow of God, like Solomon in dignity, Kyamurs in pomp, victorious in arms like Alexander, the Defender of the Faith, Shah Nur-ud-din Jahangir, son of Jalal-ud-din Akbar, the King, the Conqueror of the infidels, this noble edifice was completed in 1007 A.H (1598 A.D.) by the efforts of the humblest of disciples and the least of slaves, his devoted servant, Ma’amur Khan.”[1]

This mosque served as a praying area for the Imperial harem. The court for worshippers measures fifty feet from north to south, and thirty three feet from east to west. The structure is simple, austere, and chaste with a touch of majesty. It is made of white marble brought from Makrana. The front of the mosque constitutes cusped arches supported by baluster columns with their smooth and fine contours. The mosque has three finely swollen domes, two aisles of five bays, and a slightly raised portal with a rectangular frame. The interior of the mosque is simple with the exception of the ceiling that is decorated and designed in four different orders, two curved and two trabeated. The floor of the mosque is of pure marble. The lustre of this white marbled structure proves a match for the lustre of the pearl.

When the Mughal power diminished in the eighteenth century, the foreign invaders like Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali attacked Punjab frequently and undermined the local government. This resulted in the rise of Sikh power in Punjab. During the days of Sikh confederacy (1716-1799), the mosque was converted into a Sikh temple.[2] The pinnacles and turrets were divested of their precious inlaid stones by the Sikhs. Later, in the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1799-1839), it was used as the Government treasury. When the British took over Punjab in 1848, they found diamonds and other precious stones in rolled up bits of rags which were placed in velvet purses and scattered all over the mosque.[3] The British like Sikhs first used the mosque as Government Treasury, but later, restored it to its original status as the mosque.

[1] -(Latif, Reprinted 2005, First Edition 1892.)

[2] -(Latif, Reprinted 2005, First Edition 1892.)

[3] -The Login Inventory of the Lahore Fort (Article by Mahmood Zaman published in the Daily Dawn dated 25th January,2002.