The enormous Shah Faisal Masjid is superbly sited at the foot of the Margalla Hills. It represents an eight-faceted desert 'tent' supported on four giant concrete girders and surrounded by four 90-meter (300-foot)high concrete minuets that lock like rockets on launching pads.

The central 'tent' is faced in white marble and decorated inside with mosaics and a spectacular chandelier. The Masjid was designed by the Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay, and largely financed by donations from Saudi Arabia. The biggest Masjid in the world, it holds about 15,000 people inside, and another 85,000 in the courtyard.

Application Wall claddingMaterial Extra White ThassosOrigin Thassos, GreeceQuantity 30,000 sqmLocation Islamabad (Pakistan)     Developers Capital Development Authority (Pakistan)Project Management Capital Development Authority (Pakistan)   Architect/Planner Vedat Dalokay (Turkey)Stone-Contractor John Papagiannoulis (Greece)Stone Supplier Haris G. Tsourapas Co. (Greece)   Contractual date June 1982   Factory Inspection 1982/1983/1984Delivery date         June 1984Current stage completed in 1986

Faisal Masjid- Importance, Historical Pespective, Design & Architecture

Introduction of Shah Faisal Masjid :-Faisal Mosque is the largest mosque in south Asia and it’s the largest mosque in Pakistan. It is on forth rank in the world after Masjid Haraam , Khaana Kaaba (Grand Mosque) in Mecca, Masjid-e-Nabvi in Medina, the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca It is situated in the North end of Faisal Avenue in the F-8 sector in Islamabad near the Margalla Hills. It is located in the national capital city of Islamabad. Its construction was completed in 1986. It was designed by Turkish Architect Vedat Dalokay. Basically the structural concept of this mosque was like Desert Bedoiuns Tent with four tall minarets. Faisal Mosque is cosidered to be the national mosque of Pakistan. Faisal mosque was named after King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudia Arabia. The king gave Finanial help in the building of the Holy Mosque. Faisal Mosque was the largest mosque in the world from 1986 till 1993 when it was overtaken in size and capacity by the newly completed Hassan II mosque in Casablanca, which is situated in Morroco. There were also different changes in Masjid Haraam, Masjid Nabvi in the late 90’s that ranked Faisal mosque to forth in terms of size and capacity.

History of Shah Faisal Masjid :-The idea of the mosque was started in 1966, when the late King of Saudia Arabia King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz came to Pakistan. He supported the government of Pakistan to build a national mosque in the capital city of Pakistan, Islamabad. He came to Pakistan on an official tour.In 1969, there was a conference in which architects from 17 countries around the whole world were gathered and they submitted 43 proposals. The proposal of a turkish architect Vedat Dalokay was selected and he was appointed for the construction of the Mosque. He won the Agha Khan Award for architectureThe Construction Of the mosque was started in 1976. The Construction was started by National Construction Of Pakistan. The Construction was led by Azim Khan . Government Of Saudi Arabia funded in the construction of the mosque. The Government of Saudi Arabia gave 130 million Saudi Riyals as a fund for the construction cost of Mosque. The mosque and the road which was leading towards the mosque were named after the Kinfg Faisal bin Abdul Aziz. The construction of the mosque was completed in 1986. The mosque was used to house the Islamic International University of Islamabad. It is also known as Shah Faisal Masjid.

Design of Faisal Masjid :-• Architecture of Faisal Masjid :-The architecture of Faisal Mosque is unique and modern. It is not like the other traditional mosques of the world as it lacks the traditional domes and arches. The structure of the mosque is like bedouin desert tent with four tall minarets. It had an unusal design. Most of the Islamic architecctural mosques have a dome shaped structure while it resembels the Arabic culture and architecture as it resemble a Bedouin desert tent. Many muslims criticized the design due to the unconventional design of the mosque and lacking of domes in the mosque, but majority of the criticism was ended as soon as the mosque was completed. Faisal Masjid has a large prayer hall with four tall minarets. The minarets are structured on Turkish architect and traditions and they are thin like pencil.

• Structure of Faisal Mosque :-The shape of Shah Faisal Mosque is eight sided concrete shell. This was made as an inspiration from cubic shape of Khaana Kaaba. The mosque is surrounded by four unusual minarets. These minarets are made as inspiration from Turkish architecture and traditions.

• Enterance of Faisal Mosque :-The enterance of Faisal Masjid is from east, while there is a prayer hall in the front of courtyard. The Islamic International University was housed under main courtyard but nowadays its campus is relocated to a different place. Faisal mosque still has a library, cafe, lecture hall and a museum. The interior of main tent shaped area has white marble and it is decorated with mosaics. The interior of Faisal Masjid is decorated with beautiful calligraphy by famous artist of Pakistan, Sadequain. There is a beautiful Turkish-style chandelier in the center of the mosque. The Mosaic pattern has kalima written on it that repeats in mirror image pattern.

 

Capacity of Faisal Masjid :-The area of Faisal masjid is 5000m2 which is 54000 square feet. It can accommodate more then 2,50,000 worshippers. In the main prayer hall, it can accommodate 10,000 worshippers. 24000 worshippers can worship in the main courtyard, 40000 in the later courtyard. It can also easily accommodate more then 2,00,000 worshippers in the adjoining grounds. As far as the main prayer hall is concerned, the mainprayer hall of Shah Faisal Mosque is smaller then the Hassan II mosque in

Casabalanca, Morroco; which is the third largest mosque in the world. Faisal masjid is on third rank after Masjid Haraam in Mecca and Masjid-e-Nabvi in Medina in accomodating the worshippers. Each of the mosque four minarets are 80m (260 feet ) high. These are the tallest minarets in the South Asia and each minaret measures 10×10 in circumferance.

References in Literature about Faisal Masjid :-The Faisal Masjid is discribed as the best mosques in various literature books. The Faisal mosque is described in the book “The Kite Runner” which is written by well known writer Khalid Hosseini. Moreover, Shah Faisal Masjid is also refernced in the book of Michael Muhammad Knight. Michael Muhammad Knight was a scholar who came to Shah Faisal Masjid for the purpose and study of Islam.

 http://globetravelblog.com/faisal-masjid-importance-historical-pespective-design-architecture/

Each city has an architectural icon: Shah Faisal mosque is Islamabad’s. Featured in almost every televised version of the azaan since 1986, the mosque evokes Islamabad more than the Parliament, the Supreme Court and the Presidency put together. This is also why it is a popular location with broadcast reporters.

A mosque like no other… Nestled in the foothills of the Margallas, the mosque was designed by the Turkish architect, Vedat Dalokay. Strikingly, the mosque lacks the kind

of architecture defined as ‘Islamic’: it doesn’t have domes or arches. Instead, the eight-faced concrete shell resembles a Bedouin tent, flanked by four minarets. Dalokay subsequently said that the design was inspired by the cubic Kaaba, whereby the apex of each of the minarets represents the corners of an imaginary cube.Foreign policy, politics and art… Funded largely by the late King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, the mosque is symbolic of Pakistan’s complex, money-as-politics relationship with the oil-rich kingdom. Construction was completed in 1986 when the petro dollars were still flowing into Pakistan thanks to the close ties between the two countries fostered by military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq. (Coincidentally, both men were assassinated). The fact that Zia’s funeral prayers were held at the mosque and his mausoleum lies adjacent is, however, no coincidence. Ironically, the man chosen to decorate the interior of the mosque was ‘Holy Sinner’ Sadequain, Pakistan’s most famous yet most controversial artist.

Eat, pray, love… The main prayer hall can accommodate up to 10,000 worshippers, the courtyard fronting it can take another 40,000 while an additional 24,000 can easily occupy the porticoes. The courtyard once housed the International Islamic University; now, only the library, a lecture hall, a museum and a café remain. Although there are no major markets in the area, Jinnah Super – that cornucopia of restaurants, boutiques and what not – is just five minutes away by car. While most shops will be closed on Eid day, the flower shops, the mithai wallahs and the bakers will be open: when else is one to buy Eid cakes?Around and about… The areas adjoining the mosque – primarily E7 – are purely residential, and given their breathtaking views of the hills, real estate gold. Accordingly,

they are peopled by foreign diplomats, top-ranking government officials and MNAs. As they say in Islamabad, “[Sector] E is for the elite.”In a nutshell… If you have your heart set on greeting the afsaraan-e-aala – the bureaucrats, the judges and the politicians – who have not left Islamabad for Eid and you can face the mad rush for parking, do make it in time for Eid prayers at the Shah Faisal Mosque.– Soha AhmedSend your feedback to realestate.review@dawn.com

First published in the Real Estate Section of The Dawn National Weekend Advertiser on August 19, 2012.

http://dawnadvertiser.wordpress.com/2012/08/25/eid-at-shah-faisal-mosque/