On 2nd November 2024, I visited Sunehri Masjid Lahore, which is a historical masjid. Let me explain it with salt of history in it.
What a masterpiece the architects have built. If we talk about architecture, the Mughal emperors have given such a fine architecture to Pakistan and India that the eyes of the beholder are stunned. One such masterpiece is a mosque known as the Golden Mosque, which is located in the Rang Mahal Bazaar of Lahore.
This Sunehri Masjid( Golden Mosque) is one of the last mosques from the Mughal Empire.
History of Sunehri Mosque
The construction of the mosque was started by Nawab Bukhari Khan, who was the governor of Lahore. The construction of the mosque was completed in 1753, but at the same time, the Sikh power was growing vigorously, and the Mughal Empire was ending. In the meantime, architecture was not stopping.
After 12 years of the construction of the mosque, the Sikhs conquered Lahore. It is a common thing that the one who is powerful controls everything. Mughals were dethroned, and Shikhs took over most of the historical buildings of the Mughal era, whether it is the royal fort or religious buildings,in Lahore city.
During the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, a group of Sikhs went to the Maharaja and complained that the (Azaan)morning call (Fajr) disturbed their sleep.
When Maharaja Ranjit Singh asked him the reason for giving the Azan, he got the answer that the Azan is given so that Muslims can be called to pray. In response to the complaint, Maharaja Ranjit Singh banned the Azan but gave an order to the Sikhs that they would go and wake up the Muslims from their homes in early morning for prayer.
As I told you, the powerful force decides what will work and what will not work within the state. Due to all these things, the mosque was also converted into a Gurdwara for some time, and it was named Chota Sunehri Gurdwara.
In 1820, Faqir Azizuddin, foreign minister of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, requested Maharaja to change the Gurdwara into a mosque again at the insistence of the local people, and Maharaja Ranjit Singh agreed that the volume of the morning call to prayer in the mosque would be kept low so as not to disturb the sleep of the people of different faith.
Architecture Of Masjid
If we talk about the architecture of the mosque, its architecture is similar to all other Mughal style mosques with a pond in the middle for ablution, colorful fresco work and patterns that adds to the beauty of the mosque and three golden domes.
Why this Masjid is known as Sunehri(Golden) Masjid
Now the thing is that why this mosque is called the Golden Mosque, the answer is that it has three golden domes. Golden water has been masked on these three domes, due to which it is called the Golden Mosque. The interesting thing is that the golden domes are also identical features of Sikh Gurdwaras, so this mosque also teaches religious harmony.
My experience
Seeing the fresco work of the mosque, gardens kept coming to my mind. Anyway, Lahore city is called as City of Gardens and Lahore city was the favorite city of Mughal princesses but now times have changed and this city is the capital of Punjab.
Lahore city is always the center of attention because there are many historical buildings in it which I have never explored yet and there are many places which I don't even know about.Even I came to know about the Sunehri Masjid in 2024 when I visited this mosque with my university tour. After that visit I studied about the history of the mosque and I was very happy to know that this mosque is preserved in a very good condition.
I am always amazed to see the fresco work and I think about the people who created these masterpieces. Otherwise, the people of today have become very lazy and sluggish. If we talk about this generation, this generation is just scrolling the mobile all day long. I think I should time travel back to the old world and see the people of that era.
There are so many historical places that are still on my travel list.
See you next π« π
All images are taken by me