Historical Mosques of Sirhind

Author(s): SUBHASH PARIHAR

Source: Islamic Studies , Autumn 2004, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Autumn 2004), pp. 481-510
Published by: Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Islamabad

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20837363

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 Islamic Studies 43:3 (2004) pp. 481-510

Notes and Comments

Historical Mosques of Sirhind

SUBHASH PARIHAR

In Mughal period, Sirhind was situated on the Delhi-Lahore-Kabul Highway.

In between Delhi and Lahore it was the largest and most prosperous city. Its
prosperity was reflected in its hundreds of monuments built during the period.
The popular belief that at the heyday of the Mughal empire, the city had 360
mosques, tombs, gardens and wells appears to be well-founded. The number
may not have been exact but just idiomatic, it certainly implied a large
number. Despite repeated devastation of the city during the eighteenth
century, about three dozens of these medieval monuments, in various stages of
preservation, are still extant in and around Sirhind. Of these, a dozen are
mosques.

The surviving mosques exhibit a variety of plans and elevations. The so

called mosque of Sadna Qasai [Qasa'i] is the earliest and most complex in
design.1 This magnificent structure comprising three compartments of which
the main central compartment was covered by a dome and each of the side
ones by twin domes, follows the scheme of Jama* at Khana Qama'at Khanah]
mosque (according to Dr Z. A. Desai, built during the Khalji (689-720/1290
1320) or early Tughlaq period (r. 720-815/1320-1412) at the Dargah of Hazrat
Nizam al-Din Awliya' (d. 725/1325) in Delhi.2

1 For its photograph, plan and section, see fig. 1 and fig. 2, page 498 below.
2 About the date of erection of the Jama'at Khana mosque, it is difficult to say anything with
certainty. Its erection by Sultan Firuz Shah (r. 752-790/1351-1388) is mentioned in Futuhat-i
Firuz Shahi, ed. Shaikh Abdur Rashid (Aligarh: Muslim University, 1954), 14. But according to
Dr Z. A. Desai, Futuhat-i Firuz Shahi is not a reliable manuscript (Personal communication). On
the basis of its architectural style, he considers it to be a building of the Khalji or early Tughlaq
period. Y. D. Sharma attributes its erection to Khizr Khan, the heir apparent of Sultan 'Ala' al
Din Khalji. Delhi and its Neighbourhood, rpt. (Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India, 1982), 116.
See also Maulvi Zafar Hasan, A Guide to Nizamuddin, Memoir No. 10 of the Archaeological
Survey of India (Calcutta: Superintendent Government Printing, India, 1922), 14-15.

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 SUBHASH PARIHAR
482

The remaining eleven mosques of the town follow different forms. Three
of these, the anonymous crumbling mosque west of Rauzah Sharif
(Mosque 4),3 Lai Masjid (Mosque 8)4 and the smallest mosque in the Rauzah
Sharif complex (Mosque 10)5 ?follow the simple plan of a single-aisled
structure composed of three bays (the central bay being somewhat larger than
those on the sides), each covered by a dome. Catherine B. Asher holds the
view that this abbreviated mosque type appeared in India under the Lodis
(r. 894-932/1489-1526).6 But an earlier dated specimen of the type is seen in
the mosque built by Firuz Shah at Dipalpur (now in Pakistan).7
The other mosques of Sirhind display enlargements of the basic single
aisled three bay plan by making various additions to it ? by appending a deep
porch in front of each archway as seen in the anonymous mosque to the east
of the Rauzah Sharif complex (Mosque 7),8 or by adding a continuous aisle to
the front as evinced in the mosque at Shaikhupura (Mosque 5),9 the mosque
near the tomb of Khwajah Muhammad Ma'sum (d. 1079/1663) (Mosque 6)10
and the mosque at Talanian (Mosque 9).11
The enlargement of the mosque plan posed another problem. The domes
which were usually placed over the rear part had to be erected on high necks
to increase their visibility from the front side as seen in the mosque at
Shaikhupura (Mosque 5) and the mosque to the east of the Rauzah Sharif
complex (Mosque 7). But in two other specimens of the type ? the mosque
near the tomb of Khwajah Muhammad Ma*sum (Mosque 6) and the mosque at
Talanian (Mosque 9) ? a simpler solution of placing the domes on the front
aisle was adopted. The domes were dispensed with in the larger mosque at Mir
Miran (Mosque 12).12 The reason might have been poor economic means or
dearth of competent artisans.
But for the mosque of Sadna Qasai, in the central chamber and facade of
which one comes across the use of kankar blocks and grey sandstone all other

3 For a photograph of Mosque 4 (fig. 6), and its plan and section (fig. 7) see page 501 below.
4 For a photograph of Mosque 8 (fig. 14), and its plan and section (fig. 15) see page 505 below.
5 For a photograph of Mosque 10 (fig. 18), and its plan and section (fig. 19) see page 507 below.
6 Catherine B. Asher, Architecture of Mughal India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1992), 11.
7 Ahmad Nabi Khan, Development of Mosque Architecture in Pakistan (Islamabad: Lok Virsa,
1991), fig. 10.
8 For a photograph of Mosque 7 (fig. 12), and its plan and section (fig. 13) see page 504 below.
9 For a photograph of Mosque 5 (fig. 8), and its plan and section (fig. 9) see page 502 below.
10 For a photograph of Mosque 6 (fig. 10), and its plan and section (fig. 11) see page 503 below.
11 The main mosque in the Rauzah Sharif also has a verandah in the front but it is a much later
addition. For its photograph see, fig. 4, page 499 and for its plan and section see, fig. 5, page 500
below.
12 For a photograph of Mosque 12 (fig. 22), and its plan and section (fig. 23) see page 510 below.

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 HISTORICAL MOSQUES OF SIRHIND
483

buildings are made of brick, the traditional building material in the plains of
Punjab.13
It must be noted that the present town of Sirhind is not located exactly
where historic Sirhind was situated. In medieval times, the city was situated
where now the town of Fatehgarh Saheb is inhabited. A number of villages
around Fatehgarh Saheb, namely, Shaikhupura, Dera Mir Miran, Talanian,
Mahadian, Khanpur, etc. also formed a part of the medieval city.
Here follows a detailed account of the surviving mosques of Sirhind
arranged in a rough chronological order. It may be pointed out that it is not
possible to fix the exact chronology of most of these structures. An attempt
has however been made, wherever possible, to determine the dates of their
construction, and identify their patrons, in light of the medieval accounts
and/or stylistic features.

MOSQUE 1: MOSQUE OF SADNA QASAI

The mosque of Sadna Qasai or Sadna the Butcher, is the largest surviving
historical mosque not only of Sirhind but of the whole of East Punjab (Fig. 1).
It is situated near the railway crossing at Fatehgarh Saheb.
The sanctuary of the mosque spreading over an area measuring 37.0 x
18.8m, comprises three compartments, the central one measuring 11.8 x 11.7m
and the side ones, 14.1 x 6.0m each. Attached to each side compartment are
two rectangular chambers, each measuring 2.8 x 1.7m (Fig. 2).
The facade of the mosque rising to a height of 9.8m up to parapet, is
pierced by five entrances in all. The three central entrances, of which the
middle one is larger and is placed in a projected bay, give access to the main
compartment whereas each of the remaining two archways gives entry to one
side compartment.
Originally, the whole building was covered by five domes, a large one in
the centre roofing the main compartment and two smaller ones on each side,
over side wings. The central dome is not extant now.
The western wall of the central compartment has three mihrabs [mihrdb].
The comers in the zone of transition are bridged by squinches. This
compartment is connected to each side wing only through two narrow
archways. For the purpose of roofing, each side wing is divided by an arch
into two parts, each measuring 6.0 x 5.7m. Over each almost square section
thus formed, rises a domical ceiling supported at corners on pendentives. The

13 Charles Rodgers is of the view that the whole of the facade of the Sadna Qasai's mosque was
faced with "beautifully cut-stone which formed panels." Report of the Punjab Circle of the
Archaeological Survey for the Year 1888-89 (Calcutta: Superintendent Government Printing,
India, 1891), 6.

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 SUBHASH PARIHAR
484

absence of mihrabs in the side wings and their almost complete separation
from the central compartment indicates that only the main compartment was
intended to serve for prayers.
A peculiar feature of the mosque is an intermediate gallery running over
each wall of the mosque and approached by two stairways from corners of the
facade. A similar gallery is also seen in the Qila-i Kuhna [Qal'ah-'i Kuhnah]
mosque in Delhi.14 The purpose of this gallery is yet to be known. It appears
that its main function was to lighten the deadweight of the walls over the
arches below.
The building bears little decoration. The bases of the squinch arches in
the central compartment are supported on carved stone pendants. The net
patterns and painted floral designs in the central mihrab are not original but
executed much later, probably when the domes over the side wings were re
erected or repaired.
In front of the mosque is a square tank of 9.1m side and 0.95m deep,
meant for ablutions. At the centre of the tank was a fountain. There is also a
well nearby.
When Cunningham visited the mosque during 1863-64, all the five of its
domes were intact.15 But a quarter century later, Rodgers found the mosque
domeless.16 So the original domes of the mosque crumbled after Cunningham's
visit some time before 1888-89 and the domes now covering the side wings
were re-erected after Rodgers' visit. The flutings on the front domes and the
shape of their finials also indicate their later reconstruction or major repair.
The different shapes of the drums of the domes ? two domes stand on circular
drums and the half of the drum of one more dome is circular ? also indicate
their repairs.
Rodgers records that there was an inscription on the mosque but it had
already disappeared before his visit.17 The source of his information is not
known. Cunningham does not mention the existence of any inscription.
The painted inscription over the central mihrab, forming a part of the
painted decoration, has faded.
As already noted, in plan and arrangement of domes, this mosque bears
close resemblance to the Jama* at Khana Mosque (built during the Khalji or
early Tughlaq period) at Nizam al-Din, Delhi. But the town of Sirhind was of

14 An almost similar gallery is also seen in the mosque of Gauhar Shad at Mashhad. See Bernard
0' Kane, Timurid Architecture in Khurasan (Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers, 1987), 121.
15 Alexander Cunningham, AS1Reports, rpt. (Varanasi: Indological Book House, 1972), 2: 211.
16 Charles Rodgers, Report of the Punjab Circle of the Archaeological Survey for the Year 1888-89,
6.
17 Ibid.

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HISTORICAL MOSQUES OF SIRHIND
485

little consequence before Sultan Firuz Shah built a fort here in 761/1360.
Then, was the mosque under study also built by Firuz Shah when he built the
fort? But the shape of the arches on the facade of the mosque does not allow
such an early date for its erection. Rodgers, on the basis of the shape of the
arches, considers the mosque to be contemporaneous with the tomb of Subhan
(902/1496-97) at Dera Mir Miran.18 Cunningham makes the provision of two
domes over each side wing instead of one oblong dome of the later Mughals,
the basis for his dating the mosque and concludes "that this mosque must
belong either to the close of the Afghan period or to the beginning of the early
Mogal period".19
Although similar arrangement of domes on a mosque may also be seen in
a mosque at Kaithal (Kurukshetra District, Haryana) dated 831/1427-28,20 yet
on the basis of the profile of arches and the intermediate gallery, I also feel
inclined to date the mosque of Sadna Qasai during the early Mughal period.
As we know, Humayun's last battle with Sikandar Suri (r. 947-963/1540
1556) which led to the former's restoration on the throne of Delhi, was fought
at Sirhind in 962/1555. There is possibility that Humayun (r. 937-946/1530
1540 & 962-963/1555-1556) might have commemorated his victory by
erecting this mosque at Sirhind as previously his father Babur (r. 932-937/
1526-1530) had celebrated his success in the first battle of Panipat by erecting a
magnificent mosque there.21
As noted previously, the mosque under study has at least one prominent
feature in common with the mosque in Humayun's fort in Delhi, i.e., Qila-i
Kuhna Mosque. Both of these have the intermediate gallery.
Now, if the mosque was built by Humayun, why did it come to be
associated with the name of Sadna Qasai, a Sindhi saint who is believed to have
been a contemporary of the Marathi saint Namdev (1271-1347)?22 My

18 Ibid.
19 Alexander Cunningham, ASI Reports, 2: 211.
20 Z. A. Desai, "An Interesting Charade in a Fifteenth Century Persian Inscription," Indo
Iranica, XX: 3 (Calcutta: 1967), 11-14. The decipherment of the chronogram on the Kaithal
mosque by Wahid Mirza (EIAPS 1953-54, 9-10), according to whom it yields the year
1155/1742-43, is not correct.
21 This mosque of Babur, now called Kabul! Bagh Mosque is still extant about 3.0 km north-east
of Panipat. For some details, plan and plates of the mosque, see the following: Asher,
Architecture of Mughal India, 25-28, pis. 7-8; Ebba Koch, Mughal Architecture (Munich: Prestel
Verlag, 1991), 32, pi. 1; Subhash Parihar, Mughal Monuments in the Punjab and Haryana (Delhi:
Inter-India Publications, 1985), 40-41, pis. 42-43; R. Nath, History of Mughal Architecture (Delhi:
Abhinav, 1982), 1:103-05.
22 Max Arthur Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus Sacred Writings and Authors (Oxford: The
Clarendon Press, 1909), 6: 84. Some hymns of Sadna are included in the Guru Granth Sahib, the
holy book of the Sikhs.

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 SUBHASH PARIHAR
486

hypothesis is as follows: Humayun, while fleeing from Hindustan to Iran, is

known to have passed through Multan and stayed there for a full day. Here he
might have visited the tomb of Sadna, one of the most prominent shrines of
the town, and prayed there for his restoration to the throne of Hindustan.
And the mosque at Sirhind, the emperor might have built in the name of
Sadna to fulfil his vow.23 However, this attribution of the mosque is purely
conjectural till some further evidence comes to light.
But for the missing central dome, the building is in a good state of
preservation. Now it is on the list of the protected monuments of the
Department of Archaeology, Punjab.

MOSQUE 2
On the road to village Khanpur, near railway crossing stands a ruinous section
of a structure (Fig. 3).24 This building also originally appears to have been a
mosque although local people believe that it was a treasury.

The surviving portion forms a room measuring 8.7 x 8.4m on the outside.
The original structure extended towards the southern side.

The eastern facade has a 3.85m broad and 0.4m deep recess, pierced by a
3.05m broad archway. A similar recess is on the western side but without any
archway. The parapet is marked with decorative crenellation.

A simple rectangular chamber which probably formed the southern aisle

of the mosque. The recesses in the eastern and western walls have a four
centred arch very similar to the ones on the facade of the mosque of Sadna
Qasai (Mosque 1). Hence the building was more or less contemporaneous with
that mosque. The surviving part is in the private possession of a local farmer.

MOSQUE 3: MAIN MOSQUE AT RAUZAH SHARIF

It is situated inside the Rauzah Sharif complex, near the mausoleum of Shaikh
Ahmad Sirhindl (d. 1034/1624) (Fig. 4).

As it has always been a living mosque, additions and alterations were

made to it from time to time. The total structure covers an area measuring

23 It was not uncommon to build mosques in some saint's name. For example, during the reign
of Humayun, the Shaikh Sarai [Sara'e] Mosque (immediately to the north-west of Shaikh 'Ala
al-Din's tomb ) at Mehrauli, was erected, according to an inscription on it, in the name of
Shaikh Farid al-Din Ganj-i Shakkar (d. 664/1265), by a descendant of the Shaikh, in 941/1534
35. Zafar Hasan, List of Muhammadan and Hindu Monuments, El (Calcutta: Superintendent
Government Printing, India, 1922), 144.
24 See page 499 below.

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 HISTORICAL MOSQUES OF SIRHIND
487

16.5 x 10.2m but at the most only the main sanctuary behind the verandah is
original (Fig. 5). The plan of the sanctuary comprises a single hall, measuring
14.4 x 4.2m, entered through three archways on the eastern side.

The original facade which now lies concealed behind the verandah has
three archways. The parapet of the building rises to a height of 6.2m. The
skyline is formed by three domes, each placed on a 0.85m high octagonal
drum. Each side of the central drum measures 2.35m and that of the other
ones, 2.15m.

The rectangular hall has three mihrabs in the western wall. For the
purpose of roofing, it is divided into three sections, each covered with a
domical ceiling, raised on squinch arches.

Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindl is recorded to have erected a mosque near his

residence in 1008/1599-1600.25 But later, when during the Qayyumiyah of his
son Khwajah Muhammad Ma'sum, the number of devotees increased, this
small mosque became inadequate. Then, on the same site a larger mosque is
recorded to have been built by Tarbiyat Khan in 1046/1636-37.26 Most
probably, the older part of the mosque under study was the work of Tarbiyat
Khan.
Tarbiyat Khan was the title of the noble Fakhr al-Dln Ahmad
(d. 1053/1643-44) who served during the reigns of Jahangir (r. 1014
1037/1605-1627) and Shah Jahan (r. 1037-1068/1627-1658). In 1041/1631-32,
he was made the faujdar of the sarkdr of Sirhind as well as that of Hisar.27 Six
years later, he rose to the high rank of second Bakhshi.2* And if the year of re
erection of the mosque at Sirhind as given by Muhammad Ihsan is not exact
(as is the usual case with the dates given by him), this promotion as second
Bakhshi might have been the occasion of dedicating the place of prayer. After
his death in 1053/1643-44,29 Tarbiyat Khan was interred in the Rauzah Sharif

25 Shaikh Badr al-Dln Sirhindi, Hazrat al-Quds, Urdu tr. Muhammad Ashraf Naqshbandi
(Sialkot: Maktabah Nu'maniyyah, 1403/1982-83), 2: 99 and 229; Khawajah Muhammad Ihsan
Mujaddadi Sirhindi, Rauzah al-Qayyumiyyah, ed. Iqbal Ahmad Faruqi (Lahore: Maktabah
Nabawiyyah, 1409/1989), 1:134.
26 Ibid., 2: 96-98. The site of the older mosque formed the court of the new mosque.
27 For a detailed account of his career, see, Shah Nawaz Khan, Ma'athir al-Umara', tr. H.
Beveridge, rpt. (Patna: Janki Prakashan, 1979), 2: 930-33.
28 'Abd al-Hamid Lahori, Padshah Namah, eds. Maulvi Kabir al-Dln and Maulvi 'Abd al-Rahim
(Calcutta: 1867), 1: 431; Shah Nawaz Khan, Ma'dthir aWmara\ 2: 932, gives the year of
promotion to be 1046/1637-38. See also, Z.A. Desai, Nobility under the Great Mughals (based on
Dhakhiratui Khwanin of Shaikh Farid Bhakkar) (Delhi: Sundeep Publications, 2003), 205-06.
29 4Abd al-Hamid Lahori, Padshah Namah, 2: 729.

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 SUBHASH PARIHAR
488

complex.30 His son Saif Khan alias Faqlr Allah was also a devotee of Khwajah
Muhammad Ma'sum.31

MOSQUE 4
Situated in the fields west of Rauzah Sharif, the sanctuary covers an area 19.8 x
6.2m, having a slight hump in the western wall (Figs. 6-7). The interior
comprises a single rectangular hall, 17.9 x 4.25m.
Not much can be said about the facade of the mosque as most of it is not
extant now. Probably it was perforated by five archways, one corresponding
to each shallow recess and mihrab in the western wall. Just below the parapet
was a corbelled chhajja [chajjah]. All the three rectangular domes of the mosque
are double; the middle one which was larger than the other two has been
terribly injured. The injury shows two shells of the dome separated by a
considerable space. Each dome is surmounted by a sheath of lotus petals.

Besides the archways in the facade, each of the northern and southern
walls of the hall also has one 2.0m broad archway. The western wall has a
prayer niche and three ventilators in it. Across the breadth of the hall two
arches were built to divide the space to be roofed into three parts. Each part is
covered with the lower shell of its double dome. In the zone of transition, the
method of pendentives was employed.

Some faint traces of painted decoration in Indian red colour are visible on
the back side of the northern dome. In the interior, the pendentives carry net
vaulting patterns. The domical ceilings of the hall bear concave shell
mouldings. Such decorative treatment of ceilings is seen in no other
monument of the East Punjab but in some monuments of the Mewat region,
e.g., in the Shahi Mosque at Sohna (Gurgaon District, Haryana).

Rodgers attributes the mosque to the period of Shah Jahan.32 The

attribution may not be much off the mark as rectangular double dome at
Sirhind first appeared on the Shish [Shish] Mahal [Mahall] in the Aam ['Am]
Khas [Khas] Bagh, also erected during the reign of Shah Jahan.33 However, the
patron of the mosque remains unknown.
Now it is in a ruinous condition. The front was, most probably, blown
by gun-powder during the later Mughal period.

30 Badr al-Din Sirhindi, Hazrat al-Quds, 1: 245.

31 For some monuments built by Saif Khan, see, Subhash Parihar, "Architectural Remains at
Bahadurgarh," Islamic Studies, 36:1 (Spring 1997), 97-106.
32 Charles Rodgers, Report of tloe Punjab Circle of the Archaeological Survey for the Year 1888-89,
7.
33 'Abd al-Hamid Lahori, Padshah Ndmah, 2:115-16.

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HISTORICAL MOSQUES OF SIRHIND
489

MOSQUE 5: MOSQUE AT SHAIKHUPURA

It is situated about 1.5km west of the Railway Station of Sirhind (Fig. 8). The
sanctuary proper spreads over an area 34.7 x 24.0m (Fig.9). It resolves itself
into a nave, 4.4 x 4.1m and two aisles, each 4.1 x 3.9m and the whole fronted
by a 2.5m deep continuous verandah. Originally, the court in front of the
sanctuary was also encircled by a verandah.
The facade of the mosque, 6.8m high in the centre and 1.1m lower on the
sides, contains three archways. Over the rear part of the mosque rise three
domes, each emerging from a 2.25m high octagonal drum. Each side of the
central drum measures 2.1m whereas in the other two, it is 2.0m. Each dome is
surmounted by an inverted lotus moulding and not by small circular towers of
half the diameter of the domes as recorded by Rodgers.34 There is a circular
tower at each corner of the building.

The three archways in the facade give access to the front verandah which
communicates with the rear part through three archways, opposite to each of
which is a mihrab in the western wall. The transition from the square of the
nave and aisles to the circular bases of the domical ceilings is achieved by
pendentives.

Rodgers did not study the monument as it was locked at the time of his
visit. He wrote about its domes as these were visible from the outside.

The use of three equal sized hemi-spherical domes for crowning the
mosque and their placement over the rear part indicates the date of its erection
prior to the mosque near the tomb of Khwajah Muhammad Ma'sum in
Rauzah Sharif (Mosque 6) which was built about 1668-70 as will be
subsequently seen.35 Probably, it was built almost contemporaneously with
the main mosque (Mosque 3) (c. 1636-37) in the Rauzah Sharif, during the
reign of Shah Jahan.

But for some alterations, the sanctuary of the mosque is in a good

condition. It is in private possession as it was also during Rodgers* visit in
1888-89,36 and is being used as a cattle-shed and for storage of husk. A new

34 Charles Rodgers, Report of the Punjab Circle of the Archaeological Survey for the Year 1888-89,
8.
35 Outside Sirhind, at least one mosque dating as late as 1096/1685-86 is seen, at Bahrampur
(Gurdaspur District, East Punjab), which has a verandah in the front but has its domes placed
over the rear part. For details, see Subhash Parihar, "The Mughal Mosque at Bahrampur,"
Journal of Research Society of Pakistan, XXDC (April 1992), 55-58.
36 Charles Rodgers, Report of the Punjab Circle of the Archaeological Survey for the Year 1888-89,
8.

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 SUBHASH PARIHAR
490

residential building erected in the courtyard partially obstructs the frontal

view of the mosque.
MOSQUE 6
It is situated within the precincts of Rauzah Sharif, near the tomb of Khwajah
Muhammad Ma'sum (Fig. 10). The whole structure covers an area, measuring
21.6 x 9.3m with some projection in the mihrab wall (Fig. 11). The sanctuary
comprises a three-bayed and two-aisled hall, flanked on either side by two
rooms. The stairway in the north-eastern corner room indicates the former
existence of some basement chambers.

The facade engaged to an octagonal minaret at each corner, has three

arched openings. Above the parapet which is 4.7m high, grow three double
domes, placed not as usual, on the back but on the front aisle. The central
dome is rectangular but those on the sides are circular and constricted at base.
Two piers resolve the space to be roofed into six bays, each separately spanned
by a sail-vault. The qiblah-wall has three mihrabs.

The author of Rauzah al-Qayyumiyyah mentions the erection of a mosque

near the tomb of Khwajah Muhammad Ma'sum, on three different pages, by
three different persons. First, he mentions that a mosque was built by the
princess Raushan Ra'e Begum (popularly known as Raushan Ara' Begum), at a
cost of rupees 40,000, at the time of the erection of the tomb of Khwajah
Muhammad Ma'sum, after his death in 1668.37 In another reference, he records
that around 1080/1669-70, Khwajah Muhammad Naqshband (d. 1114/1702),
the son and successor of Khwajah Muhammad Ma'sum, patronized a "very
beautiful and large mosque" in front of the tomb of his father.38 In still another
reference, Khwajah Muhammad 'Ubaid Allah, the third son of Khwajah
Muhammad Ma'sum is credited with the erection of a mosque to the north of
the tomb of his father, which had "three domes and two minarets."39 The
name of Khwajah 'Ubaid Allah is again associated with the mosque when it is
recorded that Khwajah Muhammad Siddlq (d. 6 May 1718), the sixth son of
Khwajah Muhammad Ma'sum, was interred in the front of the mosque of
Khwajah 'Ubaid Allah.40 Khwajah 'Ubaid Allah died on 19 Rabi' I 1083/15
July 1672. So he could have erected the mosque some time between 1668 and
1672.

37 Khawajah Muhammad Ihsan, Rauzah al-Qayyiimiyyah 2: 284.

38 Ibid., 3: 31.
39 Ibid., 2: 296-97. According to Muhammad Ihsan, Khwajah 'Ubaid Allah erected the mosque
out of the money contributed by his devotees for his pilgrimage to the Makkah but the journey
was cancelled.
40 Khawajah Muhammad Ihsan, Rauzah al-Qayyumiyyah, 4: 136.

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 HISTORICAL MOSQUES OF SIRHIND
491

It survives in a good condition. The passage to the underground chambers

has been bricked up. The large hauz which was situated in the front of the
mosque is also not extant.41

MOSQUE 7
This mosque escaped the notice of Alexander Cunningham as well as Charles
Rodgers. It is situated about 0.5km east of Rauzah Sharif, in the fields (Fig. 12).
It is accessible by metalled road, about 1.0km from the fort mound, to the
north of the road to the village Mahadian.
The mosque building spreading over an area, 18.25 x 9.65m, comprises a
rectangular hall, 14.0 x 4.2m, entered through three archways, each fronted by
a 3.25m deep and 3.85m broad porch (Fig. 13). Annexed to the northern wall
of the building was an oblong chamber measuring 4.2 x 1.8m.
The front of the building rising to a height of 6.4m on sides and 0.7m
higher in the middle, is dominated by three recesses, each covered with a
cusped arch. Through the back wall of each recess, a 2.0m broad archway gives
access to the sanctuary chamber.
Each of the three double domes of the building is mounted on an
octagonal drum of 2.05m side. The central drum is 2.4m high but those of the
sides are 0.7m lower. The flutings on the central dome appear to belong to
some later period.
Recessed in the western wall of the hall are three equal-sized mihrabs.
Three ventilators in this wall and an equal number of them in the opposite
wall provide the interior with light and ventilation. An archway in the
northern wall of the hall and another archway in the northern wall of the
porch, each led to the side chamber. Two arches built across the breadth of the
hall divide it into three square spans of equal size, each covered by the lower
shell of a double dome, supported in corners by pendentives.
The soffits of the porches and domical ceilings of the sanctuary bear
moulded stalactites. But in its pristine condition, the chief glory of the mosque
was its adornment with glazed tile-mosaics of mustard yellow, turquoise,
ultramarine blue, violet, green and orange colours, traces of which were extant
till late 1980s. The outlines of the designs were still visible although the tiles
had lost most of their colours. Tiled inscriptions framed each archway on the
facade and arabesque designs filled the spandrels.
The parts of the facade from where tile-work has peeled off, show the
method of forming the tile-mosaics. The plain wall was first textured with
chisel-marks and then covered with a 2.0cm thick plaster layer in which

41 Ibid., 2: 297.

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 SUBHASH PARIHAR
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cut-tiles of various colours were embedded according to the requirement of the

design already traced on the wet-plaster.42
The part of the framing inscription which I had photographed during my
visit to the monument in 1989, contains:

1. Longer side, horizontal right hand square:43

Qur'an, XXXDI, last five words of verse 56.

2. Shorter side, vertical from bottom upwards:

Qur'an, IX, verse 18 from middle to last but two words, continued in 3
below.

3. Larger side, horizontal, left portion from right to left:

Two remaining words of chapter DC, verse 18, in continuation of no. 2

above. Followed by Qur'an, IX, verse 108, part, i.e., words five to twelve. The
script is extremely fine Suls.
On the basis of the style of the calligraphy, Z. A. Desai considers it
probable that the inscription was the work of Amanat Khan, the renowned
calligrapher of the Taj Mahall.44
It was probable that the framing inscriptions on the facade, although
religious in character, did incorporate the date of construction or the name of
the builder of the mosque also. But in the absence of the inscription, there is
no alternative but for relying on the architectural style of the monument for
fixing its date.
The ground plan of the mosque under study but for its northern annexe,
is quite similar to that of the Qazi's Mosque at Sadhaura (Ambala District,

42 A. U. Pope, Persian Architecture (London: Thames & Hudson, 1965), 165-67, R. A.

Jairazbhoy, An Outline of Islamic Architecture (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1972), 192; and
D. N. Wilber "Persian Architecture" in John A. Boyle, ed. Persia: History and Heritage (London:
Henry Melland, 1978), 101 describe an indirect method of assembling a tile-mosaic. In the words
of Wilber "a full scale pattern was prepared on the ground. Then thousands of tiny pieces,
chipped from solid colour tiles, were laid face down on the pattern. Plaster was used to coat the
back and after it hardened the panel was laid into position on the structure" (Ibid., 101). But I
think that the mosaics were assembled directly on the wall to be decorated.
43 For plates of this inscription as well as other inscriptions from Sirhind, see Subhash Parihar,
"Arabic and Persian Inscriptions from Sirhind," Islamic Studies, 38: 2 (Summer 1999), 264-74.
44 Personal Letter. Ahmadabad, Dated 29th May 1996. Similar work of Amanat Khan may be
seen on the gateways of his own caravansarai [Karavan Sara'e] (completed 1050/1640-41) at the
village Sarai Amanat Khan (Amritsar District, East Punjab). For plates of the work on the sarai,
see Subhash Parihar, "Ancient Splendour," Inside Outside (Bombay, April/May 1989), colour
plate on p. 99; W. E. Begley and Z. A. Desai, Taj Mahal: The Illumined Tomb (Cambridge, MA:
The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, 1989), pis. 146-49.

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 HISTORICAL MOSQUES OF SIRHIND
493

Haryana), built in 1054 or 1055/1644-46.45 The same plan was repeated at

Sadhaura, in the mosque of 'Abd al-Wahhab, built in 1080/1669-70.46 The
facade of this later mosque, in its pristine condition, also bore framing
inscriptions worked out in the glazed tiles of the same colours as used on the
Sirhind mosque.47 And as Sadhaura is less than a hundred kilometres away
from Sirhind, the mosque under study might not have been far removed in
time. The only other building at Sirhind which was also formerly decorated
with tile-mosaics, the tomb of Khwajah Muhammad Ma*sum, was also built
about the same period. But in this case, the calligraphic frames could not have
been designed by Amanat Khan who had already died in 1054-55/1644-45.48

Various archways of the mosque have been bricked up to convert them

into rooms. The chamber adjoining the northern wall of the sanctuary has
crumbled. Most of the glazed tile-work is gone and whatever part of it
survives, is covered under repeated coats of whitewash. Chemical treatment
may reveal partially intact tile-work.

During my first visit in the early 1980s, the building was being used as a
Gurdwara. But now the Gurdwara has been shifted to the new building
adjoining the southern wall of the monument and the mosque is being used as
a store.

MOSQUE 8: LAL MASJED (RED MOSQUE)

Formerly, the mosque was painted red, hence the name Lai Masjid or Red
Mosque (Fig. 14). It was in a ruinous condition when Rodgers saw it in 1888
89.49 But it was renovated at some later date. It is situated just outside the
Railway Station of Fatehgarh Saheb.

45 For a plate of the inscription on the Qazi's mosque at Sadhaura, see Subhash Parihar, Muslim
Inscriptions in the Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh (Delhi: Inter-India Publications, 1985),
pi. 39.
46 For some details of the mosque of *Abd al-Wahab at Sadhaura, see Parihar, Mughal
Monuments, 42-43 and pi. 46. For the inscription on the mosque, see Idem, Muslim Inscriptions,
pi. 40.
47 The earliest work that I know of in which the framing inscription of the ivan was done in
glazed tiles is the tomb of Afzal Khan, popularly known as Chlni ka Rauzah (dated c. 1639-40)
at Agra. For a plate of the work, see Begley and Desai, Taj Mahal, pi. 151. Afzal Khan was a
brother of Amanat Khan, the calligrapher. See note 34. The glazed tile inscription of the period
of Akbar, in Khair al-Manzil, opposite Old Fort, Delhi, is above the mihrab. On the mosque of
'Abd al-Wahhab, which I saw in 1979, no trace of the tile-work is extant now.
48 4Abd al-Hamid Lahori, Padshah Namah, 2: 737.

49 Charles Rodgers, Report of the Punjab Circle of the Archaeological Survey for the Year 1888-89,
6.

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 SUBHASH PARIHAR
494

The sanctuary covering 14.9 x 6.3m resolves itself into three equal-sized
bays, each measuring 3.7m square (Fig. 15). In front of the mosque is a 9.0m
broad platform.
The mosque stands on a 2.3m high platform under which were rooms,
probably intended for the residence of the imam.
The facade of the building has three archways. Three equal-sized double
domes, each resting on an octagonal drum, form the skyline of the building.
The central drum is higher than its fellow ones, making its dome rise higher in
consonance with the parapet which is humped in the middle. Each dome
terminates in a kalasa finial, probably dating from the period of the renovation
of the monument. The square solid cupolas crowning the corner minarets of
the facade also appear to be of later date.
The western wall of the interior has only one mihrab. Each corner of the
three bays is bridged by an arch to form an octagonal base above which rests
the circular rim of the domical ceiling.
Rodgers does not fix any date for its erection. Later renovations have
deprived it of any typical architectural detail (if it had any), making it difficult
to fix even the approximate date for its construction. However, traditionally it
is said to have been built by Shaikh Saif al-Din (d. 1096/1685), the fifth son of
Khwajah Muhammad Ma'sum.
It is in a good condition. The basement rooms have been bricked up.

MOSQUE 9: MOSQUE AT TALANIAN

It is situated about 1.5km north of Rauzah Sharif. In the midst of the village
Talanian (Fig. 16).50
The mosque covers an area measuring 14.8 x 12.5m with minor
projections (Fig. 17).51 The interior is resolved into two aisles each comprising
three bays. The rear aisle is 4.9m deep and the front aisle 3.3m deep and
entered through three archways.
Bound at each corner by an octagonal minaret, the 6.0m high facade of
the mosque has three recesses, each covered by a cusped arch and pierced by an
archway. Above the recesses is projected a chhajja, curved in the middle. At
the top rise three double domes placed over the front aisle as previously seen
in the Mosque 5, in the Rauzah Sharif complex. All the three domes are
constricted at base, and the body of the central dome is ribbed. The octagonal
drums of the side domes measure 1.7m side and each is 1.35m high but the
central drum measures 2.2m a side and is 1.6m high.

50 See page 506 below.

51 Ibid.

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 HISTORICAL MOSQUES OF SIRHIND
495

For the purpose of roofing, the whole building was divided into six bays,
each covered by a sail-vault. The light to the three rear bays is admitted
through ventilators in its walls. Also the northern wall of this part has an
archway.
The facade of the mosque is articulated with shallow panels. The walls
and ceilings of the interior are embellished with rich painted designs. The
stalactite patterns on the ceilings are first moulded in plaster and then outlined
in colour. The apexes of the vaults and arches bear medallions. The colours
used include blue, yellow ochre, viridian green and Indian red. The mosque is
not mentioned by Cunningham or Rodgers in their Reports.
In some respects ? the division of the prayer hall into six bays, the use of
sail-vaults for their roofing and the placement of the domes over front bays ?
this mosque is similar to the Mosque 6, in the Rauzah Sharif complex. But the
decorative elements placed over the parapet ? solid spherical and rectangular
kiosks, the shape of small minarets etc. ? indicate a date either at the end of
the seventeenth century or at the beginning of the next.
The writer of the Rauzah al-Qayyumiyyah records that Khwajah
Muhammad Naqshband, about the end of his life, got erected a magnificent
mosque having three domes and two minarets and some other buildings, to
the north of the tomb of his father Khwajah Muhammad Ma'sum.52 Hazrat
Begum, the wife of Khwajah Naqshband also erected beautiful mansions near
this mosque. Looking to the ruins of the buildings near the mosque under
study and its location to the north of the tomb of Khwajah Muhammad
Ma'sum, it appears probable that the reference in the Rauzah al-Qayyiimiyyah
is to this mosque. If our identification is correct, the mosque at Talanian was
completed in April 1703 as Khwajah Naqshband is recorded to have observed
here only four Friday prayers and died on 25 May 1703.53
It survives in a good condition and is now being used as a Gurdwara.

MOSQUE 10: THE SMALLEST MOSQUE IN RAUZAH SHARIF

It is also situated inside Rauzah Sharif complex, near the tomb of Khwajah
Muhammad Zubair (d. 1152/1740) (Fig. 18).
The sanctuary measuring 10.2 x 5.6m on the exterior, encloses a single
hall, 8.0 x 3.3m, entered from the eastern side through three archways
(Fig. 19).
The facade is pierced by three archways, the central one being 1.3m broad
and the side ones, each 1.0m broad. The height of the facade up to parapet is

52 Khawajah Muhammad Ihsan, Rauzah al-Qayyiimiyyah, 3:196.

53 Ibid., 3: 214.

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 SUBHASH PARIHAR
496

3.9m above which rise three double domes, the central one being somewhat
larger.
Corresponding to three entrance archways, the western wall has three
mihrabs. Two arches built across the hall divide the space to be roofed into
three bays, each covered by a domical ceiling.
The mosque was a part of the Khdnqah of Shaikh Muhammad Zubair.
The author of Rauzah al-Qayyiimiyyah writes that after the demise of Khwajah
Muhammad Zubair, the floor of the mosque of the Khdnqah was renovated.54
It implies that the mosque already existed there. But Khwajah Zubair is
known to have spent the last 38 years of his life in Delhi. So he could have
built this mosque only some time between 1115/1703-04 and 1120/1708-09
when he lived at Sirhind.

MOSQUE 11: SMALLER MOSQUE AT MIR MIRAN

It is situated in the midst of the village Mir Miran (Fig. 20).55

The building measuring 6.7 x 4.5m, comprises a single chamber,
5.5 x 3.0m, entered through only one archway in the eastern wall (Fig. 21).56
The facade is articulated by a central recess covered by a cusped-arch and
one shallow recess on its either side and a minaret at each corner. The central
recess is perforated by an archway. The central part of the parapet which is
elliptical in shape, rises to a height of 4.3m. The building is crowned with only
one dome, surmounted by an inverted lotus moulding.
The western wall has a shallow recess serving as mihrab. One arch built
across the breadth of the hall, on either side, leaves a 3.0 x 2.9m area in the
middle above which rises the dome.
The very small size and elementary nature of the mosque indicates its
erection after the fortunes of the town had begun to decline after Banda's
attack in 1710 but before its final devastation in 1763.

It survives in a fair condition and is being used as a private residence.

MOSQUE 12: LARGER MOSQUE AT MIR MIRAN

It is situated near Mosque 11, in the midst of the village Mir Miran (Fig. 22),57
The total area occupied by the mosque measures 15.4 x 5.6m with some
projection in the southern wall (Fig. 23).58 The interior is divided into three

54 Ibid., 4:383.
55 See page 508 below.
56 See page 509 below.
57 See page 510 below.
58 Ibid.

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HISTORICAL MOSQUES OF SIRHIND
497

compartments, the central one measuring 7.4 x 3.6m and the side ones
3.6 x 2.3m each.
The facade is perforated with five entrances, the central three leading to
the main compartment and the remaining two to the wings. The profiles of
the arches for the openings are circular and elliptical. Just below the parapet
which is 4.85m high on sides and 0.7m higher in the middle, run slightly
projected eaves. The building has no dome. As the mosque is wrongly
oriented, its mihrab is in its southern wall. The central compartment is roofed
by a flat ceiling slightly curved near the walls. The wings have pendentives in
corners. Some crude decoration in moulded plaster appears around the
mihrab.
Devoid of the typical Islamic features, i.e., minarets, domes, pointed
arches and proper orientation, this mosque appears to have been built during
the later half of the nineteenth century or early twentieth century when some
order was restored in the region under the Patiala rulers.
But for the central entrance, all other archways of the main prayer
chamber have been bricked up. A doorway has been knocked through the
southern wall of the western compartment. At present it is being used as a
private residence.
So we see that to survey the historical mosques of Sirhind is like looking
at the panorama of the development of Mughal mosque architecture in
Punjab.
000

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 SUBHASH PARIHAR
498

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HISTORICAL MOSQUES OF SIRHIND
499

Fig. 4. Main Mosque at Rauzah Sharif.

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 SUBHASH PARIHAR

jj fn\ (frl fn) y=L

2 0 2 4 Jn SJwwriW

Fig. 5. Main Mosque at Rauzah Sharif, plan and section.

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HISTORICAL MOSQUES OF SIRHIND

Fig. 6. Mosque 4.

-]-i- JJ>o*-iJu*r
2 0 2 4 ?m

Fig. 7. Mosque

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 Fig. 8. Mosque 5.

2 0 2 4 U" H>a*W

Fig. 9. Mosque 5, plan and section.

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HISTORICAL MOSQUES OF SIRHIND 503

Fig. 10. Mosque 6.

SV - Sail Vault

Fig. 11. Mosque 6, plan and section.

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 SUBHASH PARIHAR

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HISTORICAL MOSQUES OF SIRHIND

Fig. 15. Mosque 8, Lai Masjid, plan and section.

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 SUBHASH PARIHAR
506

Fig. 16. Mosque 9: Mosque at Talanian.

SparOuxr

Fig. 17. Mosque 9: Mosque at Talanian, plan and section.

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HISTORICAL MOSQUES OF SIRHIND 5Q7

11111111^^
Fig. 18. Mosque 10: The smallest mosque in Rauzah Sharif.

^j*- - ?
Fig. 19. Mosque 10: The smallest mosque in Rauz

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 c-Qg SUBHASH PARIHAR

<> .-.ji!^ i'^' ^^^^^^^^^^

Fig. 20. Mosque 11: Smaller mosque at Mir Miran.

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HISTORICAL MOSQUES OF SIRHIND

Fig. 21. Mosque 11: Smaller mosque at Mir Miran, plan and section.

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 SUBHASH PARIHAR
510

Fig. 23. Mosque 12: Larger mosque at Mir Miran, plan and section.

4& $ ?

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