MOTI MASJID

INTRODUCTION
● When we say Moti Masjid
(Pearl Mosque), the first
image that comes to our mind
is the small box-shaped
mosque inside the Red Fort,
which we never get to see
from inside.

● But fact is that the last

Mughal Emperors built
another Moti Masjid in
Mehrauli. These mosques
were built as the private
chapel of the emperor and his
family.
 HISTORY
● The mosque was built
by the Mughal
emperor Aurangzeb at
the Red Fort complex
in Delhi, India, from
1659-1660 for his 2nd
wife Nawab Bai. The
mosque was also used
by the ladies of
the Zenana. The
mosque was
constructed at a cost
of Rs. 160,000.
 HISTORY
● The Moti Masjid of Red Fort was built by
Aurangzeb. He did not miss his prayers and the
Jama Masjid (merely 600 mts. from Badshahi Gate
of Red Fort) was probably too far for him. So he
commissioned his own private mosque and
decorated it with nice white marble.

● this mosque had golden domes but they were

severely damaged during the mutiny of 1857. This
mosque was built at a cost of 160,000 in 1659 AD.
It is situated to the west of Hammam. The female
of harem were also allowed to attend prayers in it.
FEATURES
● The main entrance on eastern
side has a small door with
decorative copper plates nailed
to it. There was originally a
door in the northern wall for
women, but during the repairs
after 1857, it was closed.
● Archaeologists at that time
were not able to restore the
original domes with their
Copper plates, but did good
work restoring the Pietra
Dura (embossed artwork on
walls). It also has a small
ablution pond in the centre of
courtyard.
 FEATURES
● The mosque is plastered
in white on the outside.
Inside is the white
marble courtyard and a
prayer hall, which stands
on a higher level than
the courtyard.
● The floor of the prayer-
hall is inlaid with
outlines of small carpets
for prayers (musalla) in
black marble.
 DUPLICATE

● Another small mosque by the same name

was built for private prayer by Aurangzeb's
son, the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah I(r.
1707-1712), close to the Ajmere Gate of
the Dargah of Sufi saint Qutbuddin Bakhtiar
Kaki, which is located in Mehrauli at
the Jahaz Mahal. It is an imitation of the
one inside the Red Fort.
A
U
R
A
N
G
Z
E
B
EMPEROR OF INDIA
 GENERAL
● Aurangzeb, also spelled
Aurangzib, kingly title
ʿĀlamgīr, original name
Muḥī al-Dīn Muḥammad,
(born November 3, 1618,
Dhod, Malwa, died March
3, 1707), emperor of India
from 1658 to 1707, the last
of the great Mughal
emperors.
● Under him the Mughal
Empire reached its greatest
extent, although his policies
helped lead to its
dissolution.
 BEGINNING
● Aurangzeb was the third son of the emperor Shah
Jahān and Mumtāz Maḥal (for whom the Taj Mahal
was built). He grew up as a serious-minded and
devout youth, wedded to the Muslim orthodoxy of
the day and free from the royal Mughal traits of
sensuality and drunkenness.

● He showed signs of military and administrative

ability early; these qualities, combined with a taste
for power, brought him into rivalry with his eldest
brother, the brilliant and volatile Dārā Shikōh, who
was designated by their father as his successor to the
throne.
● He was very fond of
pomp and grandeur,
which was evident in
the marriage
celebration of his
daughter Dilrus to
Aurangzeb.
 LIFE
● Aurangzeb’s reign falls into two almost equal parts.
In the first, which lasted until about 1680, he was a
capable Muslim monarch of a mixed Hindu-Muslim
empire and as such was generally disliked for his
ruthlessness but feared and respected for his vigour
and skill.

● After about 1680, Aurangzeb’s reign underwent a

change of both attitude and policy. The pious ruler of
an Islamic state replaced the seasoned statesman of
a mixed kingdom; Hindus became subordinates, not
colleagues, and the Marathas, like the southern
Muslim kingdoms, were marked for annexation
rather than containment.
REALISTIC RENDER
 GENERAL
● In general, Aurangzeb ruled as a militant
orthodox Sunni Muslim; he put through
increasingly puritanical ordinances that were
vigorously enforced by muḥtasibs, or censors of
morals.

● The Muslim confession of faith, for instance,

was removed from all coins lest it be defiled by
unbelievers, and courtiers were forbidden to
salute in the Hindu fashion. In addition, Hindu
idols, temples, and shrines were often
destroyed.
MOTI MASJID OF ZAFAR
MAHAL MEHRAULI
INTRODUCTION
● The Moti Masjid of
Zafar Mahal in
Mehrauli is not as
beautiful or as big as
the mosque of Red
Fort. But it serves the
same purpose of
offering a place to offer
prayers to the royal
family. It has similar
three dome structure
and have marble
patterns
on Mussallas(Praying
Mat) on floor.
 FEATURES
● The dome with stairs in
this picture is of the
Dargah Sharif and the
triple marble domes are
of the Moti Masjid. This
pic shows the distance
between the Mosque
and the Dargah.
● On the lower right
corner of picture, we
can see the sardgah, the
enclosure containing
graves of Emperor
Akbar Shah II
FEATURES
● This palace (Zafar Mahal)
was built adjoining
Dargah of Hazrat Kaki,
when Akbar Shah II
started the famous Sair-e-
Gulfarosha’N
(Phoolwalo’N ki sair)
festival of Delhi.
● Royal family along with
other nobles from Red
Fort used to stay in this
palace during the 7 days
of festivities.