Makkah Masjid, Hyderabad

This article is about a mosque in Hyderabad, India. For the Grand Mosque in Mecca, see Masjid al-Haram.

Makkah Masjid
Makkah Masjid, photographed by Lala Deen Dayal in the 1880's/
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Mosque
Location
Location	Hyderabad
State	Telangana
Country	India
Geographic coordinates	17.360305°N 78.473416°E / 17.360305; 78.473416
Architecture
Style	Indo-Islamic architecture
Completed	1694
Specifications
Capacity	20,000
Length	67 m
Width	54 m
Height (max)	23 m
Materials	granite

Makkah Masjid or Mecca Masjid, is a congregational mosque in Hyderabad, India. It is one of the largest mosques in India with a capacity of 20,000. The mosque was built between the 16th and 17th centuries, and is a state-protected monument situated in the heart of the old city of Hyderabad, close to the historic landmarks of Charminar, Chowmahalla Palace and Laad Bazaar.

Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the fifth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, commissioned bricks to be made from the soil brought from Mecca, the holiest site of Islam, and used them in the construction of the central arch of the mosque, thus giving the mosque its name. It formed the centerpiece around which the city was planned by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah.

History and construction

Makkah Masjid was built during the reign of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the fifth Qutb Shahi Sultan of Golconda (now Hyderabad). The three arched facades have been carved from a single piece of granite, which took five years to quarry. More than 8,000 workers were employed to build the mosque. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah personally laid the foundation stone and constructed it. The construction was abandoned after the death of the Emperor.

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, a French explorer, in his travelogue observed:

"It is about 50 years since they began to build a splendid pagoda in the town which will be the grandest in all India when it is completed. The size of the stone is the subject of special accomplishment, and that of a niche, which is its place for prayer, is an entire rock of such enormous size that they spent five years in quarrying it, and 500 to 600 men were employed continually on its work. It required still more time to roll it up on to conveyance by which they brought it to the pagoda; and they took 1400 oxen to draw it."

Makkah Masjid minaret

During the rule of the Nizams of Hyderabad, the Nizams (except for the first and last) were buried in the mosque.

Bombing

Main article: Mecca Masjid bombing

On 18 May 2007, a bomb exploded inside the Makkah Masjid during Friday prayers, killing at least thirteen people and injuring dozens more.

Graves in the Makkah Masjid

Tombs

The entrance to the courtyard is one of the mosque's most striking features with a rectangular, arched, and canopied building that houses the marble graves of the Asaf Jahi dynasty rulers. This structure was created during the rule of the Asaf Jah rulers. It contains the tombs of all Asaf Jahi rulers except the 1st and the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, who is buried in Judi Mosque opposite King Kothi Palace

At both ends of this resting place for the Asaf Jahi's are two rectangular blocks with four minarets each. These minarets have elegant and circular balconies with low ornamental walls and arches. Above them is an octagonal inverted platter from which the rest of the minarets soar until arrested by a dome and a spire.