Mecca Masjid - Late 19th Century

Mecca Masjid - Now

Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad, India is one of the oldest and the biggest masjids in India. Muhammed Quli Qutub Shah, the 6th Sultan of Hyderabad began building it in 1617 under the supervision of Mir Faizullah Baig and Rangiah Choudhary. The work continued during the reign of Abdullah Qutub Shah and Abul Hassan Tana Shah and was completed in 1694 by the Moghal Emperor Aurangzeb. It took about 8000 masons and 77 years to be completed. Hyderabad (హైదరాబాదు in Telugu, حیدر آباد in Urdu), the 5th largest metropolis of India [1], is the capital of the present day State of Andhra Pradesh. ... Sultan Quli Qutb Mulk (also transliterated in different ways) (? - 1543) was the founder of the Qutb Shahi dynasty which ruled the kingdom of Golconda in southern India from 1518 to 1687. ... Abu Muzaffar Muhiuddin Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir (Persian: ابو مظفر محی الدین محمد اورنگزیب علام گیر) (November 3, 1618 – March 3, 1707), usually known as Aurangzeb, but also sometimes as Alamgir I, was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1658 until 1707. ...

This mosque stands 100 yards southwest of the Charminar and is believed to be comprised of bricks brought from Mecca, which were built into the central arch and hence the name. The hall of the mosque is about 75 feet high, 220 feet wide and 180 feet long, each of the two octagonal columns on either side are made out of a single piece of granite, which took five years to quarry. The courtyard houses a large pond flanked by slab seats. Legend has it that a visitor who sits on one of these seats will definitely return to Hyderabad. The mosque is also said to contain sacred relics, one of which is the hair of Prophet Muhammad. Charminar is a monument located in the City of Hyderabad which is the capital city of the State of Andhra Pradesh in South India. ... This article is about the holy city in Saudi Arabia. ... Muhammad (Arabic محمد, also transliterated Mohammad, Mohammed, and formerly Mahomet, following the Latin) is revered by Muslims as the final prophet of God. ...

It is said that when the foundation stone was being laid, Sultan Muhammad Qutub Shah invited all the religious elders of the city and announced that the foundation stone will be laid by one who had never missed his prayers. None came forward, therefore Sultan Muhammad himself laid the foundation for he had never missed a prayer since the age of 12.

The Mecca masjid is a listed heritage building but lack of maintenance and ever growing pollution has withered and cracked the structure. It received a chemical wash in 1995. To prevent further damage to this beautiful structure, the Chandrababu Naidu government made Charminar a "Traffic Free Zone" in August, 2001 Nara Chandrababu Naidu Nara Chandrababu Naidu (born April 20, 1951) was the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh during 1995-2004. ...