Mosques are some of the most significant religious buildings in the world, and they serve as a place of worship and community gathering for Muslims worldwide. Here are 20 of the largest mosques in the world:
20. Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem
The Al-Aqsa Mosque, located in the Old City of Jerusalem, is an Islamic holy place. It is also known as Al-Aqsa. The mosque is part of the site referred to as al-Haram ash-Sharif or the “Sacred Noble Sanctuary,” also known as the Temple Mount. This site is considered the holiest place in Judaism and is where the First and Second Temples are believed to have stood.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is widely regarded as the third holiest site in Islam. According to Islamic tradition, the prophet Muhammad was transported from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to Al-Aqsa during the Night Journey. Muslims believe that Muhammad led prayers toward this site until God ordered him to turn toward the Ka’aba.
Ranked as the twentieth largest mosque in the world, Al-Aqsa is a significant religious and cultural landmark. It serves as a symbol of the rich history and traditions of the Islamic faith. Visitors can explore the mosque’s intricate architecture and learn about its cultural significance.
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. Muslims often refer to the mosque by its Arabic name, Masjid. The mosque serves as a place where Muslims can come together for prayer as well as a center for information, education, and dispute settlement. This post features the top 20 largest mosques in the world, hope you will like our effort.
19. Masjid e Tooba (Gol Masjid), Karachi, Pakistan
The Masjid e Tooba or Tooba Mosque is in Karachi, Pakistan. Locally it’s known as the Gol Masjid. It’s the nineteenth largest mosque globally, and it was built in 1969 by the Defense Housing Society. The mosque is a significant tourist attraction located just off the main Korangi Road. It’s often claimed to be the largest single-dome mosque globally, built with pure white marble.
The dome of the Masjid e Tooba is 72 meters (236 feet) in diameter and sits on a low surrounding wall without central pillars. There’s a single minaret standing 70 meters high. The central prayer hall can accommodate 5,000 people, designed with acoustics in mind. A speaker inside one end of the dome can be heard at the other end. Pakistani architect Dr. Babar Hamid Chauhan designed the mosque.
18. Al Fateh Mosque (Bahrain Grand Mosque)
The Al-Fateh Mosque, also known as the Al-Fateh Islamic Center and Al Fateh Grand Mosque, is one of the 18 largest mosques globally and can hold over 7,000 worshippers. It’s the biggest place of worship in Bahrain, situated next to the King Faisal Highway in Juffair. Juffair is a town in the capital city of Manama. The mosque is quite close to the Royal Bahraini Palace, which is the home of the King of Bahrain, Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah. The enormous dome atop the Al-Fatih Mosque is made entirely of fiberglass.
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17. Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Istanbul
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is a historical mosque situated in Istanbul. Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and was once the capital of the Ottoman Empire from 1453 to 1923. People call the mosque the Blue Mosque due to the blue tiles that decorate its interior walls. Its construction took place between 1609 and 1616, during the reign of Ahmed I.
The mosque features a founder’s tomb, a madrasah, and a hospice, like many other mosques. Besides being a place of worship, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque is also a famous tourist destination. It ranks as the seventeenth largest mosque globally and remains operational for prayers.
16. Grozny Central Dome Mosque
The Grozny Central Dome Mosque, also known as Akhmad Kadyrov Mosque, is located in Chechnya’s capital city, Grozny. It was opened in 2008, with a capacity of around 10,000 people. The design of the mosque is based on the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, and has minarets that reach a height of 60 meters, making it the sixteenth largest mosque globally and one of the biggest in Europe. During the opening ceremony, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin were present.
15. Baitul Futuh Mosque
Baitul Futuh Mosque is situated in Morden, a suburb of South-west London, and is the largest mosque in Western Europe, with a capacity of 10,000 people. The mosque complex, built-in 2003 at a cost of £5.5 million, was entirely funded by donations from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. It is located adjacent to Morden South railway station, just 150 yards from the Morden Underground, and covers an area of 5.2 acres (21,000 m2).
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13. Masjid Negara, Malaysia
The Masjid Negara in Kuala Lumpur is Malaysia’s national mosque, spread over 13 acres (53,000 m2) of gardens, with a capacity of 15,000 people. The mosque has a 73-meter-high minaret, and the main roof has an 18-pointed star concrete design, with the umbrella being featured conspicuously. It is the thirteenth largest mosque globally.
12. Id Kah Mosque, China
The Id Kah Mosque is situated in Kashgar, Xinjiang, which is in western China. It is the largest mosque in China and the twelfth largest in the world. On Fridays, the mosque accommodates nearly 10,000 worshippers and can hold up to 20,000. The mosque was built by Saqsiz Mirza in approximately 1442, and it covers 16,800 square meters, incorporating older structures dating back to 996.
11. Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Oman
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is located in Oman and is the eleventh-largest mosque in the world. It was commissioned in 1992 by Sultan Qaboos, and the construction work, undertaken by Carillion Alawi LLC, took six years and four months. The dome of the mosque rises to a height of fifty meters above the floor, with the main minaret and four flanking minarets being the mosque’s primary visual features.
10. Baitul Mukarram, Bangladesh
Baitul Mukarram is the national mosque of Bangladesh and is situated in the heart of Dhaka, the country’s capital. The mosque was founded during the 1960s and has a capacity of 30,000 worshippers. It is the tenth largest mosque in the world, but it frequently gets overcrowded, especially during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
9. Jama Masjid, Delhi, India
Jama Masjid, which is also known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is situated in Old Delhi in India. The mosque was built in 1656 AD by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who is famous for constructing the Taj Mahal. It is the biggest and most renowned mosque in India and ranks as the ninth-largest mosque in the world. The courtyard of the mosque can accommodate up to twenty-five thousand worshippers.
8. Sheikh Zayed Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Mosque is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates and is located in Abu Dhabi. It is the world’s ninth-largest mosque and is named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates’ founder and first President. The mosque was inaugurated in 2007 during the Islamic month of Ramadan.
7. Badshahi Mosque, Lahore, Pakistan
The Badshahi Mosque, also known as the Emperor’s Mosque, is located in Lahore, Pakistan. It is the seventh-largest mosque in the world and the second-largest mosque in Pakistan and South Asia. Built-in 1673, the Badshahi Mosque was once the largest mosque in the world for more than three centuries, until the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad was completed in 1986. The main prayer hall of the mosque has a capacity to accommodate 10,000 worshippers, while its courtyard and porticoes can hold up to 100,000 more.
6. Faisal Mosque, Islamabad, Pakistan
The Faisal Mosque is in Islamabad, Pakistan, and is the largest mosque in Pakistan and South Asia, ranking sixth in the world. It served as the largest mosque in the world from 1986 to 1993.
5. The Hassan II Mosque
The Hassan II Mosque is the largest mosque in Morocco, located in Casablanca, and the fifth largest mosque in the world. Designed by French architect Michel Pinseau, it stands on a promontory overlooking the Atlantic, with a capacity of 105,000 worshippers. Its minaret is the tallest in the world at 210 m (689 ft).
4. Istiqlal Mosque
The Istiqlal Mosque located in Jakarta, Indonesia, has the highest capacity to accommodate people among all mosques in Southeast Asia. It was built to commemorate Indonesian independence and named “Istiqlal,” an Arabic word for “Independence.” It is the fourth-largest mosque in the world, in terms of building structure and land coverage.
3. Imam Reza Shrine
Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, Iran, is the third-largest mosque in the world, known for its complex, which includes a mausoleum, mosque, museum, library, and other buildings. It is a significant site for Shia Muslims, containing the mausoleum of ImÄm Ridha, the eighth Imam of Twelver Shi’ites.
2. Al-Masjid al-Nabawi
Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in the city of Medina, Saudi Arabia, is the second holiest site in Islam and the second largest mosque in the world. As the final resting place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, it is considered sacred by both Shia and Sunni Muslims.
1. Masjid al-Haram, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
The Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is the largest mosque in the world and surrounds the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest place. It has a total area of 4,008,020 square meters (990.40 acres) and can house up to four million Muslim pilgrims during the Hajj season.
source: Wikipedia
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