Inside Lahore’s Moti Masjid

Visitors cover marble walls of mosque with messages and prayers

LAHORE: Visitors from all over the country, especially women, visit the Moti Masjid of Lahore Fort to offer prayers and write their wishes on the walls, as part of a ritual.

Religious scholars say the practice of writing messages on the mosque’s walls is misguided and prayers can be offered anywhere in the world. Officials of the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) say they do not prevent visitors from praying in the mosque but bar them from writing on the walls.

Hundreds of people visit the royal Lahore Fort every day to explore the heritage, many of whom offer prayers in the Moti Masjid. Some people believe that jinn are present in the old mosque but they do not bother anyone.

Those who visit the mosque write their wishes and prayers on the walls with the hope that they would be fulfilled.

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People who offer prayers in Moti Masjid leave their prayer mats and other items at the mosque. Umm-e-Rabab, a woman visiting the mosque, said her family belongs to the provincial capital and they were facing financial problems. She said an elderly person had suggested that she should pray at the mosques for easing of difficulties faced by her family. She claimed that after her family prayed at the mosque, their circumstances got better.

Another woman named Rabia Ali, who was at the mosque with a friend, said she had read about Moti Masjid on social media and was afraid to visit the place. However, after seeing other visitors entering the mosque, she also stepped inside.

Abdul Rashid, an elderly visitor, said he often comes to the mosque, offers prayers and cleans it. He claimed that he had seen the jinn in the mosque.

Many visitors, especially women, are also seen taking guidance from such elders.

A leading religious scholar and member of the Council of Islamic Ideology, Mufti Dr Raghib Naeemi, said prayers can be offered anywhere, for which there is no need to visit Moti Masjid specifically. He said the community believed in jinn but the rumours about Moti Masjid were fabricated stories.

A former director of the Lahore Fort, Afzal Khan, commented that it is ignorance of the people to believe in myths about the mosque. “Many years ago, an elderly figure mentioned the existence of jinn in a magazine.” Since then, people started visiting the mosque and most of them are women, he added. “Women visit the place, sometimes without their relatives, and seek permission to stay a few hours in the mosque.”

He further said that the administration used to face problems as people had damaged the walls. “Until recently, there were also candles and lamps that were lit by the people coming here but now that practice is restricted as the historic mosque's marble walls were being damaged.”

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According to a WCLA official, this historic mosque of the royal fort was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. “Its construction began in 1630 and was completed in 1635. The mosque has three domes and contains five shrines.”

When Sikhs rulers occupied Lahore after the downfall of Mughal rule, Ranjit Singh ordered royal treasure to be placed in Moti Masjid, the official added. “The looted valuables and annual collections were kept here. For this purpose, the doors of the mosque were shut with strong wooden planks and large locks were placed on them.”

A roof was constructed on the front lounge of the open hall of the mosque and a room was built for security guards, he further said. “However, during the British era, Moti Masjid was handed back to the Muslims and now prayers are held here regularly.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 21^st, 2020.