the great mosque of cordoba, the mosque at Cordoba, the mosque of cordoba, the mosque-cathedral of cordoba, the mezquita of cordoba, masjid e qurtaba, masjid e qurtaba iqbal

The Mosque of Cordoba: The Caliph hired himself


Spain was ruled by Muslims for 800 years. In the history books, the country is known as Andalusia, while in modern times it is known as Spain. Cordoba is the capital of the Spanish state of Andalusia. It is an honor to have such charming and charming buildings built here in the golden age of Muslims that amaze the viewers. The ascension of architecture in these buildings is a symbol of small sophistication and purity. The credit for the construction of the Cordoba Mosque goes to the Umayyad Caliph Amir Abdul Rahman I, known as Abd al-Ramān al-Dākhil, who started the construction in 784.

Location of the Mosque:

The Mosque of Cordoba is located on the site of an ancient bridge over the river in the Al-Kabeer Valley, where there used to be an idol-house in the days of the Roman pagans. The church was built. The Muslims divided the church into two parts, one for worship and the other for a mosque. The mosque of Cordoba was built. The location of the mosque is in front of Qasr Khilafah and around Qasr Khilafah there are palaces of the caliph's family which are adorned with gardens and a big wall was built around them. The plan of the mosque was prepared by Caliph Abdul Rahman Al-Dakhil himself. It is said that the caliph himself worked for some time alongside the daily laborers.

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Construction and Expansion of the Mosque:

It was basically a rectangular-shaped mosque, the walls of which were made of very precious and rare stones, while the whole floor was adorned with marble, and the roof was adorned with a fine pattern of fine art carvings. Precious and rare stones brought from different parts of the world were used. These pillars were made of high precious and rare marble. The roof of the mosque is about thirty feet above the ground.

After the death of Abd al-Rahman al-Dakhil, his son Hisham I continued the construction of the Mosque of Cordoba. Significant work was done in the decoration, the charm of the mosque was such that people used to come from far and wide to visit it.

Al-Hakam Sani ordered the immediate expansion of the mosque as soon as he ascended the throne on 15th October, 921. This extension was also towards Qibla. The central mihrab was also rebuilt. A dome was also built. The last extension was made between 987 and 990. It took place during the reign of Muhammad Abi Amir alias Al-Mansur.



Construction of the Church in place of the Mosque:

Despite acknowledging the rarity of the mosque, a church was built in the middle of the mosque in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, distorting its status and hurting the feelings of Muslims. So now the whole building is considered by Christians to be basically a church and not a mosque. The official name of this building is "Masjid Church of Cordoba".

When the armies of the Christian ruler King Fernando III occupied Cordoba in 1234, the minaret of this rare mosque was crucified and given the status of a regular church, and regular worship began only a week later. In the 16th century, Bishop Al-Sumanrick ordered the mosque to be turned into a cathedral. Although the Christian circles themselves disliked the bishop's move, the demolition continued as directed by the bishop. According to some traditions, seeing the beauty of the mosque, he said with shock and anger, "If I had known about this rare existence in advance, I would never have allowed it to be demolished." Then he addressed the priests directly and said, "You have ruined a rare thing which cannot be replaced. You have built a church in its place. Such churches are found everywhere."

After the conquest, the verses inscribed on the arches and walls of the Mosque of Cordoba were covered with plaster. This situation persisted for hundreds of years until the Renaissance began in Europe. The Mosque of Cordoba was handed over to the Archaeological Department by the Christian monks. Fortunately, when the archaeologists removed the layers of plaster, fortunately the Quranic verses began to appear again in a safe condition. The carvings on the roofs were still there.

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Appeal for Muslims to worship in the Mosque:

In December 2006, the Islamic Board of Muslims in Spain, in a letter to the Pope, demanded that the Mosque of Cordoba be a great place of worship for Muslims for centuries and that it be a sacred place for the entire Islamic world. We want to set an untouchable example by sending a message of goodwill to the Christian world by worshiping together with all religions, not by requesting the surrender of this great place of worship, which the Spanish Catholic Church refused to allow.

Allama Iqbal and the Mosque of Cordoba:

When the mosque of Cordoba is mentioned, the name of Hazrat Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the poet of the East, comes to mind. He was inspired by the mosque of Cordoba and wrote poems. When the Sahib entered the mosque, he wished that the Nawafil of Tahita-ul-Masjid should be performed in the mosque. So he went to get permission from the priest. As soon as he left, Allama Sahib made the intention and paid the Nawafil before the caretaker came back. (Zikr Iqbal)