Masjid Wazir Khan
Published: 07/11/2009
The Masjid of Wazir Khan, the chief ornament of the city of Lahore, is an architectural monuments of surpassing beauty and elegance. It is entirely covered with arabesque painting and lacquered tiles, and the inlaid pottery decorations and paneling of the walls are as vivid and glowing, as bright and perfect, as ever. The panels of pottery are set in hard mortar, and the leaves and flowers, trees and goblets, which decorate the exterior of the walls, are detached pieces of pots or tile, so fitted together as to represent painted work, though they are strictly inlay. The decorations are masterpieces of the art of painting. They are true fresco painting, and , as observed by Mr. Thornton, the buono fresco of the Italians. Students of the art of painting are often seen copying these decorations on the spot, as a sort of exercise, which is proof of the high skill and taste of the artists who designed the work. The appearance of life and freshness in the variety and profusion of the coloring, as also the excellence and richness of the design, render these decorations the admiration of the spectator.
The style of the building is Perso-Moghal, though the founder was a native of the Punjab. The mosque is situated on a raised platform, and is reached by a flight of steps to the east. It is divided into dive compartments each opening upon a spacious court-yard, and surmounted by a dome, the center one, like the middle archway, being much larger and higher than the two on either side of it. At each corner of the quadrangle is a minaret of great height, with a gallery round it, from which a minaret of great height, with a gallery round it, from which a magnificent view of the city and suburbs is obtained. A reservoir in the middle of the court-yard of the cathedral supplies water for the ablutions of the faithful who resort to it.
The mosque was founded in 1044 A.H. or 1634 A.D., by Sheikh Ilm-ud-din Ansari, son of Sheikh Abdul Latif, son of Sheikh Hisam-ud-din a native of Chiniot, in the Jhang district, who rose to the rank f Minister in the reign of Shah Jahan, receiving the command of 70000 and the title of Wazir Khan. According to the Badshah-nama of Mulla Abdul Hamid, Lahorei, Ilm-ud-din, after learning Arabic, became the pupil of Hakim Dawi in medicine. He entered the service of Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan), while the latter was still a prince, and became his household Diwan. Subsequently, he became Superintendent of the royal kitchen and was afterwards created a Diwan under the Prince. The was so much pleased with the Hakim’s devotion to duty and his superior qualifications, that, soon after ascending the throne, he raised him to the dignity of Viceroy of the Punjab. He was the physician royal, and treated the members of the royal household with a success which tended to raise him greatly in the estimation of his royal master.
Masjid Wazir Khan
