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Sonehri Masjid
The Sonehri Masjid, or the golden mosque of Nawab Bhikari Khan, in the Kashmiri Bazar, stands on a masonry platform, about a storey above the level of the road, which it overlooks.It is a remarkably handsome and elegant building, and with smallness of size combines perfect symmetry of form. The original covered entrance is to the south, and the stone steps lead to the court of the mosque; but a new gateway, facing the main street recently opened to the east, has contributed much to its and the commanding and the picturesque position it enjoys. The mosque is built throughout of masonry, and the three arched entrances is a parapet of small, narrow open arches, sumounted by a row of small ornamental gilt domes. In the middle of the court-yard is a tank, or cistern filled with water for the ablutions of the congregation. The founder of the mosque was Nawab Syad Bhikari Khan, son of Raushan-ud-din Turrabaz Khan, deputy governor of Lahore, during the reign of Muhammad Shah, and the viceroyalty of Mir Moin-ul-Mulk, alias Mir Mannu, the gallant opponent of the Durrani Ahmad Shah. He built the mosque in 1753 A.D.He was a handsome young man, well-versed in the Mahomedan law, and of pious and amiable disposition.
The mosque was taken possession of by the Akalis in the time of
the Sikhs. They plastered
the floor with cow-dung and placed the Granth, or Sikh holy scriptures,
in it.The Mohammedans asked Fakirs Aziz-ud-din and Nur-ud-din to
intercede in their behalf with the Maharaja for the restoration of the
mosque.Through the good
offices of the worthy Fakirs, backed by Gullu, Mashki, the favorite water-carrier,
who exercised much personal influence over Ranjit Singh, the Maharaja
restored the mosque to the Mohammedans, on condition that the calls to
prayers were not, to be made loudly, and the income of the shops attached
to the Masjid was to be appropriated by the Darbar.The British Government most graciously restored these shops to
the Mohammedans, on the recommendation of Captain Nisbet, Deputy
Commissioner, to whom the people owe a debt of deep gratitude for this
and many other measures of public good and utility adopted by him. On a slab of marble inserted over the eastern gateway is inscribed the following Arabic passage:- O Bhik my heart is in the mosque and thou hast thy abode in it. On the top of central arches the following passage from the Koran is inscribed on a slab of marble:- O my people who have committed sins in their worldly life, despair not of God mercy he shall forgive all your sins for He is forgiving and Merciful. |
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