Aqsa Mosque, Rabwah


The Masjid-e-Aqsa or Rabwah mosque in Rabwah is the largest mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Pakistan. Its foundation stone was laid down in 1966 and the building's inauguration took place on March 31, 1972. This is the main mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Rabwah which can accommodate more than 18,500 worshippers.

History

The design was prepared by Abdul Rashid, at the behest of Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad. It was desired the Prayers in Rabwah should be offered at one Central place. The construction blueprint was already prepared in hіs tenure, but because of the Caliph being not well, the foundation cоuld not be laid down by him. On 28 October 1966 Mirza Nasir Ahmad, third Caliph of the Community laid the foundation stone of the place. The place was opened in March 1972.

Construction and design

The column-free main hall is 1,650 square meters in size. 650 m² of floor are reserved for women and the remaining 1000 m² are reserved for men. The design was said to be inspired by the Badshahi Mosque. Together with the 3,700 m² large compound, the mosque can accommodate up to 18,500 worshippers.
The construction cost, of approximately 1.3 million Rupees was completely born by one Bani Muhammad Siddique, on his request, his name was not published till his death.