Wazir Khan Mosque
- The Wazir Khan Musjid, a 17th-century Mughal Musjid, is situated in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Commissioned during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan, it was part of a complex that included the Shahi Hammam baths. Construction of the Musjid commenced in 1634 and concluded in 1641.
- It is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.
Celebrated as the most ornately decorated Mughal-era Musjid, the Wazir Khan Musjid is distinguished by its intricate faience tile work, known as kashi-kari, and its interior, which is almost entirely adorned with elaborate Mughal-era frescoes. Since 2009, the Musjid has been undergoing extensive restoration led by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the Government of Punjab, with financial support from Germany, Norway, and the United States. - Nestled in the Walled City of Lahore, the Musjid is located along the southern side of Lahore’s Shahi Guzargah, or “Royal Road,” the historic route used by Mughal nobles traveling to the Lahore Fort. It is about 260 meters west of the Delhi Gate, near the Shahi Hammam. The Musjid faces Wazir Khan Chowk and the Chitta Gate and includes the shrine of Saint Sakhi Saif Souf.
- The Musjid was commissioned by Hakeem Ilam-ud-din Ansari, known by his royal title of Wazir Khan, who was the chief physician to the Mughal Court. He later became the subahdar, or Viceroy, of Punjab and was responsible for several monuments in Lahore. Wazir Khan owned significant property near the Delhi Gate and commissioned the Musjid in 1634 to enclose the tomb of Miran Badshah, an esteemed Sufi saint whose tomb now lies in the Musjid’s courtyard. Before the Musjid’s construction, the site contained an older shrine to the saint.
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The Musjid’s interior features rich frescoes that combine Mughal and local decorative traditions, while its exterior is lavishly adorned with intricate Persian-style kashi-kari tile work. The Wazir Khan Musjid succeeded the older Maryam Zamani Musjid as Lahore’s primary Musjid for congregational Friday prayers.
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Wazir Khan’s Musjid was part of a larger complex, the Musjid included a row of shops traditionally reserved for calligraphers and bookbinders, as well as the town square in front of its main entrance. It also leased space to other merchants along its northern and eastern façades and operated the nearby Shahi Hammam. Revenues from these sources were intended to serve as a waqf, or endowment, for the Musjid’s upkeep.
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Construction began under Emperor Shah Jahan in either 1634 or 1635 and was completed in approximately seven years. In the late 1880s, John Lockwood Kipling, father of Rudyard Kipling, documented the Musjid and its decorative elements in the Journal of Indian Art. By 1903, British scholar Fred Henry Andrews reported that the Musjid had fallen into disrepair.
