A special ‘sacred’ brick, made of black soil and bearing ‘aayats’ (couplets from the holy Quran) in gold would be brought all the way from Mecca to lay the foundation of the Ayodhya mosque, to be named after Mohammed Bin Abdullah.
Office-bearers of the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF), the trust formed by the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board (UPSCWB) to oversee the construction of the mosque on the five-acre land allocated in lieu of Babri Mosque in Ayodhya’s Dhannipur village, said the brick is already on its way, being brought by a few office-bearers from Mecca. It would reach Ayodhya by April after which the much-awaited construction of the mosque would start.
“It’s Allah’s work; nothing is better than starting his work from his own will and from the holiest city of Islam. Hence, we decided to start our journey from Mecca itself, I took the freshly baked brick from Maharashtra to Mecca, gave it a ‘gusl’ (full ablution) by Zam Zam water. We then took the brick to Madina Sharif and gave it another ‘gusl’ with Itra and offered prayers,” Haji Arafat Sheikh, the chief of the mosque development committee and a member of the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF), told News18.
On February 2, the brick was brought back to Maharashtra. “Then, the brick would be taken to Ajmer Sharif and after offering prayers it would be taken to Ayodhya. We are still planning how to taken the brick to Ayodhya, some people are saying to take it on foot, which will take 30 days, while some are saying to take it by road or take it by train since there will be thousands of people who would be accompanying us on our journey to Ayodhya,” said Sheikh.
He said the entire journey would be planned in a way that the brick reaches Ayodhya by April so that the foundation of the mosque could be laid.
After the grand consecration ceremony of Lord Ram’s idol and the inauguration of the much-awaited Ram Temple, Uttar Pradesh’s temple town Ayodhya would witness the construction of Mohammed Bin Abdullah mosque from April 2024.
As per the new blueprint of the mosque, it will be the country’s first mosque with five minarets soaring to a height of 340 feet. The minarets will highlight the five tenets of Islam – Shahada (declaration of faith), Salah (prayer or Namaz), Sawm (fasting or Roza), Zakat (charity) and Hajj.
The entire mosque has been divided into two parts – the basement area and the ground floor. The basement area is a multipurpose hall, whereas the ground floor will have an expansive Namaz Hall with the capacity to accommodate more than 9,000 Namazis at a time. There will be five entries to the Namaaz Hall and it will be solely meant for offering prayers. There are also special arrangements for women Namazis.
Central Waqf Board officials further said that the towering minarets, with interior staircases and a small window, will be an essential part of the new design of the mosque. Domes, another essential feature of Islamic architecture, will be a part of the proposed mosque as per the new design. Officials said that the mosque would be a major attraction among tourists too since it will house the world’s largest Quran measuring 21 feet by 36 feet, a grand aquarium or underwater zoo will be another unique feature.
The aquarium will be bigger than Dubai’s famous aquarium and will house more than 400 species of aquatic animals. The design of the mosque, a grand library and other features will make Mohammed Bin Abdullah mosque a major attraction. The minarets are being designed in such a way that the Azaan would trigger a fountain from all five minarets.
Other than the mosque, the entire complex would also house a grand pure vegetarian kitchen, 500-bed multi-speciality hospital that would offer free cancer treatment. It would also have a law college, engineering college, dental college, architectural college and an international school in order to spread education in society.
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