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1. Protected mosque (Masjid al-Haram) in Mecca

4. Independence Mosque (Masjid Istiklal) in Jakarta

The Indonesian Independence Mosque or Istiklal is the largest mosque in Southeast Asia. In 1949, Indonesia gained independence, and in order to perpetuate this event, it was decided to build such a large religious building in the capital of the state. The construction of the mosque began in 1961. The temple accommodates about 120 thousand worshipers.

5. Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca

Located in the largest Moroccan city of Casablanca, the Hassan II Mosque impresses not only with its huge size, but also with its beauty. Directly from the huge glass hall of the building offers a magnificent view of the Atlantic Ocean. Note that the mosque can accommodate 105 thousand people. The area of ​​the temple is about 9 hectares. Interesting fact: all 800 million dollars spent on the construction of the mosque are voluntary donations.

6. Badshahi Mosque in Lahore

The Badshahi Mosque was built in the middle of the 17th century in the Pakistani city of Lahore by order of the last ruler of the Mughal dynasty. The mosque is built on a high platform that rises above the old city. The dimensions of the courtyard of the mosque are 159 × 527 m. The mosque has eight minarets: four at the corners of the prayer hall and the same number at the corners of the wall surrounding the mosque. The height of the outer minarets is 62 meters. The main entrance opens into a vast, brick-paved courtyard that can accommodate up to 60,000 worshippers.

7. Al Saleh Mosque in Sana'a

The Al Saleh Mosque is the main and largest mosque in the capital of Yemen - Sana'a. The temple was erected by order of the country's first president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, mostly with his personal money (about $60 million), and bears his name. The mosque is incredibly beautiful - six minarets visible from all over the city, each of which is 100 meters high, richly decorated domes, a combination of different types of stones, including black basalt and red, white and black limestone, windows decorated with stained glass windows. The official opening of the religious building took place in 2008. The mosque consists of a complex of buildings, the largest of which, for prayers, occupies more than 27 thousand square meters. meters. The main hall can accommodate up to 44,000 worshipers.

8. Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi

The Sheikh Zayed Mosque is famous not only for its size, but also for its stunning beauty. It is one of the main decorations of the capital of the United Arab Emirates - the city of Abu Dhabi. The mosque impresses with its interior decoration: colored marble and semi-precious stones were used to decorate the buildings. In addition, the largest and most luxurious chandelier in the world is located here. Square

Petersburg Cathedral Mosque

The official opening of the mosque was timed to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in 1913.

The mosque is made in stylized forms of Samarkand and Cairo architectural schools. The walls of the mosque are faced with gray granite. The portal, dome and minarets are covered with sky-blue ceramics. The facade is decorated with inscriptions-sayings from the Koran above the main entrance to the mosque.

Maykop Cathedral Mosque

The mosque was built in 2000 and was built in just 18 months. The cathedral mosque has no analogues either in Adygea itself or in the Caucasus.

The mosque was built at the expense of the Crown Prince and Sheikh of the United Arab Emirates Khalid bin Saqr al-Qasimi. This building is calling card Adygea and the main Muslim religious center of the region.

Unlike most mosques, the Maykop mosque is open to tourists.

Mosque "Heart of Chechnya" in Grozny

The mosque was built in 2008 and named after Akhmat-Khadzhi Kadyrov.

The mosque was built in the classical Ottoman style. The central hall is covered with a huge dome with a diameter of 16 meters and a height of 32 meters. The height of the four minarets is 63 meters each. The outer and inner walls of the mosque are finished with marble - travertine, and the interior of the temple is richly decorated with white marble, which is mined on an island in the Sea of ​​​​Marmara. The mosque has 36 chandeliers. The creation of this collection took several tons of bronze, 2.5 kg of gold of the highest standard and more than 1 million details.

The area of ​​the mosque is 5,000 square meters, and the capacity is more than 10,000 people. The same number of believers can pray in the summer gallery and square adjacent to the main building. The total area of ​​the Islamic center is 14 hectares.

White Mosque in Bulgar

Bulgar - the ancient capital of the Volga Bulgaria, an ancient settlement near modern city Bulgarian in Tatarstan.

The mosque was opened in 2012, its construction took six months. The White Mosque in Bulgar is called the Tatarstan Taj Mahal, like it is reflected in the water surface of an artificial reservoir.

On the prayer square there is an arcade consisting of 88 columns. There is a small fountain in the center of the arcade. The two most high minaret white mosques reach a height of 46.6 meters. The head dome is 10 meters in diameter and 17 meters high. The mosque houses the largest Quran in the world. The holy book weighs 800 kilograms. It was loaded by 16 people.

Bulgar is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Lyalya-Tulpan in Ufa

The mosque was founded in 1989, initially the construction was carried out on donations from believers, later the government of Bashkiria joined the financing. The opening of the mosque took place on April 7, 1998 at.

You can read more about the Lyalya-Tulpan Cathedral Mosque in one of our previous articles.

Juma Mosque in Derbent

Derbent Juma Mosque - the oldest mosque in Russia and the CIS, built in 733. The Juma Mosque is included in the UNESCO cultural heritage register.
Juma Mosque was the largest building in the city. Its dimensions in those days were considered impressive: 68 meters from west to east, and 28 meters from south to north. The height of the dome is 17 meters.

The interior space consists of three naves. The width of the middle nave is 6.3 meters, the side naves are 4 meters each, they are separated by square pillars with profiled capitals. Lancet arches are thrown between the pillars. Three plane trees grow on the territory of the mosque, aged 600, 800 and 950 years.

The Juma Mosque complex includes a madrasah building, which consists of a number of small rooms of the same size for students. In front of the entrance to each such room, loggias covered with lancet vaults are arranged, forming the facade of the madrasah in the form of an arcade made of hewn stone.

Cathedral Mosque in Moscow - the highest mosque in Russia

In September 2015, after 10 years of restoration, the Moscow Mosque was opened. The cathedral mosque is the largest in terms of area - 18.9 thousand square meters. The height of the dome is 46 meters, and the minarets rise 72 meters above the city. Capacity - 10,000 people.

In order to fit the mosque into the ensemble of temples, its domes were made of gold, and the elements of decor, painting and design were filled with the flavor of Russian Islam. For example, fine Arabic script made of gold leaf is combined with a traditional Tatar pattern. The main prayer hall is decorated with crystal chandeliers and Turkish carpets on the floor.

The cathedral mosque is a whole complex of six floors. Inside there are many halls, a library, a museum and an exhibition gallery. The building is equipped with elevators, air conditioning and TV cameras for live broadcasts.

There are three main mosques in the Muslim world: Al Haram (Forbidden Mosque) in Mecca, Al Nabawi (Mosque of the Prophet) in Medina and Al-Aqsa (Remote Mosque) in Jerusalem.

All these mosques are very important for Muslims, and each of them has its own specific meaning.

Al-Haram Mosque (Forbidden Mosque)

The Al-Haram Mosque is the main Muslim temple located in Saudi Arabia, in Mecca. The Kaaba is located in the courtyard of this mosque.

Al-Haram Mosque (Forbidden Mosque) during Hajj

The Kaaba is a shrine of Islam, which is a cubic-shaped stone structure in the courtyard, in the center of the Holy Mosque (al-Masjed al-Haram) in Mecca. This is the main sanctuary of Islam, which Muslims call al-Bait al-Haram, which means "sacred house". The very name "Kaaba" comes from the word "cube". The height of the building is 15 meters. Length and width - 10 and 12 meters respectively. The corners of the Kaaba are oriented to the cardinal points, and each of them has its own name: Yemeni (southern), Iraqi (northern), Levantine (western) and stone (eastern). The Kaaba is made of granite and covered with a cloth, and inside it is a room where a door made of pure gold leads, which weighs 286 kilograms.

Almost three hundred kilograms of the purest gold were used to finish the door.

In the eastern corner of the Kaaba, at the level of one and a half meters, the Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Eswad) is mounted, bordered by a silver rim. This is a hard stone of irregular oval shape, black in color with a scarlet tint. It has red spots and yellow wavy lines at the junctions of the broken parts. The diameter of the stone is about thirty centimeters. He, as Muslims are sure, was sent by Allah from heaven. The Black Stone is the most famous sacred meteorite, the nature of which is still unknown. The stone is very fragile, but it floats in water. After the Black Stone was stolen in 930, when it returned to Mecca, its authenticity was established precisely by its property not to sink in water. The Kaaba burned twice, and in 1626 it was flooded - as a result, the Black Stone split into 15 pieces. Now they are fastened with cement mortar and enclosed in a silver frame. The visible surface of the stone is 16 by 20 centimeters. It is believed that Allah sent the Black Stone to Adam and Eve as a sign of forgiveness.

Until now, seven fragments of the Stone are held in place by a large silver frame that goes around the corner of the Kaaba and hides most of it, leaving the pilgrims only a small hole for kisses and touches.

Governor of Mecca Prince Khaled Al-Faisal at the Black Stone during the traditional washing of the Kaaba

The Kaaba has a special meaning in Muslim rituals. In the direction of the Kaaba, Muslims around the world turn their faces during prayer. Around this building during the Hajj, believing Muslims perform a ceremony tawaf- ritual sevenfold circumambulation of the Kaaba counterclockwise. During this rite, worship is performed on the Iraqi and Yemeni corners of the Kaaba, in which pilgrims touch with their hands, kiss this building and pray near it. According to Muslim tradition, a stone is placed in the Kaaba, which God gave to Adam after the fall and expulsion from paradise, when the first person realized his sin and repented of it. Another legend tells that the stone is Adam's guardian angel, who was turned into stone for overlooking and allowing the fall of the first person entrusted to his protection. By Arabic legend, after being expelled from paradise, Adam and Eve (Hava) were separated - Adam ended up in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), and Eve - not far from Mecca, on the shores of the Red Sea, in the places where the port of Jeddah is now located. On the outskirts of this city, Khava's grave is allegedly still located. They met Adam only after two hundred years, and it happened in the Mecca region. After a long separation, they got to know each other on Mount Arafat, which is also sacred to the Arabs. Adam, however, even after meeting his wife, missed the temple where he prayed in paradise. Then God brought down a copy of that temple for him from heaven. According to legend, when the Black Stone was lowered from the sky, it was dazzling white and at the same time shone so that it could be seen for four days on the way to Mecca. But over time, from the touch of numerous sinners, the stone began to darken until it turned black. The time of construction of the Kaaba and its builders are unknown. According to legend, the Kaaba was built by the first man - Adam, but it was destroyed by the Flood, and even the place where it stood was forgotten. The shrine was restored by Patriarch Abraham (Ibrahim) with his son Ismail, the ancestor of the local peoples. Abraham built the Kaaba with the help of one miraculous device. It was a flat stone on which the forefather Abraham stood, and this stone could fly above the ground and rise to any height, performing the function of mobile scaffolding. It has survived, is located a few meters from the Kaaba and is called Maqam Ibrahim (Ibrahim's standing place) and, despite the fact that it has long lost its flying properties, is also a Muslim shrine. The footprint of Abraham-Ibrahim remained on it. A dome was erected over this stone over time. Archangel Gabriel (Jabrail) helped Ibrahim in the restoration of the Kaaba. From him, Ibrahim and Ismail learned that the temple they built is an exact copy of the temple in which Adam prayed. For the peoples and tribes of the Arabian Peninsula, the Kaaba was traditionally a sacred building long before the rise of Islam. The Kaaba was the main sanctuary of the Hijaz, a historical region in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula. Arabs from ancient times believed that the Kaaba is the house of God, and made pilgrimages to it.

Thanks to this shrine, Mecca became famous - now it is the holy city of Islam, located seventy kilometers from the Red Sea coast, in a very arid and unsuitable for agriculture area. The only factor that made these places attractive for people to settle there is the source of fresh water - Zamzam. The location of Mecca on the trade routes of the region also turned out to be successful. The appearance of the source, according to local legend, happened miraculously - God created it for the sake of the patriarch Abraham (Ibrahim) and his son Ismail - the ancestor of the Arab tribes. It was considered one of the seven holy places by the Sabeans of Persia and Chaledonia. The rest of their shrines were considered: Mars - the top of the mountain in Isfahan; Mandusan in India; Hay Bahar in Balkh; Gamdan's house in Sana'a; Kausan in Fergana, Khorasan; House in Upper China. Many of the Sabaeans believed that the Kaaba was the House of Saturn, as it was the oldest known building in that era. The Persians also made a pilgrimage to the Kaaba, believing that the spirit of Tormoz dwells there. The Jews also respected this shrine. They worshiped there one God. With no less reverence, Christians came to the Kaaba. However, over time, the Kaaba became an exclusively Muslim shrine. The idols revered by the pagans were destroyed in 630 by the prophet Muhammad, who was born in Mecca and, according to the Koran, was a descendant of the prophet Abraham (Ibrahim). He left only the images of the Virgin Mary and Jesus that were there. Their images were applied there not by chance: Christians lived in Mecca, and besides them - Jews, as well as Hanifs - righteous followers of faith in the one God, who were not part of any of the religious communities. The Prophet not only did not cancel the pilgrimage to the shrine, but he himself respectfully kissed the Kaaba with his staff. In the second year after the Hijra, or according to the calendar more familiar to us - in 623-624 AD, the prophet Muhammad established that Muslims should pray, turning towards the Kaaba. Until then, they had prayed with their faces turned toward Jerusalem. Muslim pilgrims flocked to the Kaaba to Mecca. They believe that the shrine is a prototype of the heavenly Kaaba, around which the angels also perform tawaf. Holy place was destroyed in 930, when the Qarmatians, Shiite Ismaili sectarians from Bahrain, stole the Black Stone, which was returned to its place only 21 years later. After this incident, some doubts arose about its authenticity, but they were dispelled by an investigative experiment: the stone was thrown into the water and made sure that it did not sink. But the adventures of the Black Stone did not end there: in 1050, the caliph of Egypt sent his man to Mecca with the task of destroying the shrine. And then, twice, the Kaaba was engulfed by fire, and in 1626, by a flood. As a result of all these disasters, the stone broke into 15 pieces. In our time, they are fastened with cement and inserted into a silver setting. Reverence for the Kaaba is also expressed in wrapping the relic with a special veil - kisvoy. It is updated annually. Its upper part is decorated with sayings from the Koran embroidered with gold; 875 square meters of fabric are used to make a kiswa. The first to cover the Kaaba with canvases decorated with silver embroidery was the Tubba (King) of Yemen, Abu Bakr Asad. His successors continued this custom. used different kinds fabrics. The tradition of covering the Kaaba has undergone significant changes: initially, before the pilgrimage to Mecca of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mahdi in 160 after the Hijra, the covers on the structure were simply put on each other. After the cover was worn out, a new one was put on top. However, the servants of the Forbidden Mosque expressed their fears to the ruler of the Caliphate that the building might simply not withstand the weight of the blankets piled one on top of the other. The caliph agreed with their opinion and ordered that the Kaaba be covered with no more than one cover at a time. Since then, this rule has been strictly observed. The inside of the building is also decorated with curtains. The family of Beni Sheibe is following all this order. The shrine is open to the public only during the washing ceremony of the Kaaba, and this happens only twice a year: two weeks before the start holy month Ramadan and for two weeks after Hajj. From the son of Abraham, Ismail, Kaaba was inherited by the southern Arab tribe of the Jurhumites, who enjoyed the support of the Babylonians. And in the 3rd century AD, they were supplanted by another southern Arab tribe, the Banu Khuzaa. Out of desperation, the Jurhumites, leaving Mecca, destroyed the Kaaba and covered up the source of Zamzam. The Khuzaites restored the Kaaba, and from the middle of the 3rd century BC, the Kaaba became the pantheon of the Arab tribes. The leader of the Khuzaites at that time was Amr ibn Luhey, who became the ruler of Mecca and the patron of the Kaaba. Contrary to the initial monotheism of Abraham-Ibrahim and his son Ismail, he placed idols in the Kaaba and encouraged people to worship them. The first idol he set up - Hubal - he brought from Syria. Quraysh - another Arab tribe that lived in the Mecca region and descended from Adnan, one of the descendants of Ismail, and his wife, the daughter of the leader of the Khuzaites, expelled the Khuzaites from Mecca and gained control of the city and the temple around 440-450. From this tribe came the prophet Mohammed, who glorified the Kaaba to the whole world. Before his preaching, the Kaaba was the center of numerous religious cults. In the center of the Kaaba stood the idol of Hubal - the deity of the Quraysh tribe. He was considered the lord of heaven, the lord of thunder and rain. Over time, another 360 idols of pagan gods, which were worshiped by the Arabs, were placed there. Near them sacrifices were made and fortune-telling was made. Quarrels and bloodshed were strictly forbidden at this place. It is interesting that among the characters of pagan cults there were images of Abraham (Ibrahim) and Ismail with prophetic arrows in their hands; Isa (Jesus) and Mariam with the baby (Virgin Mary). As you can see, everyone found in this place something close to their faith. Pilgrims came to Mecca regularly. Twice a year, a lot of people came to the local fair. The Kaaba was known and revered far beyond the Arabian Peninsula. She was honored by the Hindu, according to the beliefs of which the spirit of Siwa, the third person of Trimurti, accompanied by his wife during a visit to the Hijaz, entered the Black Stone.

The building itself has been rebuilt many times. For the first time - at the second righteous caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Khattab. During the Umayyad period, Caliph Abd al-Malik restored the building, expanded the boundaries of the Holy Mosque, he also installed arches decorated with mosaics, which were specially brought from Syria and Egypt. During the reign of the Abbasids, at the direction of Caliph Abu Jafar al-Mansur, the mosque was further expanded and a gallery was erected along its perimeter. The area around the Kaaba was also thoroughly rebuilt by the Ottoman Sultan Abd al-Majid. And in the recent past, in 1981, the space around the relic was reconstructed by the King of Saudi Arabia, Fahd ibn Abd al-Aziz. Now the territory of the Masjid al-Haram mosque with an area around the Kaaba is 193,000 square meters. At the same time, 130,000 Muslims can visit it. At the corners of the mosque there are 10 minarets, six of which (together with the superstructures in the form of a crescent) reach a height of 105 meters. What is the Black Stone embedded in the structure is still unknown. Some scientists consider it a very large meteorite. This opinion is disputed by a weighty argument that a stone cannot be an iron meteorite, based on its cracks, nor can it be a stone meteorite, since it cannot withstand movement and floats in water. Other researchers tend to see in the stone a large piece of unknown volcanic rock: rocky Arabia is rich in extinct volcanoes. It is known that this is not basalt or agate. However, the expressed opinion that the stone is not a meteorite is subjected to serious criticism. In 1980, researcher Elizabeth Thomsen suggested that the Black Stone has an impact nature - it is molten sand mixed with meteorite material. It comes from the Wabar crater, located 1800 kilometers from Mecca, in the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia. The stone from this crater is a frozen porous glass, it is quite hard and brittle, can float in water and has inclusions of white glass (crystals) and grains of sand (stripes). However, such a coherent theory has its weak point: the conclusion made by scientists based on the results of several measurements indicates the age of the crater, which is only a few centuries. The confusion comes from other measurements, suggesting that the crater is about 6,400 years old. There are actually three craters in Vabar. They are scattered over an area of ​​about 500 by 1000 meters and have diameters of 116.64 and 11 meters. The Bedouin nomads call this place al-Hadida - iron objects. In an area of ​​half a square kilometer, there are many fragments of black glass, white stones from sintered sand and iron pieces, partially covered with sand. The iron stones from the vicinity of the Vabar craters have a smooth surface covered with a black coating. The largest piece of iron and nickel found there by scientists weighs 2,200 kilograms and is called the Camel's Hump. It was discovered by a scientific expedition in 1965 and was later put on display at the Royal University of the Arabian capital Riyadh. The smooth cone-shaped stone appears to be a piece of a meteorite that fell to the ground and broke into several fragments. The holy book of Muslims - the Koran contains a story about the king of the city of Ubar named Aad. He mocked the prophet of Allah. For their wickedness, the city of Ubar and all its inhabitants were destroyed by a black cloud brought by a hurricane. The English researcher Harry Philby became interested in this story. The place most likely for the location of the lost city, he considered the Empty Quarter. However, instead of ruins - the works of human hands, he found fragments of a meteorite in that place. According to the traces left by this event, it was found that the energy released during the fall of the meteorite was equivalent to a nuclear explosion with a yield of about 12 kilotons, which is comparable to the explosion in Hiroshima. Other meteorites are known to have caused even more powerful impacts, but the case of Vabar has an important peculiarity. The meteorite fell into an open sandy place, dry and isolated enough that it is an ideal natural storage. There it was easy to find both the nomads of antiquity and modern scientists. The latter cannot yet give a definitive answer to the riddle of the Black Stone.

Al-Nabawi (Mosque of the Prophet)

Al-Nabawi (Mosque of the Prophet) is the second most important Muslim mosque (after the Forbidden Mosque), located in Saudi Arabia, in Medina. Under the Green Dome of the Al-Nabawi Mosque is the grave of the Prophet, the founder of Islam, Muhammad. The first two Muslim caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar are also buried in the mosque.

Al-Nabawi Mosque (Mosque of the Prophet) in Medina

Green Dome (Prophet's Dome)

Tomb of Prophet Muhammad. Next to it, the first two caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar, are buried, and on the other side there is another area that looks like an empty grave. Many Islamic scholars and Quran scholars believe that this grave site is reserved for the prophet Isa (Jesus), who will return to Earth to kill the Dajjal (Antichrist), and then rule the revived Caliphate for 40 years.

The first mosque on this site was built during the lifetime of Mohammed, who himself took part in the construction. The layout of this building has been adopted for other mosques around the world. When Muhammad was forty years old, the archangel Jabrail appeared to him and called him to serve. Muhammad began his sermons in Mecca, seeking to turn the Arabs away from pagan polytheism and convert them to true faith. In 622, due to strong pressure from the religious leaders of Mecca, Muhammad was forced to flee to the city of Yathrib, located several hundred kilometers away. In Yathrib (which was later renamed Medina), he managed to organize the first Muslim community. A few years later, the Muslim movement grew so much that Muhammad was able to create a large army, which in 630 captured Mecca without a fight. Thus the first Muslim state was formed.

Al-Aqsa Mosque (Remote Mosque)

Al-Aqsa Mosque (Arabic: المسجد الاقصى‎‎ - extreme mosque) is a Muslim temple in the Old City of Jerusalem on the Temple Mount. It is the third holiest site in Islam after the Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. Islam associates Isra (the night journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem) and miraj (ascension) with this place. On the site of the al-Aqsa mosque, the Prophet Muhammad, as an imam, prayed with all the prophets sent before him.

Al-Aqsa Mosque (Remote Mosque) in Jerusalem

Founded in 636 by Caliph Omar on the site of a Jewish temple destroyed by the Romans, the Al-Aqsa Mosque was significantly expanded and rebuilt under Caliph Abd al-Malik in 693. Under Caliph Abd al-Malik, another mosque was built near Al-Aqsa, called Kubbat As-Sahra (Dome of the Rock). Nowadays, the Dome of the Rock Mosque is often confused with the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Qubbat As-Sahra Mosque (Dome of the Rock)

Often, the huge golden dome of the adjacent Qubbat al-Sakhra ("Dome of the Rock") mosque is confused with the more modest dome of the Al-Aqsa mosque, calling the said golden dome of Qubbat al-Sakhra the dome of the "Mosque of Omar". But it is Al-Aqsa that has its second name the name "Mosque of Omar" in honor of its founder Caliph Umar (Omar) and is the historical center of two mosques on the Temple Mount, and not the Kubbat as-Sakhra mosque, which, nevertheless, in architectural plan is the center of the complex.

temple platform

Mosques- these are not only amazingly beautiful architectural monuments left as a legacy of their ancestors, they play an important religious, social and cultural role in the Muslim world.

12 millionov.com invites you to get acquainted with the ten largest mosques in the world, which amaze the imagination with their size and grandeur.

1. Al-Haram Mosque

• المسجد الحرام

In the first place among the largest mosques in the world is al-Haram, otherwise called the Forbidden Mosque. It is located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Here is stored the main value of the Muslim world - the Kaaba. According to legend, the first builders of this relic were heavenly angels. The mosque was first mentioned in 638. Concerning modern temple, then it has been known since 1570.

Over the long centuries of its existence, the main mosque of the followers of Islam was repeatedly rebuilt to accommodate as many visitors as possible. Now the Forbidden Mosque can accommodate about 1 million people. If we take into account the territories adjacent to the temple, then the number of visitors to the mosque can reach more than 2 million people. Square religious complex was 357 thousand square meters. meters, but keep in mind that the mosque is constantly expanding, and perhaps when you read this article, it will already be 400 thousand square meters. meters or more.

2. Masjid an-Nabawi or Mosque of the Prophet

• المسجد النبوي

The second largest mosque in the world and its significance for believers is located in Medina. This is the mosque of the prophet, or Masjid al-Nabawi. It is generally accepted that the construction of the temple began in 622, and the Prophet Muhammad himself took part in it. He is buried under the Green Dome. In normal times, the mosque of the prophet accommodates about 600 thousand people. During the pilgrimage, it can accommodate up to 1 million believers. The area of ​​the mosque occupies about 400 thousand square meters. meters.

3. Mausoleum of Mazar Imam Reza

• حرم علی بن موسی الرضا

Among the 10 largest mosques in the world is also the architectural and religious complex of the mausoleum of Imam Reza. It is located in Iran, in the city of Mashhad. It includes the tomb of the Imam, as well as other tombs of revered religious figures of Islam, a mosque, a cemetery, a library and a museum. The mausoleum is Iran's main tourist attraction with up to 20 million visitors annually.

When Imam Reza, who was very popular among the people, was killed in 818, he was buried next to the tomb of the great Harun ar-Rashid. Soon the city of Mashhad grew up around the tomb. The construction of the complex began in the 13th century, during the reign of the Timurid dynasty. The first mosque at the burial site of the imam was built in the 11th century, but it was soon destroyed. The area of ​​the complex is about 331 thousand square meters. meters. The mausoleum accommodates 100 thousand people.

4. Mosque of Independence or Istiklal

• مسجد الاستقلال

The largest Mosque of Independence or Istiklal is located in Indonesia in the city of Jakarta. When the country gained independence in 1949, it was decided to commemorate this great event with the construction of the largest religious building in Southeast Asia. The construction of the mosque began in 1961. The temple accommodates about 120 thousand visitors at the same time.

5. Hassan II Mosque

• مسجد الحسن الثاني

The Hassan II Mosque is located in the city of Casablanca. It impresses not only with its huge size, but also with its beauty - a magnificent view of the Atlantic Ocean opens directly from the huge glass hall of the temple. The mosque can accommodate 105 thousand people. The area of ​​the temple is about 9 hectares. The height of the minaret (this is the only minaret) is 210 meters. This mosque was also built in our time, the beginning - 1986, the end - 1989. The project was made by a French architect.

• Interesting fact: all 800 million dollars spent on the construction of the mosque are voluntary donations.

6. Faisal Mosque

• مسجد شاه فيصل

The Faisal Mosque, located in Islamabad, entered the top ten largest mosques in the world. Its construction was financed by the government of Saudi Arabia. The building of the mosque is located in a picturesque area. It is noteworthy that its design is very different from the traditional architecture of Muslim temples. Most of all, the shape of the building resembles a Bedouin nomad tent.

The cost of the project was over 130 million Saudi Riyals (approximately $120 million in today's dollars). King Faisal ibn Abdulaziz al-Saud was very instrumental in funding the construction, and after his assassination in 1975, both the mosque and the road leading to it were named after him. The mosque was completed in 1986.

The design of the mosque during its construction caused great dissatisfaction, but after the construction was completed, critics admitted that they were wrong. The Faisal Mosque accommodates approximately 300,000 people. The area of ​​the mosque is 5 thousand square meters. meters.

7. Badshahi Imperial Mosque

• بادشاہی مسجد

The Badshahi Mosque was built in the middle of the 17th century in the Pakistani city of Lahore by order of the last ruler Aurangzeb from the Mughal dynasty, and is considered one of the most significant monuments of Indo-Islamic sacred architecture. It is located on a stairway-accessible platform overlooking the old city opposite Shalimar Gardens and Lahore Fort. At the same time, up to 60 thousand people can be in the mosque.

8. Sheikh Zayed Mosque

• مسجد الشيخ زايد‎‎

The Sheikh Zayed Mosque (United Arab Emirates) is famous not only for its size, but also for its stunning beauty. It is one of the main decorations of the city of Abu Dhabi. At the same time, about 40 thousand people can be in it. The main prayer hall is designed for 7 thousand worshipers. Two rooms next to the main prayer hall can accommodate 1,500 people each. Both of these rooms are for women only. At the four corners of the mosque are four minarets, which rise to about 107 meters. The outer row of the main building is covered with 82 domes.

The mosque impresses with its interior decoration: colored marble and semi-precious stones were used to decorate the buildings. In addition, the largest and most luxurious chandelier in the world is located here. The area of ​​the mosque is 22 thousand square meters. meters.

9. Cathedral Mosque of Delhi

• مسجد جھان نمہ

The rating of the largest mosques in the world continues with the Delhi Cathedral Mosque, or Jami Masjid. The construction of the building began during the reign of Shah Jahan I, the padishah of the Mughal Empire. His name went down in history thanks to the construction of the magnificent mausoleum-mosque of the Taj Mahal by order of Jahan. The construction of the Cathedral Mosque was completed in 1656.

The construction of the mosque was the result of the efforts of more than 5,000 workers over the course of six years. The cost of construction at that time was 10 lakh (1 million) rupees. At the same time, it can accommodate about 25 thousand people. One of the relics is a copy of the Koran written on the skin of a deer.

10. Al Saleh Mosque

• جامع الصالح

Al Saleh Mosque is located in Yemen. It consists of a complex of buildings, the largest of which, for prayers, occupies more than 27 thousand square meters. meters. The official opening of the main attraction of the country took place in 2008.

The construction of the mosque was financed by the President of Yemen. It cost the country a huge amount - 60 million dollars. The Al Saleh Mosque is a modern building that houses classrooms and several libraries. The main hall can accommodate up to 44,000 people.

11. Sultan Qaboos Mosque

• جامع السلطان قابوس الأكبر

Muscat Cathedral Mosque is the main mosque of Muscat, Oman. In 1992, Sultan Qaboos ordered that his country of Oman have its own Great Mosque. A competition was held in 1993 and construction began in 1995. Construction work took six years and four months. The mosque was built from 300,000 tons of Indian sandstone.

The main prayer hall is square in shape (74.4 x 74.4 meters) with a central dome rising to a height of fifty meters above floor level. The dome and main minaret (90 meters) and four side minarets (45.5 meters) are the main visual features of the mosque. The main hall can accommodate more than 6,500 believers at the same time, while the women's prayer hall is only 750 people. The outer prayer area can accommodate 8,000 believers, for a total of up to 20,000 believers.

12. Masjid Negara Mosque

• مسجد نغارا

Negara is the national Malaysian mosque of Kuala Lumpur, built in 1965. The main hall of the mosque can accommodate 8,000 people, but it can accommodate a maximum of 15,000 and is especially crowded on Fridays. The mosque complex consists of a ribbed star-shaped dome and a 73 m high minaret. It is erroneously assumed that the eighteen corners of the dome symbolize the 13 states of Malaysia and the "5 pillars of Islam". But in reality there are 16 corners of the dome, and they do not symbolize anything.