Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque
Encyclopedia
The Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque (Malay: Masjid Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz) is the state mosque
of Selangor
, Malaysia. It is located in Shah Alam
. It is the country's largest mosque and also the second largest mosque in Southeast Asia
after Istiqlal Mosque
in Jakarta
, Indonesia
. Its most distinguishing feature is its large blue and silver dome
. The mosque has four minarets
, one erected at each of the corners.
Salahuddin Abdul Aziz, when he declared Shah Alam as the new capital of Selangor on 14 February, 1974. Construction began in 1982 and finished on 11 March, 1988. The Mosque is also known as the Blue Mosque owing to its blue dome
. The building has the distinction of having the largest religious dome in the world, it measures 51.2 m (167 ft) in diameter and reaches 106.7 m (350 ft) above ground level. The four minarets, each reaching 142.3 m (460 ft) above ground level are the 2nd tallest in the world, the distinction of the world's highest being held by the Hassan II Mosque
(Arabic: مسجد الحسن الثاني) in Casablanca
, Morocco
. In its early years, the mosque was listed in the Guinness World Records
as having the tallest minaret
in the world before being supplanted by the 210 m (689 ft) at the Hassan II Mosque when that structure was inaugurated in August 1993. The Blue Mosque (Masjid Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz) does however still maintain the distinction of having the world's tallest group of minarets as the set of four each stand at 106.7 m (350 ft) above ground level.
and Modernist style.
The mosque has the capacity to accommodate 24,000 worshippers at any one time. and is large enough that on clear day it can be seen from some vantage points in Kuala Lumpur
.
The main dome of the mosque measures 51.2 m (167 ft) in diameter and 106.7 m (350 ft) in height from the ground level. It is constructed primarily from aluminium
. The minarets are placed at each of the four corners and are 142.3 m (460 ft) tall.
Elements of Malay and Islamic architecture are incorporated into the finishes of the building. Fine decorative khat (Arabic calligraphy
) can be seen on the inner curve of the dome and parts of the walls. The calligraphy work was executed by the Egyptian
calligrapher Shiekh Abdel Moneim Mohamed Ali El Sharkawi. Aluminium grills of intricate design can be found on the doorways, windows and walls of the Mosque. The windows are fitted with blue stained glass
in order to reduce the amount of light that can enter the hall. The resulting filtered illumination renders a bluish ambiance to the interior spaces evoking a sense of peace and serenity. The high ceiling has triangular panels of red balau
and ramin
timber wood that are set in crisscrossing pattern. The dome is constructed of aluminium
and the outer surface is clad with vitreous enamel
-baked triangular steel
panels decorated with a rosette
of verses from the Qur'an
. The main prayer hall is over two levels, is fully carpeted and air conditioned and is one of the largest such spaces in the world. The upper gallery of the prayer hall is reserved for the use of female worshippers. The second floor houses a gallery, the ground floor contains the administrative office, conference rooms, library, reception and lecture rooms.
The Blue Mosque overlooks the Garden of Islamic Arts, a landscaped park inspired by the Quranic Garden of Paradise
(Jannah) (Arabic: جنّة). This 14 hectares of spiritual sanctuary houses nine galleries exhibiting a rich array of Islamic arts such as calligraphy, sculptures, paintings and architecture. The site is occasionally used for traditional Islamic performances.
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
of Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
, Malaysia. It is located in Shah Alam
Shah Alam
Shah Alam is the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighboring Klang District. It is located about west of the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor in 1978...
. It is the country's largest mosque and also the second largest mosque in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
after Istiqlal Mosque
Istiqlal Mosque
Istiqlal Mosque, or Masjid Istiqlal, in Jakarta, Indonesia is the largest mosque in Southeast Asia in terms of capacity to accommodate people and building structure. This national mosque of Indonesia was built to commemorate Indonesian independence, as nation's gratitude for Islam's blessings; the...
in Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. Its most distinguishing feature is its large blue and silver dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
. The mosque has four minarets
Minaret
A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
, one erected at each of the corners.
History
The mosque was commissioned by the late SultanSultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
Salahuddin Abdul Aziz, when he declared Shah Alam as the new capital of Selangor on 14 February, 1974. Construction began in 1982 and finished on 11 March, 1988. The Mosque is also known as the Blue Mosque owing to its blue dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
. The building has the distinction of having the largest religious dome in the world, it measures 51.2 m (167 ft) in diameter and reaches 106.7 m (350 ft) above ground level. The four minarets, each reaching 142.3 m (460 ft) above ground level are the 2nd tallest in the world, the distinction of the world's highest being held by the Hassan II Mosque
Hassan II Mosque
The Hassan II Mosque is a religious building in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the largest mosque in the country and the 7th largest mosque in the world. Its minaret is the world's tallest at .It stands on a promontory looking out to the Atlantic...
(Arabic: مسجد الحسن الثاني) in Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. In its early years, the mosque was listed in the Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
as having the tallest minaret
Minaret
A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
in the world before being supplanted by the 210 m (689 ft) at the Hassan II Mosque when that structure was inaugurated in August 1993. The Blue Mosque (Masjid Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz) does however still maintain the distinction of having the world's tallest group of minarets as the set of four each stand at 106.7 m (350 ft) above ground level.
Architecture & Features
The architectural design of Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque is a combination of MalayMalay people
Malays are an ethnic group of Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, including the southernmost parts of Thailand, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and the smaller islands which lie between these locations...
and Modernist style.
The mosque has the capacity to accommodate 24,000 worshippers at any one time. and is large enough that on clear day it can be seen from some vantage points in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
.
The main dome of the mosque measures 51.2 m (167 ft) in diameter and 106.7 m (350 ft) in height from the ground level. It is constructed primarily from aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
. The minarets are placed at each of the four corners and are 142.3 m (460 ft) tall.
Elements of Malay and Islamic architecture are incorporated into the finishes of the building. Fine decorative khat (Arabic calligraphy
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
) can be seen on the inner curve of the dome and parts of the walls. The calligraphy work was executed by the Egyptian
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
calligrapher Shiekh Abdel Moneim Mohamed Ali El Sharkawi. Aluminium grills of intricate design can be found on the doorways, windows and walls of the Mosque. The windows are fitted with blue stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
in order to reduce the amount of light that can enter the hall. The resulting filtered illumination renders a bluish ambiance to the interior spaces evoking a sense of peace and serenity. The high ceiling has triangular panels of red balau
Bälau
Bälau is a municipality in the Breitenfelde collective municipality located in the Lauenburg district in southeastern Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....
and ramin
Ramin
Gonystylus, also known as ramin, is a genus of about 30 species of hardwood trees native to southeast Asia, in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea, with the highest species diversity on Borneo...
timber wood that are set in crisscrossing pattern. The dome is constructed of aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
and the outer surface is clad with vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...
-baked triangular steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
panels decorated with a rosette
Rosette (design)
A rosette is a round, stylized flower design, used extensively in sculptural objects from antiquity. Appearing in Mesopotamia and used to decorate the funeral stele in Ancient Greece...
of verses from the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. The main prayer hall is over two levels, is fully carpeted and air conditioned and is one of the largest such spaces in the world. The upper gallery of the prayer hall is reserved for the use of female worshippers. The second floor houses a gallery, the ground floor contains the administrative office, conference rooms, library, reception and lecture rooms.
The Blue Mosque overlooks the Garden of Islamic Arts, a landscaped park inspired by the Quranic Garden of Paradise
Jannah
Jannah , is the Islamic conception of paradise. The Arabic word Jannah is a shortened version meaning simply "Garden". According to Islamic eschatology, after death, one will reside in the grave until the appointed resurrection on . Muslims believe that the treatment of the individual in the life...
(Jannah) (Arabic: جنّة). This 14 hectares of spiritual sanctuary houses nine galleries exhibiting a rich array of Islamic arts such as calligraphy, sculptures, paintings and architecture. The site is occasionally used for traditional Islamic performances.