The Largest Mosque in the World and What Makes It So Impressive

The mosque is the house of prayers and worship for Muslims. It holds a significant connection between the followers and God. For centuries, Muslims have built mosques around the globe while they continue to spread the word of Allah. The constructions are not only a mark of the extent they have gone to spread the word but also carry with them the historical significance of the years to come.

This is one reason mosques are built to last a lifetime. They are strong enough to withstand the test of time and large enough to hold a growing number of followers. Following the culture of Islamic architecture, there are numerous mosques across the globe. 

The mosque also provides an educational centre for Islamic studies. Mosques are of different sizes worldwide, but some are considered more significant than others. That’s because they have a larger capacity to hold more worshippers or their architectural magnificence. Here is a list of the 5 largest mosques all over the world: 

1- Masjid Al-Haram

2- Masjid Al-Nabawi

3- Grand Jamia Mosque

4- Imam Reza Shrine

5- Faisal Mosque

Masjid Al-Haram

The holiest site in Islam is a place that millions of pilgrims visit annually, making it the most important mosque in the world. Masjid Al-Haram is a place of incredible proportions, capable of holding up to 4 million people at a time. It is one of the foremost impressive religious buildings in the world, with a history that dates back centuries, but it has also seen a large amount of expansion over the last 70 years.

The five pillars of Islam are a series of fundamental practices considered obligatory for all Muslims. They include the declaration of religion “Shahadah”, prayer “Salah”, almsgiving “zakah”, fasting “sawm” and eventually pilgrimage “hajj”. During Hajj, pilgrims from all over the globe travel to Mecca to participate in several rituals. The most important ritual of Hajj is walking counter-clockwise seven times around the black cube building “Kaaba,” which lies at the mosque’s centre. This place isn’t only staggering in size; for 1.8 billion people, it represents the centre of their faith. 

Masjid Al-Haram is a sprawling complex that encompasses 356 thousand square meters, half the size of the big Forbidden City in Beijing. At the centre of the mosque lies the Kaaba, the foremost sacred site of Islam, towards which all Muslims around the world pray. The Kaaba is a cuboid-shaped stone structure that is 13.1 meters tall and measures about 11×13 meters. 

The floor inside Kaaba is made of marble and limestone, and white marble lines the walls. Surrounding the Kaaba is the mosque itself. The mosque is set over three different levels that today include nine minarets, each reaching a height of 89 meters. There are 18 different gates. The gate that is used most is King Abdul Aziz’s gate. Inside the mosque, an oversized area is reserved for those wishing to circle the Kaaba. But after you step back, you realize that even this relatively big open expanse is smaller than the mosque’s size. While the space around the Kaaba is restricted, pilgrims can circle it from any of the three levels with a further extra-large prayer area.

According to Islamic belief, the black stone was sent by Allah to Ibraham as he was constructing the Kaaba. It is today set at the eastern corner of the Kaaba. The Zamzam Well is 20 meters east of the Kaaba. It is claimed to be a miraculous water source that Allah generated to assist Ibraham’s son Ismail and his mother after they were left dying of thirst in the desert. The well was dug perhaps by hand several years ago and went down to a wadi below at a depth of 30 meters with a diameter of about 1 to 2.6 metres. Millions usually drink water from the well distributed to each bubbler within the mosque. Between 11 and 18.5 litres are drawn every second from the well.

Maqām Ibrāhīm, or the Station of Ibrahim, is a small square stone. It’s said to own an imprint of Ibraham’s feet. The stone is kept inside a golden metal enclosure directly beside the Kaaba. The mosque expands outwards dramatically with an oversized western elevated area used for prayers and an excellent more considerable northern extension still under construction. 

The Great Mosque, as it looks today, is comparatively modern, with the oldest sections dating back to the 16th century. However, the primary construction was a wall built around the Kaaba in 638 AD. There’s a small bone of contention over whether or not this is the oldest mosque in the world, with both the Mosque of the Companions within the Eritrean city of Misawa and the Quba Mosque in Madina. However, Ibraham is claimed to have self-built the Kaaba.

The commonly held view among Muslims is that this can be the positioning of the primary actual mosque. It wasn’t until 692 AD that the location witnessed its first significant expansion. Until now, the mosque had been a little open area with cardboard at its centre. Slowly, the outward area was raised, and a partial roof was installed. Wooden columns were added and later replaced at the beginning of the 8th century by marble structures, and two wings that came out from the prayer room were gradually extended. This era also witnessed the development of the mosque’s first minaret sometime during the 8th century.

The following century witnessed Islam spread rapidly, and with it came an enormous increase in the number of people who wished to go to the prominent mosques. The building was almost completely rebuilt during that point, with three further minarets added and more marble installed throughout the building. Heavy flooding during the 1620s hit twice, and the mosque and Kabba were severely damaged. The resulting renovation had the marble flooring re-tiled, three more minarets added, and a replacement stone arcade constructed. The paintings of the mosque from this era reflect an elliptical structure. Now, with seven minarets, the town of Mecca huddled closely around it. The mosque didn’t change this form for the subsequent 300 years.

Everything had changed in and around Mecca by the time the Great Mosque saw its next significant upgrade. It became part of a new country, Saudi Arabia, formed in 1932. Around 20 years later, the mosque saw the first of three major expansion phases, the last of which is still technically ongoing. Between 1955 and 1973, the mosque saw considerable changes as the Saudi Royal Family ordered much of the original Ottoman structure to be demolished and rebuilt.

This included four more minarets and a complete ceiling refurbishment, with the floor also replaced by artificial stone and marble. This period witnessed the construction of the wholly enclosed master gallery in which pilgrims could complete the Sa’ay, said to symbolize the path between the hills of Safa and Marwa, which were, according to Islamic tradition, Hagar, Ibraham’s wife, travelled back and forth seven times in search of water for her infant son, Ismail. The length of the gallery is 450 meters. This means walking it seven times adds up to around 3.2 kilometres. This gallery now includes four one-way pathways, with the two central parts reserved for the elderly and those with disabilities.

When King Fahd took the throne after his brother, King Khaled, died in 1982, it was followed by a second significant expansion. This included another wing, which would be reached through the King Fahd Gate in an additional outdoor prayer area. Throughout the king’s reign up to 2005, the Great Mosque began to take on a more modern feel, with heated floors, airconditioning escalators and a drainage system being added. Further additions included an official residence for the king, which overlooks the mosque, more prayer areas, 18 more gates, 500 marble columns and, of course, more minarets.

In 2008, Saudi Arabia announced a massive expansion of the Great Mosque with an estimated cost of 10.6 billion dollars. This included appropriating 300.000 square meters of public lands to the north and northwest to build an enormous extension. Further renovations included new stairwells, tunnels beneath the structure, a new gate and two more minarets. The upgrades also included having the area around the Kaaba stretched and air conditioning added in all closed spaces. The Great Mosque is one of those amazing major projects. 

Al Masjid Al-Nabawi

Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi is the second-largest mosque in the world and the second-holiest site in Islam, after Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca. It is open all day and night, which means it never closes its gates. The site was originally connected to Muhammad’s (PBUH) house; the original mosque was an open-air building that also functioned as a community centre, a court, and a school.

The mosque is managed by the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The mosque lies in what was generally the centre of Medina, with various nearby hotels and old markets. It is the leading pilgrimage site. Many pilgrims who perform the Hajj move to Medina to visit the mosque because of its connection to Muhammad (PBUH). The mosque has been expanded over the years; the latest was in the mid-1990s. One of the most remarkable features of the site is the green dome over the centre of the mosque, where the tomb of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and early Islamic leaders Abu Bakr and Umar lay. 

The Green Dome is a green-coloured dome made above Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi, the prophet Muhammad’s tomb (PBUH) tomb, and Abu Bakr and Umar, early Muslim Caliphs. The dome lies in the southeast corner of Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi in Medina. The structure goes back to 1279 CE when an unpainted wooden roof was created over the tomb. The dome was painted green for the first time in 1837. Since then, it has become known as the Green Dome.

The Rawdah ul-Jannah is the oldest and most important part at the heart of Masjid Al-Nabawi. It is also written as the Riaz ul-Jannah. It stretches from Muhammad’s tomb to his minbar and pulpit. Ridwan means “pleased”. In Islamic tradition, Ridwan is the name of an angel responsible for maintaining Jannah. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that Muhammad said, “The area between my house and my minbar is one of the gardens of Paradise, and my minbar is on my cistern (had)”, hence the name. This area has various unique and historical interests, including the Mihrab Nabawi, some eight notable pillars, Minbar Nabawi, Bab al-Taubah, and the Mukabariyya.

The Rawdah Rasool refers to the tomb of Prophet Muhammad. It means the garden of the prophet. It lies in the southeastern corner of the Ottoman prayer Hall which is the oldest part of the current mosque complex. Generally, this part of the mosque is called the Rawdah Al-Sharifah. The grave of Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) can’t be seen from any point outside or inside the current grilled structure. The small room, which contains the grave of Prophet Muhammad and Abu Bakr and Umar, is a small 10’x12′ room, again surrounded by at least two more walls and one blanket cover.

After the 1994 renovation project, the mosque has ten 104-metre-high minarets. The Bab as-Salam Minaret is the most historic of these ten. One of the four minarets lies over the Bab as-Salam on the southern side of the Prophet’s mosque. Muhammad ibn Kalavun created it, and Mehmed IV renovated it in 1307 CE. The minarets’ upper portions are cylindrical. The bottom is octagonal, and the middle is square.

The Ottoman Hall is the oldest part of the mosque and lies in the southern part of the modern Masjid Al-Nabawi. The Qibla wall is the most decorated wall of Masjid Al-Nabawi and dates back to Ottoman Sultan Abdulmajid I‘s renovation and expansion of the Prophet’s mosque in the late 1840s. The Qibla wall is decorated with some of the 185 names of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Other notes and handwritings include verses from the Quran, a few Hadiths, and more. 

During the Ottoman era, two inner courtyards in the Prophet’s Mosque were preserved during the Saudi expansions and renovations. The first courtyard, with columns of the first Saudi expansion, is on the left, and the Ottoman prayer hall is to the right, with the Green Dome in the background. The extended courtyard to the north of the Ottoman prayer hall was destroyed during the mosque’s expansion. It was reconstructed by al-Saud Ibn ‘Abdulaziz. The prayer hall goes back to the Ottoman period. The expansion of Ibn ‘Abdulaziz has two courtyards, shielded with 12 giant umbrellas. Before the modern renovations, there was a small garden called the Garden of Fatimah.

The Dikkat Al-Aghwat, usually mistaken for the Al-Suffah, is a rectangular-extended platform near Riyad ul-Jannah, directly south of the Prophet Muhammad’s(PBUH) tomb section within the mosque. The modern platform lies just southwest of the original site of the Suffah. This particular location refers to the spot where Turk soldiers used to sit under shade guarding the mosque. It lies near the Dikkat ul-Tahajjud. The original Suffah was at the backside of Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi throughout the Medina period.

The Maktaba Masjid Al-Nabawi lies within the western wing of the mosque complex and functions as a modern library and archive of manuscripts and other artefacts. The library has four major sections: the antique manuscripts Hall A and B, the main library, and the principality exhibition of Masjid Al-Nabawi’s construction and history. Originally built around 1481/82 CE, it was demolished in a later fire that ruined the mosque. The modern library was most probably rebuilt around 1933/34 CE. It contains books presented by supporters as gifts from several remarkable people.

Today, the main complex of the Prophet’s Mosque has a total of 42 gates with a different number of portals. King Fahad Gate is one of the main gates of Masjid Al-Nabawi. It lies on the northern side of the mosque. Initially, there were three doors on three sides. Today, the mosque has more than two hundred portals, gates, and access ways to meet the increasing number of people. Over the years, as the mosque was expanded, the number and location of the gates considerably changed as well. Today, only a few original gates are known in the area.

A great number of foundation stones have been established around the entire mosque premises for the different expansions and renovations of Masjid Al-Nabawi. The Prophet’s Mosque has experienced different rebuilding, construction, and expansion projects by Islamic rulers. The expansions and renovations vary from a little mud wall building measuring around 30.5 m × 35.62 m to today’s area of around 1.7 million square feet that can hold up to 0.6-1 million people at a time. 

The Masjid Al-Nabawi has a smoothly paved roof with 27 sliding domes on square bases. Masjid Al-Nabawi’s second expansion stretched the roof area broadly. Holes drilled into the base of each dome light the interior. The roof is also used for prayer during crowded times. When the domes slip out on metal tracks to shade areas of the roof, they create light wells for the prayer hall. These domes are decorated with Islamic geometric patterns, mainly in blue colour.

Masjid Al-Nabawi Umbrellas are switchable umbrellas set up in the yard of Masjid Al-Nabawi in Medina. The umbrella’s shade extends in the four corners, up to 143,000 square meters. These umbrellas shield worshipers from the heat of the sun during prayer and from the rain as well. 

The Jannatul Baqi graveyard lies on the eastern side of the Prophet’s Mosque and covers around 170,000 square meters. Based on Islamic tradition, over ten thousand companions of the Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) are buried here. Some of the graves include Fatima bint Muhammad (PBUH), Imam Jaffar Sadiq, Imam Hassan ibn ‘Ali, Zain ul-‘Abideen, and Imam Baqir. Many stories tell that Muhammad(PBUH) prayed every time he passed it. Although it initially lays on the border of the city of Medina, today, it is an essential part separated from the mosque complex.

Grand Jamia Mosque, Karachi

Grand Jamia Masjid is the great mosque of Bahria Town Karachi which is the third-largest mosque in the world. The Jamia Masjid is viewed as the milestone project of Bahria Town Karachi, making it the most prominent structure built in the largest housing project in Pakistan. The design of the Grand Jamia Masjid is mainly motivated by Mughal-style architecture, which is famous for constructing mosques like the Badshahi Masjid Lahore and Jama Masjid Dehli. What’s more stunning is that the Grand Jamia Masjid in Bahria Town Karachi merges and gets inspiration from all Islamic architecture styles, including Malaysian, Turkish, and Persian. The interior design is an evident reflection of the Samarqand, Sindh, Bukhara, and Mughal artwork.

Like many historical mosques in the Islamic world, the mosque is designed to have a single giant minaret of 325 feet. The minaret can be seen from different parts of Bahria Town Karachi and adds to the mosque’s beauty. Well-known Pakistani architect Nayyar Ali Dada sketched the design of the Grand Jamia Masjid Karachi. According to the design, the outward blocks of the masjid are adorned with white marble and beautiful geometric design patterns, and the interior is decorated with traditional Islamic mosaic ceramics, calligraphy, tiles and marble.

The construction of the Jamia Masjid began in 2015. It expands over 200 acres and 1,600,000 square feet, making it the largest concrete structure in Pakistan and the largest mosque in the country. The mosque’s total indoor capacity is 50,000, while the outdoor capacity is around 800,000, making it the third-largest mosque after Masjid-al-Haram and Masjid Al-Nabawi. It has 500 arches and 150 domes, making the Jamia Masjid one of the most magnificent mosques in the world.

Imam Reza Shrine

The Imam Reza Shrine Complex was constructed on the place of the eighth Shia Imam’s grave. It was built in the small village of Sanabad at the time of his death in 817. In the 10th century, the town got the name Mashhad, which means the Place of Martyrdom and became the holiest site in Iran. Though the earliest dated structure has an inscription from the early fifteenth century, historical references denote constructions before the Seljuk period and a dome by the early 13th century. The following periods of alternating demolition and reconstruction they included the periodic interest of Seljuk and Il-Khan Sultans. The most extensive period of construction happened under the Timurids and Safavids. The site got substantial royal assistance from the son of Timur, Shah Rukh, and his wife Gawhar Shad and the Safavid Shahs Tahmasp, Abbas and Nader Shah. 

Subordinating with the rule of the Islamic Revolution, the shrine has been extended with new courts, which are Sahn-e Jumhuriyet Islamiye and Sahn-e Khomeini, an Islamic university and a library. This expansion goes back to the Pahlavi Shahs Reza and Muhammed Reza projects. All structures next to the shrine complex were removed to construct a large green yard and circular pathway, separating the shrine from its urban context. The tomb room lies underneath a golden dome, with elements that date back to the 12th century. The chamber is adorned with a Dado that goes back from 612/1215, above which the wall surfaces and a Muqarnas dome were done in mirror work in the 19th century. Then, it was decorated with gold by Shah Tahmasp.

The Ozbeg raiders stole the dome’s gold, which was later replaced by Shah Abbas I during his renovation project, which started in 1601. Different rooms surround the tomb, including the Dar al-Huffaz and Dar al-Siyada, ruled by Gawhar Shad. These two chambers transitioned between the tomb room and its congregational mosque, which lies on the southwest flank of the complex.

This historic architectural complex gathers memorable and remarkable values and rituals to be understood as an integrated heritage of the complex culture of its wider setting. The actual values of the heritage relate not only to its spectacular architecture and structural system but also to all the rituals, all together joining the remarkable spiritual spirit of Imam Reza. Dusting is one of the oldest rituals of Astana-e Qods, with 500 years of continuity, and it is done with particular formalities on specific occasions. Playing Naqareh is another ritual that is played at different events and times. The Waqf, sweeping, and granting free food and services to help others are also some of the rituals. In a general view, adorned elements, the function, structure, fronts and surfaces of the buildings represent entirely the religious connections, the principles, and the expansion of the complex. This sacred shrine is not just a shrine but a foundation and an identity created and developed according to religious principles and beliefs. The holy complex includes 10 great architectural heritage sites around the central sacred shrine, which are of political and social importance.

The construction of Mashhad is indebted to the creation of the holy shrine. Thus, the complex developed into Mashhad’s religious, social, political, and artistic centre. It also significantly affects the city’s economic status. The first constructed structure in the complex is the holy shrine, where the tomb of Imam Reza lay beneath. This architectural heritage is prominent because of its long lifetime and magnificent adorning elements, including gilded domes, tiles, mirror ornaments, stone works, plaster works, and many more. 

Faisal Mosque

The Faisal Mosque is a mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is the 5th largest mosque in the world and the largest in South Asia. The Faisal Mosque is located on the foothills of Margala Hills in Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad. The mosque features a contemporary design consisting of 8 sides of a concrete shell. It is motivated by the design of a typical Bedouin tent. It is a major tourist attraction in Pakistan. The mosque is a contemporary and significant piece of Islamic architecture. The mosque’s construction started in 1976 after a 28-million-dollar donation from Saudi King Faisal. The mosque is named after King Faisal.  

The peculiar design by the Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay was chosen after an international competition. Without a typical dome, the mosque is shaped like a Bedouin tent surrounded by 260 feet, 79 metres tall minarets. The design features 8-sided shell-shaped sloping roofs forming a triangular worship hall which can hold 10.000 worshippers. The structure extends to an area of 130.000 square metres. The mosque overlooks the landscape of Islamabad. It lies at the north end of Faisal Avenue, at the northernmost end of the city and the foot of Margalla Hills, the western foothills of the Himalayas. It lies on an elevated land area against a panoramic backdrop of the National Park. 

The Faisal mosque was the largest in the world from 1986 until 1993, when the mosques in Saudi Arabia surpassed it. Faisal mosque is now the 5th largest mosque in the world in terms of capacity. The motive for the mosque started in 1996 when King Faisal bin Abdulaziz supported the Pakistani government’s initiative to build a national mosque in Islamabad during an official visit to Pakistan. In 1969, a competition was held in which architects from 17 countries submitted 43 proposals. The winning design was that of the Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay. Forty-six acres of land were given for the project, and Pakistani engineers and workers were appointed to execute it. The mosque’s construction started in 1976 by National Construction LTD of Pakistan.

The concept that Dalokay managed to achieve in the King Faisal mosque was to present the mosque as representing the modern capital, Islamabad. He formed his concept according to Quranic guidelines. The context, monumentality, modernity, and valuable heritage from the recent generation to the future are all the primary design references that aided Dalokay in achieving the final design of the King Faisal mosque. Moreover, the mosque is not close to a border wall like any other mosque but is open to the land. The dome in his design was unique as he used a typical Bedouin tent design rather than having a dome to look like and to be an extension of the Margalla Hills.