Madina Mosque (Bengal)

'Madina Mosque was built by Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah inside the old Nizamat Imambara. The Nizamat Imambara was partially burnt in a fire in 1842 but was completely burnt when it caught fire on 23 December, 1846. The mosque was saved in the 1846 fire and was left in its place. When Nawab Nazim Mansoor Ali Khan Feradun Jah built the new Nizamat Imambara in 1847 AD, he built another Madina Mosque inside the new building. So Madina or Madina Mosque refer to both the mosques. Both of them lie parallel to the Hazarduari Palace's south face on the banks of the Bhagirathi River. The old one lie a little south to the new one, which lies inside the Nizamat Imambara and on the west of the clock tower and the place where the Bacchawali Tope rests. They are extremely close to the river's shores and are hardly a few feet away. Both of the Madina Mosques lie on the Nizamat Fort Campus.

Foundations

The foundations of the old Madina Mosque has the Holy soil of Mecca so that the poor people of the Muslim community could experience the Holy pilgrimage of Mecca. The new one has the soil of Karbala for the same purpose.

Features

Old Madina

The old Madina built by Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah is smaller than the new one and is a single domed mosque. It bears resemblance with the new one. The mosque has pillars and arches all surmounted by a dome. The spaces between the pillars and the arches are moat shaped.

New Madina

The new Madina Mosque was built by Nawab Nazim Mansoor Ali Khan Feradun Jah in 1847 AD along with the Nizamat Imambara under the supervision and direction of Sadeq Ali Khan. It is built on a raised platform decorated with ornamental China tiles. the mosque has massive pillars and arches all surmounted by a huge dome. The spaces between the pillars and the arches are moat shaped. Earlier fountains were provided which stood on the vat between the Memberdalan and the Madina mosque and encircled the Shrine of Madina which has been surmounted by the massive dome. The fountains had silver head pieces. The arches and the walls have been ornamented with texts from the Holy Quran. The rooms in the north and south of the mosque were used as storehouses and workshops. Hundreds of men were employed by the Nawab who worked here for the management of the lights during the annual festival of Muharram, the most awaited and celebrated festival for the Muslim community in Murshidabad, which included the Nawab. The second storey were decorated with screens on which the workmen painted several designs of flowers, people and even beasts with 1000s of cressets behind them.

Map

A semi map of the Nizamat Fort Campus showing the Nizamat Imambara in yellow and the buildings inside it, like the new Madina, Nowbat Khana, Memberdalan and the Mosque.

A map of the full Nizamat Fort Campus (excluding Wasef Manzil, Dakshin Darwaza or the South Gate of the campus, Nawab Bahadur's Institution and the South Zurud Mosque) showing the Nizamat Imambara in yellow and other buildings surrounding it, like the old Madina Mosque, the Hazarduari Palace, Chawk Masjid, Bacchawali Tope, the clock tower, Shia Complex and the Zurud Mosque (North). The site of the old Madina Mosque proves that the new Madina, inside the Nizamat Imambara has been built a little north of the old site of the Imambara.