Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India c7.s3.15

c7.s3.15

Of the mosques of Alauddin Khalji constructed outside the capital, mention may be made of the masjid at Mathura¹³⁵ and the tomb of Shaikh Farid (built C 1300), which was probably a converted Hindu or Jain temple. There is another masjid built about the same time in Bharuch. it is also a converted Jain temple. In 1300 Alp Khan, brother-in-law of Alauddin and governor of Gujarat, constructed the Adinah mosque at Patan. It was built of white marble, and it is related "that it was once an idol temple converted into a mosque". The Adinah mosque no longer exists. After the conquest of Chittor in 1303, Alladin "constructed a congregational mosque. There was a temple lying in ruins."¹³⁶ In Biana there is the Ukha mosque belonging to the Khalji period. Many mosques were built during Alauddin's invasion of the South. Farishtah claims that a mosque was built as far away as at Rameshwaram and called Masid-i-Alai and that it was in existence when Farishtah lived.¹³⁷ The above examples clearly show that as per the dictates of the Quran and the injunctions of the Hadis and the Sunnah, mosques in India too were built on the sites of the idol temples and with the materials obtained from razing the shrines. Muhammad bin Tughlaq built the Begumpuri Masjid at Jahanpanah. It is an imposing mosque of great size. Firoz's Kali Masjid or Kalan Masjid built by Khan-i-Jahan II in 789 H/1387 CE., stands intact till today near the Turkman Gate of old Delhi.¹³⁸