Mehrab Wali mosque & Shrine of Syed Aaram Mehmood (RA) Lahore

20th August 2022

Situated to the east of Garhi Shahu near the Railway Stadium, this historically significant 17th-century mosque has undergone extensive renovations over time. It is located on Nawazish Street, which can be accessed from Mughalpura Road. The original construction of the mosque was commissioned by Nawab Jafar Khan, a prominent figure who held the prestigious title of haft-Hazari or Commander of seven thousand during the reign of Shah Jahan. His father, Nawab Sadiq Khan, was also an esteemed noble in the court of Jahangir.

Nawab Jafar Khan constructed the mosque as a testament to his spiritual devotion and reverence for his saint, Syed Aaram Mehmood, who was laid to rest within the mosque's courtyard. The architectural style of the mosque was distinctive and noteworthy. It was intentionally built about 15 feet above the surrounding land to safeguard it from potential flood damage. Access to the mosque is gained through a flight of steps located on the southern side. Although the mosque has been completely reconstructed in recent times, remnants of the original western wall can still be observed from a narrow street to the west of the mosque. Additionally, the original mehrab, from which the mosque derived its name, has been preserved.

Themosque's construction is intriguing due to the presence of a small rectangular room in the form of a mehrab on the western wall. The actual mehrab, however, was situated along the western wall of this rectangular room, resulting in the mosque being referred to as having two mehrabs. The imam would stand in the mehrab at the very front, while the rectangular portion immediately behind the imam was reserved for Nawab's family. The remaining prayer chamber at the back was utilized by the general public.

The courtyard of the mosque was also enclosed by walls, within which the graves of Jafar Khan (d. 1659) and his son Kazim Khan, along with the grave of Syed Aaram Mehmood, were situated. This aspect led to the mosque being referred to as the Hujra of Nawab Jafar Khan in earlier records.

During the time of Latif, a renowned historian, much of the original structure of the mosque was still intact. However, the northern and eastern walls had collapsed due to heavy rains during the reign of Maharaja Sher Singh, approximately half a century earlier. Presently, the mosque is under the care of the descendants of Muhammed Nawazish Ali Shah, whose magnificent mausoleum stands within the mosque's courtyard. The caretaker of the mosque shared that the area remained abandoned until 1905, with thick bamboo groves covering the land. In 1905, Muhammed Nawazish Ali Shah responded to a dream in which he was urged by Syed Aaram Mehmood to restore and revive the mosque. Nawazish Ali cleared the overgrowth, revitalized the mosque, and attended to the shrine of Aaram Mehmood. He passed away in 1948 and was buried in the courtyard, near the foot of Aaram Mehmood's grave. In 1952, their disciples erected a splendid mausoleum with two domes over the graves of Aaram Mehmood and Nawazish Ali Shah. The complex also contains several other graves, including the domeless grave of the mosque's founder, Nawab Jafar Khan, which remains hidden among the walls of modern constructions.