Adina Mosque of Bengal with Hindu Carvings

By New Age Islam Staff Writer 26 July 2024 Sikander Shah's Tomb Is Situated Inside the Mosque Main Points: 1. Adina mosque was built by Sikander Shah of Bengal Sultanate in 1375 A.D. 1. 2.The mosque was the largest one in the Indian subcontinent. 2. It was similar to the great mosque of Damascus. 3. The walls and doors of the mosque have carvings of Hindu deities. ------ The central Mehrab of the Adina Mosque (Masjid), Malda ----- Adina Masjid in Pandua in the Malda district of West Bengal is another reminder of the fact that in the medieval era, religious places of Hindus and Muslims existed side by side and that the Muslims did not mind the carvings of Hindu religious symbols or deities on the walls of mosques. Adina Masjid of West Bengal is proof of this mind-set of the medieval era Muslims. The mosque has been abandoned since the 19th century after earthquakes damaged some portions of it. The mosque is now a listed monument under the Archaeological Survey of India. The total area of the mosque is about 500-metre-long and 300-metre-wide with 260 pillars and 387 domed bay. The most striking and debated feature of Adina mosque is that some of its walls, particularly the basalt and doors have carved images of Hindu deities Shiva and Ganesh. Apart from it, the lotus and leaves have also been carved out. It is known to all the lotus is a religious symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism. The website Archnet.org describes the blend of Islamic architecture and Hindu motifs in the plan of the mosque: "In total, the 39 Mehrabs, Minbers and other ornamentations are rigorously Islamic in their general conception but Hindu in almost all the details: small scalloped columns and plinths in the shape of lotus flowers, volutes representing leaves, corbels, tribolate arches each with sharp end cuspidated with a vase of flowers, volutes representing leaves, rhomboid lozenges and friezes of lotus petals. Along with the Hindu motifs, the interior of the Mehrab niche is divided into panels containing the Islamic motif of the hanging lamp commonly used in Bengal and is thought to be the visual representation of surah Al Nur (chapter of light in the Quran)." According to Archnet, "One of the doors was originally carved for a Hindu temple." The carvings of lotus flowers, leaves or petals n the walls can be explained as the result of influence of Indian culture and liberal approach of the Sultans of Bengal but how can the presence of the carvings of the Hindu deities Ganesha and Shiva be justified or explained? Every Muslim knows that the images of living beings are not allowed in mosques, leave aside images of Hindu gods. It cannot be argued that the Sultans of Bengal were so liberal that they allowed the images of Hindu deities to be carved on the walls or doors of the mosque. The images of Shiva and Ganesh on one or two doors were carved out probably because the doors were meant for a temple that could not be built for some reasons. The reason may be opposition from Muslims or the untimely death of the sultan. However, the Hindu images on the basalt of the mosque do not have any valid explanation. It should be kept in mind that the Quran and hadith were made popular in India only in the first half of the 18th century by Shah Waliullah. He was educated in Makkah and Madina and translated the Quran in Persian for his madrasa students. It was the first translation of the Quran in India. He also taught hadith to Indians for the first time. Before that, Islam was known among Indians through oral traditions and therefore Indian Muslims did not have in-depth knowledge of Islam. The book of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) was also compiled at the behest of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the 17th century. The Muslim converts of India inherited Hindu beliefs and practices even after converting to Islam and in some areas they even kept Hindu idols in their houses. In this scenario, we can imagine the culture and the religious knowledge of Muslims of Bengal or India including the sultans in the 14th century. Therefore, one should not be surprised when we see stones with Hindu carvings of lotus petals also used to build the mosque. Yet another aspect of the 14th century India should be kept in mind while studying the Indo -Islamic architecture of the mosque. During the medieval period, India saw the emergence of many monotheistic Hindu sects. Nath Sampraday, Lingayats, Pranami Sampraday, the Vaishnavs, Sikhism etc. The Nath sect had originated from Buddhism and considered Shiva the incarnation of the Supreme Soul. They did not believe in idol worship. Pranami sect also originated in the 17th century. This sect imbibed the teachings of both Gita and Quran. In their temples, Gita, Vedas and the Quran were recited till the life of Mahatma Gandhi. His mother Putli Bai was a follower of Pranami sect. That's why Mahatma Gandhi used to say that he had Gita in one hand and the Quran in the other. In his My Experiments With Truth, Gandhi wrote: "Pranami is a sect deriving the best of Gita and Quran in search of one goal ----Krisna." In this background it would not be surprising that one or two doors of the mosque complex were built as entrance of a temple of a monotheistic Hindu sect but could not be completed, leaving the impression for posterity that the mosque was built on the ruins of a temple. Today when we talk of a Hindu temple, we only think of a temple with an idol but during the 14th century to later ages, there were many temples that belonged to Shaivites, Naths or Pranami sects. Since details of Adina mosque are not available, one cannot ascertain the true reasons of the presence of the Hindu motifs along with Islamic motifs like Tughra inscriptions on the walls but one thing can be said with conviction that the mosque was not built over a temple as there is no historical account of the existence of a temple before the construction of a mosque in Pandua. Perhaps, it was used as a place of worship for both Hindus and Muslims. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/adina-mosque-masjid-bengal-hindu-carvings/d/132792 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism