PESHAWAR-(NADER KHAN): Having old painted designs on its walls, the 400-year-old Mughal era mosque is one among the oldest symbols of national heritage in Peshawar Palosai village, which needed preservation and attention from the archaeology department to make it more attractive for visitors.
This mosque, built in the name of Sheikh Imam Uddin, is considered to be a masterpiece of architecture and is thought to be the most elaborately adorned mosque of the Mughal era. Alongside the mosque, there is also the tomb of Sheikh Imam Uddin, built in the same manner and craft. The mosque and tomb were constructed on a piece of land owned by the popular Khalil tribe of Peshawar, as this tribe considered Sheikh Imam among their forefathers and showed great respect to him. The writing carved on a wall states that Sheikh Imam was born in 1611 in Budhni village in the outskirts of Peshawar.
His father’s name was Sheikh Kabir, who was also considered an upright and religious person of this area. Sheikh Imam’s mother, Taj Bibi, was the daughter of Akhund Darweza Baba, a popular Sufi of the area. The Sheikh was popular for his decency and religious nature and got recognition in the far-flung areas of Peshawar in the name of Sheikh. He lived for 40 years and died in 1650.
The construction of his tomb was started in 1652 AD by his disciples, Sheikh Abdul Razzaq and Sheikh Abdul Haq, and completed in 1658. The main entrance is on the southern side, which leads directly into the basement. The wonderful tomb stands on the veranda, consisting of high arches on all four sides. To the west of the tomb, there is the three-domed mosque.
Moreover, it is renowned for its inner walls that are adorned with intricate murals, a technique of mural painting carried out upon wet plaster laid on a wall. The mosque is rectangular in plan with three doorways opening under high arches. The outer door of the mosque is decorated with designs and drawings that are an example of the detailed sense of aesthetics of the mosque’s architects and craftsmen.
The material compositions of the mosques show that it is composed of stone blocks and lime materials, which look more stable than a cemented wall; however, since their inception, no repairing work has been done to stop the emerging cracks. The cracks were quite visible on the walls of the mosque. The historical mosque and tomb have no watchmen to look after the tomb and mosque; however, a few volunteers visit the mosque and the shrine on a daily basis to keep it clean for the visitors.
Khalil-ur-Rahman is one of the volunteers who has a strong attachment to this place to serve the guests with a cup of tea. He said that he gets nothing from the government and works here as a volunteer to keep this mosque clean for the visitors who are taking a keen interest in this historical site. There is a dire need for renovation work in the mosque as the mosque has developed cracks and its painting has started fading away with the passage of time. There is a dire need for the archaeology department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to work on repairing and maintaining the mosque.
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