New Delhi

The first brick to be laid in the foundation of Dhanipur Masjid of Ayodhya, which has recently been named Masjid-e-Mohammad Bin Abdullah, was consecrated with the holy water of the Zum-Zum well at Makkah has arrived in India. The brick fired in the Mumbai kiln was washed with holy water and sprayed with Itr or rose fragrance at Medina. The brick has an ayat of the Quran inscribed on it.

The brick will be brought to Ayodhya after Ramzan. 

According to a report published in the Free Press Journal, Haji Arafat Sheikh, Chairman of the Masjid Muhammad bin Abdullah Development Committee, organized the transportation of the brick to and from Saudi Arabia and Mumbai.

Arafat Sheikh had said the foundation stone laying ceremony is likely to be held in February-March and it will be a mega show with some 100 Sufi saints accompanying bricks donated by people from Mumbai in a special train. 

Arafat is also a member of the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation. 

The mosque committee is also planning to inaugurate a website for the mosque on February 29, which will have a QR code for donations.

According to reports, one of the clerics of Imam-e-Haram, an important mosque of Makkah will lay the foundation stone of the new Ayodhya Mosque. However, this is yet to be confirmed by authorities.

The mosque is to be constructed on the plot allotted by the Uttar Pradesh government after the Supreme Court's decision in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid ownership dispute.

According to Haji Arafat Sheikh, this will be the largest mosque in India. It will have the world's largest Quran, whose height will be 21 feet and width will be 36 feet. The mosque will not only have five minarets to symbolize the five pillars of Islam but each one is to be named after the basic tenets of Islam.

Haji Arafat Sheikh was appointed as chairman of the development committee to oversee the construction of the mosque. Arafat insisted that he would not approach the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, or any leader for this project.

He also denied any plan to invite BJP leaders to the foundation stone laying ceremony. 

According to Shaikh, the foundation stone of the mosque will be laid in front of clerics of all sects in the country and abroad. “We only want the government to put the approval on fast-track mode, nothing else,” Shaikh said.

The Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation had proposed the ₹323 crore project in its presentation to the Ayodhya Development Authority. Initially, financial support poured in from both Muslims and Hindus.

The convenor of the foundation Athar Hussain said, “We are Overwhelmed by the response and financial assistance received. 50% of the callers are Hindus."

However, the funds are still needed for completion of the project.

Sheikh, who will launch a website for the mosque this month, said he is hopeful that there will be no shortage of funds. The Muslim community will be able to raise the money. He said the new website will have a QR code to enable online donations for the mosque. People can even donate to specific wings of the mosque complex like colleges and old age home or hospitals.

ALSO READ: Dhanipur mosque to have five minars signifying basics of Islam

As per the Supreme Court decision in November 2019, the government allotted 5 acres of land to the UP Central Sunni Waqf Board in Dhanipur village, 20 km from Ayodhya, in February 2020. It was handed over to the trust in August 2020, three days before the ground-breaking ceremony of Ram temple by Minister Narendra Modi.