Zahir Mosque Turns 100 Years Old

The frontal view of Zahir Mosque at Alor Setar, Kedah

ALOR SETAR, Dec 26 (Bernama) -- On Oct 15, the Zahir Mosque located in the heart of the city turned 100 years old and the anniversary celebration is scheduled for April 2016.

Surely, the mosque which is also the Royal Mosque has many uniqueness.

Recalling the history of the mosque, also known as the Zahrah Mosque, the Grand Imam, Ustaz Mohd Isa Abd Rahman said the mosque which was built on March 11, 1912 was the brainchild of Tunku Mahmud Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah, who was the Kedah State Council president and the 26th Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah's younger brother.

It was launched on Friday on Oct 15, 1915 by Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah.

What was more interesting was that during the opening ceremony, Tunku Mahmud delivered the Friday prayers sermon himself while Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah led the prayers.

Mohd Isa said another interesting fact about the Zahir Mosque was that, during the old days, 'nobat' would be played at the 'balai nobat' before the calls of prayer (azan).

"People in the past have no watch to tell the time for prayers. Besides the nobat, the large clock located near the mosque also used to tell the time," he said.

Both the big clock and balai nobat were built together with the construction of the mosque, said Mohd Isa.

He said another unique feature of the Zahir Mosque was that it had 261 pillars made of stones and cement.

"The design used the Corinthian architecture with floral carvings," he said.

He added that the mosque was renovated twice, in 1960 and 1975.
-bernama.