Sheikh ul Alam Mosque. A Mosque Built with Unity and Devotion

^{Night view of the mosque that i have captured some time before}

The mosque we have has been under construction for about 10 years and is still in progress, as it is a very huge project. All the money required is contributed by the residents of this village only. Earlier, we had an old mosque at this place, but as it was not enough to accommodate the rising population of the village, we had to construct this mosque with much greater space.

^{The outside view of the mosque}

Now, the newly constructed mosque has been provided with all the facilities that are required in and around it for the convenience of the devotees who come here to pray. It is the grand mosque of the village where congregational prayers happen. We have other small mosques in different quarters of the village, but this one is the main one where people gather together for congregational prayers like Friday prayers, Eid prayers, etc.

^{The long corridor of the mosque}

Just beside the mosque premises, we have a historical spring, which adds to the facilities available, as people perform ablution there. It is one of the remarkable things that we have right beside the mosque because the spring offers cold water during the scorching heat of summer and relatively warm water during winters, which feels like a blessing.

While going to the mosque complex, we have a long corridor where people can put their shoes on the racks provided. On entering the mosque, we first pass through the area where ablution is performed. We have more than a dozen separate compartments to provide the facility where people can perform ablution. Upon crossing this area, we have a large space termed as hamaam. It is a typical heated room, specifically made for the winter season. Flat rocks are laid on the floor, and underneath, fire is burnt during winters, which heats these stones and radiates warmth inside the room. During winters, a lot of people can be seen staying in the hamaam area throughout the day, as people do not have much work due to severe cold and snow in the valley.

^{washroom area where people perform ablution and pirify themselves before getting into the mosque}

Just beside this hamaam area is the main praying area of the mosque. Our mosque has a huge praying area of about 40 by 40 feet where more than 1500 people can gather at once. This area has beautiful carpets underneath and is well ventilated, with ACs provided for the convenience of people during both winters and summers.

^{Hamaam area which remains warms duting winters}

As I already said, it is the grand mosque where people gather together, and it is not only the people from our village, but also from nearby villages who come here. All the matters of the mosque are managed by a local authority, who have been assigned the responsibility of looking after these affairs without any remuneration, purely for the convenience of the people.

^{The main praying area of the mosque}

The mosque is still under construction, and one more storey is being built over the already constructed two storeys. Only the people of this village have been contributing money towards the construction of this mosque, and it is quite a huge achievement for all of us together. No one seems to feel any shortage of money because it is more like a collective effort, and no one needs to be forced for contribution.

Anyways, it is going to be a beautiful project that will be completed in a couple of years from now, and I believe I will come up with another post at that time when the construction work is finished.

^{Fire wood put on the back side of mosque for burning it underneath the Hamaam during winters}

Field	Details
Name of Religious Place	Sheik ul Alam Mosque, Lolipora, Budgam, Kashmir, India
Google Maps	https://maps.app.goo.gl/d7HgyajDDbpRMKk1A?g_st=ic
Plus Code	8J5PVP9M+6W
Steem Atlas	[//]:# (!steematlas 33.8680625 lat 74.7348125 long Sheikh ul Alam Mosque. A Mosque Built with Unity and Devotion d3scr)
Open	24×7
Date of Visit	20-03-2026

Thank you