View source for Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque

{{Short description|Mosque in Isfahan, Iran}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox religious building
| building_name         = Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque
| native_name           = {{lang|fa|مسجد شیخ لطف الله}}
| native_name_lang      = fa
| image                 = Sheikh Lotfallah Esfahan.JPG
| caption               = 
| image_upright         = 1.4
| location              = [[Naqsh-e Jahan Square]], [[Isfahan]], [[Isfahan Province]]
| country               = [[Iran]]
| map_type              = Iran
| map_size              = 250
| map_relief            = 1
| coordinates           = {{coord|32|39|26|N|51|40|44|E|region:IR_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| religious_affiliation = [[Shia Islam]]
| status                = [[Mosque]]
| functional_status     = Active
| architect             = 
| architecture_type     = [[Mosque]]
| architecture_style    = [[Safavid art|Safavid]]
| groundbreaking        = {{AH|1011|link=yes}}
| year_completed        = {{ubl|{{AH|1028}}|1920s CE {{small|(reconstruction)}}}}
| founded_by            = [[Abbas I of Safavid|Abbas the Great]]
| construction_cost     = 
| capacity              = 
| dome_quantity         = 1
| dome_height_outer     = {{cvt|32|m}}
| dome_dia_outer        = {{cvt|22|m}}
| minaret_quantity      = 
| minaret_height        = 
| interior_area         = {{cvt|2500|m2}}
| website               = 
| materials             = Stone; bricks; mortar; marble; ceramic tiles
| module                = {{Infobox historic site
| embed = yes
| designation1            = WHS
| designation1_offname    = Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque
| designation1_type       = Built
| designation1_criteria   = {{UNESCO WHS type|(i)(v)(vi)}}(i)(v)(vi)
| designation1_date       = 1979
| delisted1_date          = 
| designation1_partof     = [[Naqsh-e Jahan Square]]
| designation1_number     = 115
| designation1_free1name  = Complex comprises
| designation1_free1value = {{ubl|[[Maidan]] – [[Naqsh-e Jahan Square|The Royal Square]]|[[Shah Mosque (Isfahan)|Masjed-e Shah]]|[[Ālī Qāpū|Ālī Qāpū Palace]]|[[Bazaar of Isfahan|The Imperial Bazaar]]}}
| designation1_free2name  = 
| designation1_free2value = 
| designation1_free3name  = 
| designation1_free3value =
| designation2 = INHL
| designation2_offname = Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque
| designation2_type = Built
| designation2_date = 6 January 1932
| designation2_number = 105
| designation2_free1name  = Conservation organization
| designation2_free1value = [[Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran]]
}}<!-- for embedding other infobox templates -->
| footnotes             = <ref name="cgie-Isfahan" />
}}

The '''Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque''' ({{langx|fa|مسجد شیخ لطف الله|Masjid-i Shaykh Lutfallah}};){{efn|Also [[transliterate]]d as Lotfallah, Lotf Allah, Lutfullah, Lutfallah, Lutf Allah.}} is a [[Shia Islam|Shi'ite]] [[mosque]], located on the eastern side of [[Naqsh-e Jahan Square]], [[Isfahan]], [[Isfahan province]], [[Iran]]. Construction of the mosque started in {{AH|1011|link=yes}} and was finished in {{AH|1028}} and it is one of the masterpieces of [[Iranian architecture]] that was built during the [[Safavid Iran|Safavid era]]. It was designed by the chief architect Muhammad Reza during the reign of [[Abbas the Great|Shah Abbas the Great.]] On the advice of [[Arthur Upham Pope]], [[Reza Shah|Reza Shah Pahlavi]] had the mosque rebuilt and repaired in the 1920s.

The Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, completed in the [[Safavid art|Safavid style]], is one of the most important architectural projects built on Isfahan's [[maidan]], prominent for its location, scale, design, and ornamentation.<ref name=ArchNet/> The mosque is registered, along with the Naghsh-e Jahan Square and other surrounding structures, as a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]];<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/115 |title=Meidan Emam, Esfahan |work=[[World Heritage Site]] |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |date= |access-date= }}</ref> and was added to the [[Iran National Heritage List]] on 6 January 1932, administered by the [[Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran]]. 

== History ==
The purpose of this mosque was for it to be private to the royal court (unlike the [[Shah Mosque (Isfahan)|Shah Mosque]], which was meant for the public).<ref>{{cite book |author=Ferrier, R. W. |title=A Journey to Persia, Jean Chardin's Portrait of a Seventeenth-century Empire |pages=53, 143 |publisher= |location= |isbn= }}</ref> For this reason, the mosque does not have any [[minaret]]s and is smaller. Indeed, few Westerners at the time of the Safavids even paid any attention to this mosque, and they certainly did not have access to it.

[[File:Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, Isfahan,Iran.jpg|thumb|Interior view]]
To avoid having to walk across the Naqsh-e Jahan Square to the mosque, Shah Abbas had the architect build a tunnel spanning the piazza from the [[Ālī Qāpū|Ali Qapu Palace]] to the mosque. On reaching the entrance of the mosque, one would have to walk through a passage that winds round and round, until one finally reached the main building. Along this passage there were standing guards, and the obvious purpose of this design was to shield the women of the [[harem]] as much as possible from anyone's entering the building.<ref>http://www.kulturreiser.no/reisene/iran0411.asp{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=Internet Archive Bot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> These doors are open to worshippers and visitors, and the passage underneath the piazza is no longer in use.

=== Sheikh Lotfollah ===
The mosque was named in 1622 after Shaykh Lutfallah Maysi al-'Amili (d.1622), a prominent religious scholar and teacher (and father-in-law to Shah 'Abbas)<ref name="Babaie 2008">{{cite book |last=Babaie |first=S. |title=Isfahan and its Palaces: Statecraft, Shi'ism and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |series=Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Art |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7486-3376-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y28xEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 |page=109 |access-date=25 November 2021 |archive-date=21 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421064601/https://books.google.com/books?id=Y28xEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 |url-status=live}}</ref> who came to Isfahan at the orders of Shah 'Abbas, and resided on the site, but was never involved in the mosque's construction.<ref name=ArchNet>{{cite web |url=https://www.archnet.org/sites/1623 |title=Masjid-i Shaykh Lutfallah |work=ArchNet |date=n.d. |access-date=5 April 2025 }}</ref>

Throughout its history, this mosque has been referred to by different names. For Junabadi it was ''the mosque with the great dome'' (Masjed-e qubbat-e ’azim) and ''the domed mosque'' (qubbat masjed), while contemporary historian [[Iskandar Beg Munshi|Iskandar Munshi]] referred to it as the ''mosque of great purity and beauty''.<ref name=Blake>{{cite book |author=Blake, Stephen P. |title=Half the World, The Social Architecture of Safavid Isfahan, 1590- 1722 |pages=149 |publisher= |location= |isbn= }}</ref>{{rp|149}} On the other hand, European travellers, such as [[Jean Chardin]], referred to the mosque using the current name, and [[Quran]]ic inscriptions within the mosque, done by Iranian calligrapher Baqir Banai, also include the name of Sheikh Lutfallah. In addition, the reckonings of Muhibb Ali Beg, the Imperial Treasurer, show that the Imam's salary came directly from the imperial household's resources. All this suggests that not only was the building indeed named after Sheikh Lutfallah, but also, that this famous imam was among the first prayer-leaders for the royal court in this very mosque.<ref name=Blake/>{{rp|149}}

== Architecture ==
The mosque is more similar in type to a mausoleum than a four-[[iwan]] mosque. Architectural historians ascribe this either to the fact that members of the Shah's family had used it for private worship or that it had functioned as a women's [[sanctuary]].<ref name=ArchNet/> The building was completed in {{AH|1028}}.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Cambridge History of Islam |author1=Holt, P. M. |author-link1=Peter M. Holt |author2=Lambton, Ann K. S. |author-link2=Ann Lambton |author3=Lewis, Bernard |author-link3=Bernard Lewis |year=1977 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-29138-0 |page=737 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UfQWT_esc5cC&pg=PA737 |access-date= 2012-04-07}}</ref> 

According to [[Sheila Blair]] and [[Jonathan Bloom]], the architect of the building was Muhammad Reza (or Muhammad Riza), son of Husayn, a builder from Isfahan, whose name appears on an inscription around the [[mihrab]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blair |first=Sheila S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-mhIgewDtNkC&pg=PA188 |title=The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250-1800 |last2=Bloom |first2=Jonathan M. |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-300-06465-0 |pages=188 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Blair |first=Sheila S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=huOBwihhwyQC |title=Islam: Art and Architecture |last2=Bloom |first2=Jonathan M. |publisher=h.f.ullmann |year=2011 |isbn=9783848003808 |editor-last=Hattstein |editor-first=Markus |location= |pages=512 |language=en |chapter=Iran: Safavids and Qajars (Architecture) |editor-last2=Delius |editor-first2=Peter}}</ref> Other names found in the mosque's inscriptions are [[Ali Reza Abbasi|Ali Reza al-Abbasi]], a calligrapher who also worked later on the [[Shah Mosque (Isfahan)|Shah Mosque]] nearby, and Baqir Banna' (Baqir the Builder).<ref name="architect">{{cite book |last=Babaie |first=Sussan |title=Affect, Emotion, and Subjectivity in Early Modern Muslim Empires |publisher=Brill |year=2017 |isbn=9789004352841 |editor=Rizvi |editor-first=Kishwar |pages=33–34 |language=en |chapter=Chasing after the Muhandis: Visual Articulations of the Architect and Architectural Historiography |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nyk_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA34}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Blake |first=Stephen P. |url=http://archive.org/details/halfworldsociala0000blak |title=Half the world : the social architecture of Safavid Isfahan, 1590-1722 |date= |publisher=Mazda Publishers |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-56859-087-5 |pages=149 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Entrance iwan ===
[[File:Lotfollah mosque, isfahan (1).jpg|thumb|left|190px|alt=Showing the entrance and the dome which does not stand directly behind the entrance, but is offset to the south. |The dome does not stand directly behind the entrance, but is offset to the south.]]
The entrance gateway, like those of the Grand Bazaar and the [[Shah Mosque (Isfahan)|Masjed-e Shah]], was a recessed half-moon. Also, as in the Masjed-e Shah, the lower [[façade]] of the mosque and the gateway are constructed of marble, while the ''haft-rangi'' tiles ({{langx|fa|هفت‌رنگی|seven-coloured}} "polychrome mosaics") decorate the upper parts of the structure.<ref name=Blake/>{{rp|148}}

[[File:Lotfollah mosque, isfahan.jpg|thumb|170px|Entrance door leading from the L-shaped vestibule into the mosque.]]
The monument's architect solved the problem of the difference between the direction of [[qibla]] and the portal iwan by devising an L-shaped connecting vestibule between the entrance and the enclosure. The north-south orientation of the [[Maidan|maydan]] does not agree with south-west direction of qibla; it is set at 45 degrees to it.<ref name="Barbara">{{cite book |last1=Brend |first1=Barbara |title=Islamic Art |url=https://archive.org/details/islamicart0000bren |url-access=registration |access-date=2012-04-07 |year=1991 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=0-674-46866-X |page=[https://archive.org/details/islamicart0000bren/page/153 153] }}</ref> This feature, called ''pāshnah'' ({{lang|fa|پاشنه}}) in Persian architecture,<ref name="IRIB">{{cite web |url=http://negah.irib.ir/media/show_video/912 |script-title=fa:مسجد شیخ لطف الله |date=<!--1390-07-03 in [[Iranian calendar]]--> |publisher=[[IRIB]] |language=fa |trans-title=Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque |access-date=2012-04-07 |url-status= dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424052652/http://negah.irib.ir/media/show_video/912 |archive-date=2012-04-24 }}</ref> has caused the dome to stand not exactly behind the entrance iwan.<ref name="Barbara" /> 

The recessed small court flows from the maydan and is linked, on its north and south sides, to the continuous corridor that envelopes the maydan's mercantile facilities. As a result, when viewed from the maydan, the mosque's main portal iwan and dome do not fall on the same axis, as is always the case in other mosques, but instead the dome appears behind the main portal iwan as if having slid {{convert|6.5|m}} to the right from its axis. This asymmetrical layout was initially introduced to reconcile the (southwest) direction of [[Mecca]] with the placement of the mihrab on the qibla wall, and adds visual complexity to the structure.<ref name=ArchNet/>

The portal iwan is elaborately ornamented in colorful [[mosaic]]s that contrast with the maydan's sand-colored bricks. Built as a recessed area on the eastern wall of the court, the portal iwan is an elevated platform raised by four steps from the court level. An inscription band in white on a dark blue background runs horizontally on the three sides of the portal niche, above which begins the iwan's vault, comprising four clusters of [[muqarnas]]es made of small glazed-tiles units.<ref name=ArchNet/> One of the inscriptions on this portal gives the date of the start of construction.<ref name=Blake/>{{rp|147}} A pointed-arch doorway is located below the inscription band and is flanked by two panels of mosaics of floral [[arabesque]]s with motifs in yellow, white, and blue on a dark blue background. These panels rest on top of a continuous marble dado.<ref name=ArchNet/> 

The offset entry does not allow the visitor to enter the prayer chamber directly from the maydan by passing through the main portal iwan, which is aligned on the east-west axis. Due to the mosque's alignment on the northeast-southwest axis, upon entering the mosque one walks along two corridors, oriented respectively to the northeast and southeast, which are placed adjacent to the northwest and northeast walls of the prayer chamber. Turning southwest to face the qibla wall, one enters the domed chamber to see the mihrab on the opposite wall. This journey into gradual deepening into darkness and reemergence into a room bathed with light reflected on the glazed revetment is one of the most rewarding experiences of the building.<ref name=ArchNet/> In ''[[The Road to Oxiana]]'', [[Robert Byron (travel writer)|Robert Byron]] wrote about this sight:<ref>{{cite book |author=Byron, Robert |author-link=Robert Byron (travel writer) |title=[[The Road to Oxiana]] |pages=177–8 |year= |publisher= |location= |isbn= }}</ref>
{{blockquote|''"I know of no finer example of the Persian Islamic genius than the interior of the dome. The dome is inset with a network of lemon-shaped compartments, which decrease in size as they ascend towards the formalised peacock at the apex... The ''mihrāb'' in the west wall is enamelled with tiny flowers on a deep blue meadow. Each part of the design, each plane, each repetition, each separate branch or blossom has its own sombre beauty. But the beauty of the whole comes as you move. Again, the highlights are broken by the play of glazed and unglazed surfaces; so that with every step they rearrange themselves in countless shining patterns... I have never encountered splendour of this kind before."''|[[Robert Byron (travel writer)|Robert Byron]] in ''[[The Road to Oxiana]]''.}}<!--Another version
"I know of no finer example of the Persian Islamic genius that the interior of the dome: The dome is inset with a network of lemon-shaped compartments, which increase in size as they descend from a formalised peacock at the pattern inlaid on plain stucco. The walls, bordered by broad white inscriptions on dark blue, are similarly inlaid with twirling arabesques or baroque squares on deep ochre stucco. The colours of all this inlay are dark blue, light greenish-blue, and a tint of indefinite wealth like wine. Each arch is framed in turquoise corkscrews. The [[Mihrab]] in the west wall is enamelled with tiny flowers on a deep blue meadow."<ref>{{cite book |last= Savory |first= Roger |author-link= Roger Savory |title= Iran Under the Safavids |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=v4Yr4foWFFgC&pg=PA163 |access-date= 2012-04-07 |year= 2007 |publisher= Cambridge University Press |isbn= 0-521-04251-8 |pages= 164–65 }}<ref>
-->

=== Size and area ===
[[File:Sheikh Lotf Allah 3D aa.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px|Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque]]
In contrast to the grand size of the maydan's space, the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque is very small and consists of a single domed chamber ({{convert|19|m}} on a side), surrounded by rooms{{spaced endash}}that possibly functioned as service areas{{spaced endash}}on its sides, and preceded by a portal iwan overlooking the maydan. The two rooms accessed from the corridor which envelopes the sanctuary dome measure {{convert|6|by|9|m}}; one is found on the western side of the corridor, and the other along the far end of the eastern wall. A third room{{spaced endash}}{{convert|8|by|16|m}}{{spaced endash}}is located on the exterior of the southern wall of the sanctuary, and is accessed via the corridor running along the maydan wall and then turning right after the vestibule area. Although the Sheikh Lotfollah is not a rectangular structure, its masses can be measured as one rectangular area of {{convert|44|by|30|m}} and an additional rectangular service area comprising approximately {{convert|152|m2}}.<ref name=ArchNet/>

Compared with the Shah Mosque, the design of the Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque is quite simple: there is no ''[[sahn]]'', and there are no interior [[iwan]]s. The building itself consists of a flattened dome resting on a square dome chamber.<ref>{{cite book |author=Savory, Roger |title=Iran Under the Safavids |page=163 |year= |publisher= |location= |isbn= }}</ref> However, in contrast to the simple structure of the mosque, the decoration of both interior and exterior is exceedingly complex,<ref name="ItIC" /> and in its construction the finest materials were used and the most talented craftsmen employed. 

=== Dome ===
[[File:Isfahan Lotfollah mosque ceiling symmetric.jpg|thumb|right|300px|alt=The interior of the dome which is inset with a network of lemon-shaped compartments, which increase in size as they descend from a formalised peacock at the pattern inlaid on plain stucco|The interior side of the dome. The decoration seems to lead the eye upwards toward its center, as the rings of ornamental bands filled with [[arabesque]] patterns become smaller and smaller.<ref name="ItIC">{{cite book |author=Savory, Roger |author-link=Roger Savory |title=Introduction to Islamic Civilisation |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontois00savo_0 |url-access=registration |access-date=2012-04-07 |edition=10th |year=1976 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-09948-X |page=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontois00savo_0/page/94 94] }}</ref>]]
The dome is one of the few single-shell domes of the [[Safavid art|Safavid architecture]]{{spaced endash}}{{convert|13|m|ft}} in diameter<ref>{{cite book |last1=L. Baker |first1=Patricia |last2=Smith |first2=Hilary |title=Iran |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a40CkMNqU8AC&pg=PA108 |access-date=2012-04-07 |edition=3rd |year=2009 |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=978-1-84162-289-7 |page=107 }}</ref>{{spaced endash}} with a structure consisting of three levels. Four squinches of pointed-arched panels, framed by an inscription band in white and blue demarcated by light blue cable moldings, ascend from the floor and support a sixteen kite-shaped shields that, in turn, support the drum, which comprises sixteen arched panels. The drum is ornamented with alternating double-grilles windows with an arabesque pattern. The interior dome has a sunburst from which descend medallions inscribing floral motifs, which become larger as they descend away from the center. The exterior of the dome is ornamented with an arabesque of a floral motif in white, blue, and black against a yellow background.<ref name=ArchNet/><ref name="Barbara" /> 

The "peacock" at the centre of the interior side of the dome is one of the unique characteristics of the mosque. If you stand at the entrance gate of the inner hall and look at the center of the dome, a peacock, whose tail is the sunrays coming in from the hole in the ceiling, can be seen.

On the interior side of the dome the aethetic purpose of the long, low, gloomy passage leading to the dome chamber becomes evident, for it is with a sense of heightened anticipation that one enters the sanctuary. Lowness gives way to soaring height and gloom is dispelled by the steady illumination of nearly a score of windows.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-first=Peter |editor1-last= Jackson |editor1-link=Peter Jackson |editor2-first=Laurence |editor2-last=Lockhart |editor2-link=Laurence Lockhart |title=[[The Cambridge History of Iran]]: The Timurid and Safavid Periods |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fY01Tc2SZVEC&pg=PA785 |access-date=2012-04-07 |year=1986 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-24699-7 |page=785 |chapter=Safavid Architecture }}</ref>

Barbara Brend described as follows: "the turquoise cable moulding of an arch is seen below the dome, in which concentric rings of thirty-two lozenges diminish in size as they approach a centre which gives an impression of luminosity. The design, which suggests both movement and stillness, is a powerful though not an explicit vehicle of religious symbolism, speaking of the harmony of the universe. ... The support system of dome is illustrated by eight great arches of turquoise tilework in cable form which rise from a low dado to the full height of the wall, four in the position of [[squinch]]es and four against the side walls; between them are kite-shaped squinches-pendentives. Within the dome, ranks of units of tilework of ogee-mandorla form are set in a lattice of plain brick and diminish in size until they meet a central sunbrust patterned with a tracery of arabesque".<ref name="Barbara" />

The structure of the dome of Lotfollah Mosque and that of [[Blue Mosque, Tabriz|Blue Mosque of Tabriz]] is believed to be derived from that of the Shah Vali Mosque in [[Taft, Yazd]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Jaʿfari |first=Shivā |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Islamica]] |script-title=fa:تفت |trans-title=Taft |url=http://www.cgie.org.ir/shavad.asp?id=130&avaid=6010 |access-date=2012-04-07 |language=fa |publisher=[[Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia]] |location=Tehran |quote={{lang|fa|اهمیت این مسجد بیشتر از جهت گنبد و مقصورۀ آن است که می‌توان ساختمان گنبد مسجدکبود در تبریز و شیخ لطف‌الله در اصفهان را تقلیدی از این بنا دانست.}} |url-status= dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909174726/http://www.cgie.org.ir/shavad.asp?id=130&avaid=6010 |archive-date=2012-09-09 }}</ref>

The tiling design of this mosque, as well as that of Shah Mosque and other Persian mosques of even before Safavid period, seems to be not completely symmetrical&nbsp;– particularly, in colours of patterns. They have been described as intentional, "symmetrical" asymmetries.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Soleymāni |first=Amin |year=2007 |script-title=fa:اشاره‌ای به بی‌قرینگی در نقوش کاشی‌کاری دو مسجد امام و شیخ لطف الله اصفهان |trans-title=Asymmetry in Tiling Designs of the Imam Mosque and the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque in Isfahan |journal=Âyene-ye Khiâl |issue=2 |pages=[http://www.noormags.com/view/fa/searchresultarticle?num=9&avd=0&numberId=18814&pageNo=6&ViewType=image 6–17] |publisher= [[Iranian Academy of the Arts]] |language=fa |access-date=2012-04-07 |url=http://www.honar.ac.ir/en/publisher/lett_news/ayenehkhial.asp?id=20 }}{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> 

=== Other design influences ===
[[File:Ardabil Carpet.jpg|thumb|190px|right|The [[Ardabil Carpet]]. The design is derived from the interior of Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque's dome.]]
Design of the [[Ardabil Carpet]] was from the same concept as that of the interior side of the dome.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.isfahanportal.ir/framework.jsp?SID=2353 |script-title=fa:مسجد شیخ لطف الله |publisher= isfahanportal.ir |language=fa |trans-title=Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque |access-date=2012-04-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804024043/http://www.isfahanportal.ir/framework.jsp?SID=2353 |archive-date=2012-08-04 }}</ref> Also design of the "Carpet of Wonders", which will{{when?|date=April 2025}} be the biggest carpet of the world, is based on the interior design of the dome.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aftab-magazine.com/articles/2006059.html |script-title=fa:فرش ایرانی |work=Aftab Magazine |language=fa |trans-title=Persian carpet |access-date=2012-04-07 }}</ref>

It has been suggested that concepts of the mystic philosopher [[Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi|Suhrawardi]] about [[Wahdat al-wujud|the unity of existence]] were possibly related to the pattern on the interior side of the dome.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.honar.ac.ir/Publisher/lett_news/show.asp?id=1182 |script-title=fa:گزارش ميزگرد "ضرورت تدوين و تأليف كتب در مباني حكمي و فلسفي هنر" |last=Khosravi |first=Shahnāz |publisher=[[Iranian Academy of the Arts]] |language=fa |access-date=2012-04-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230163806/http://www.honar.ac.ir/Publisher/lett_news/show.asp?id=1182 |archive-date=2011-12-30 }}</ref><ref name=Canby>{{cite book |author=Canby, Sheila R. |title=Shah Abbas, The Remaking of Iran |pages=28–35 |publisher= |location= |isbn= }}</ref> Ali Reza Abbasi, the leading calligrapher at the court of Shah Abbas, has decorated the entrance, above the door, with majestic inscriptions with the names and titles of Shah Abbas, the Husayni and the Musavi, that is, the descendants of Imams Husayn and Musa.<ref name=Canby/>{{rp|28}}

The running inscription in white tile on blue ground on the exterior drum of the dome, visible to the public, consists of three [[surah]] (chapters) from the Quran; al- Shams (91, The Sun), al-Insan (76, Man) and al-Kauthar (108, Abundance). The surah emphasize the rightness of a pure soul and the fate in hell of those who reject God's way, most likely referring to the Ottoman Turks.<ref name=Canby/>{{rp|30}}

Turning right at the entrance to the domed prayer chamber, one first encounters the full text of Surah 98, al- Bayyina, the Clear Proof. The message of this chapter is that clear evidence of the true scripture was not available to the People of the Book (i.e. Christians or Jews) until God sent his messenger Muhammad. The horizontal band of script at the bottom of the arch is not Quranic, but states that God's blessings are on the (Shi’i) martyrs. Thus, Shi’i invocation echoes the Quranic verses in its stress on the truthfulness of God's message.<ref name=Canby/>{{rp|30}}

The fact that two poems by Shaykh Bahai, a devoted [[Sufism|Sufi]], grace the walls of Shah Abbas' private mosque, proves that, although some Sufi elements in the empire were suppressed, Sufism as a general phenomenon continued to play an important role in the Safavid society.<ref name=Canby/>{{rp|33}}

The design of the interior of the dome also inspired the design of the [[Azadi Square]], Tehran.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Nawrūzī Ṭalab, Ḥamīd Riz̤ā |title=Az Tihrān tā Tihrān : jilvahʹhā-yi zindagī, hunar va miʻmārī |trans-title=Tehran, past & present: a glance at the features of life, art and architecture |date=2013 |publisher=Yasāvulī |location=Tihrān |isbn=978-964-306-396-2 |page=99 |language=fa}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ka Tehran Azadi Amanat |lang=fa |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2007/10/071023_ka-tehran-azadi-amanat.shtml |website=www.bbc.com |date=2007-10-07 |access-date=1 June 2020}}</ref>

==Gallery==
{{wide image|Naghsh-e_Jahan_Square.jpg|750px|[[Naqsh-e Jahan Square]]: Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque (left), [[Shah Mosque (Isfahan)|Shah Mosque]] (center) and [[Ali Qapu]] (right), 2020.}}
{{wide image|Naghsh-e Jahan Square Isfahan.JPG|750px|Panoramic view, 2007 or earlier.}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="168">
Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, Isfahan 01.jpg|Front view - as seen from the balcony of the [[Ālī Qāpū|Ali Qapu Palace]]
Dome wall and windows of the Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque.jpg|Interior design detail
Sheikh-Lotf-Allah mosque wall and ceiling.jpg|Interior wall and ceiling
Sheikh Lotf Allah mosque - side of dome and windows.jpg|Interior of the dome
Mithrab of the Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque.jpg|Mihrab
Iranian Tiles 1.JPG|Tiles in the [[rinceau]] style
Sheikh Lotf Allah mosque entry gateway.jpeg|[[Iwan]] interior
Interior of Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque - Isfahan - Iran - 04 (7433211628).jpg|Interior detail
Sheikh lotfollah mosque.jpg|Dome interior
Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque -2.jpg|Interior detail
Dome of Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque - Isfahan - Iran (7433088760).jpg|Dome interior
Sheikh Lotf Allah mosque - harem wall detail.jpg|alt=Calligraphy of verses in thuluth style, on blue background.|The inscriptions on the dome, written by [[Ali Reza Abbasi]], in ''[[thuluth]]'' and ''[[nasta'liq]]'' styles.<ref name="cgie-Isfahan">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Islamica]] |publisher=[[Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia]] |location=Tehran |url=http://www.cgie.org.ir/shavad.asp?id=123&avaid=3616 |access-date=2012-04-07 |last=Āzarnoush |first=Āzartāsh |author-link=Azartash Azarnoush |language=fa |trans-title=Isfahan |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125130200/http://cgie.org.ir/shavad.asp?id=123&avaid=3616 |archive-date=2010-11-25 |script-title=fa:اصفهان}}</ref>
Naqsh-e Jahan Square at Night.JPG|Naqsh-e Jahan Square at night
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{stack|{{portal|Shia Islam|Iran|Architecture}}}}
* [[Shia Islam in Iran]]
* [[List of mosques in Iran]]
* [[List of historical structures in Isfahan Province|List of historical structures in Isfahan]]
* [[Chehel Sotoun]]
* [[Hasht Behesht]]
* [[History of Persian domes]]

== Notes ==
{{noteslist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

=== Bibliography ===
* {{cite book |author1=Blair, Sheila S. |author2=Bloom, Jonathan M. |title=The Art and Architecture of Islam |location=New Haven |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1994 |pages=185–188 |isbn= }} 
* {{cite book |author1=Blunt, Wilfrid |title=Isfahan: Pearl of Asia |location=London |publisher=Elek Books |year=1966 |pages=74–77 |isbn= }}
* {{cite book |last=Bozorg-nia |first=Zohreh |title= Mimaran-i Iran |year=2004 |publisher=‏سازمان ميراث فرهنگي كشور،‏ معاونت معرفى و آموزش،‏ |isbn=964-7483-39-2}} 
* {{cite book |last=Ferrante |first=M. |title=La Mosquée de Šaiḥ Luṭfullah à Ispahan: Relevé planimétrique', Travaux de restauration de monuments historiques en Iran |editor-last=Zander |editor-first=G. |pages=421–440 |year=1968 |publisher= |location=Rome |lang=fr |isbn= }}
* {{cite book |author1=Hoag, John D. |title=Islamic architecture |location=Milano |publisher=Electa Architecture (Distributed by Phaidon Press) |year=2004 |orig-year=1973 |page=171 |isbn= }} 
* {{cite book |author1=Michell, George |title=Architecture of the Islamic World |location=London |publisher=Thames and Hudson |year=1978 |page=254 |isbn= }} 
* {{cite journal |last=Shahani |first=Mohammadhossein |title=Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque: A Story of Daylight in Sequential Spaces |journal=Space and Culture |date=June 18, 2018 |volume=24 |pages=19–36 |doi=10.1177/1206331218782406 |s2cid=149995164 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1206331218782406|url-access=subscription }}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{cite AV media |url=http://mooweex.com/the-mosque-sheikh-lotfollah/ |title=The Mosque Sheikh Lotfollah |format=A 15-minute documentary film |author=Tayyab, Manouchehr |work=Mooweex.com |date= |access-date= }}
* {{cite web |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/isfahan-x3-mosques |work=Iranica |title=Isfahan mosques |date= |access-date= |author= }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.ne.jp/asahi/arc/ind/2_meisaku/53_lotfollah/lot_eng.htm |title=Shaikh Lotfollah Mosque, Isfahan: Masterpiece of Islamic Architecture |work=ne.jp |date= |access-date= }}
* {{cite web |url=http://msol.ir/public/user_data/images/2685019604ea40eb362903.jpg |title=Mosque image |work=msol.ir |date= |access-date= }}
* {{cite web |url=https://structurae.net/en/structures/sheikh-lotfollah-mosque |title=Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque |work=Structurae |publisher=Nicolas Janberg |date=2025 |access-date=4 April 2025 }}

{{Esfahan Province}}
{{Mosques in Iran}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1610s establishments in Iran]]
[[Category:1619 establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:17th-century mosques in the Safavid Empire]]
[[Category:Mosques on the Iran National Heritage List]]
[[Category:Mosque buildings with domes in Iran]]
[[Category:Mosques completed in the 1610s]]
[[Category:Mosques in Isfahan]]
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in 1619]]
[[Category:Safavid mosques in Iran]]
[[Category:Shia mosques in Iran]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Iran]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Iran]]
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[[de:Meidān-e Emām#Scheich-Lotfollāh-Moschee]]