SSC
The Kadam Rasul Mosque, which holds a stone said to bear the footprint of the Prophet, is located at:
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Answer: Option B — Gaur, West Bengal
Detailed Solution
The Kadam Rasul Mosque (Qadam Rasul Mosque) is located in the ruined medieval city of Gaur (Gauda), in the Malda district of West Bengal, near the border with Bangladesh.
About the Kadam Rasul Mosque:
- It was built in 1530-31 CE by Sultan Nusrat Shah of the Hussain Shahi dynasty of Bengal.
- "Kadam Rasul" (Qadam Rasul) means "the footprint of the Prophet".
- It houses a black stone slab believed to bear the footprint of the Prophet Muhammad, brought from Mecca, kept in a small chamber.
- It is a small, single-domed building with a verandah, built of brick and decorated with black stone.
- It is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.
- Nearby, there is the tomb of Fateh Khan, a Mughal general.
About Gaur:
- It was one of the most important cities of medieval India.
- It was the capital of the Sena dynasty (as Lakhnauti) and later of the Bengal Sultanate.
- It was a large, prosperous city, but was abandoned in the 16th century, partly due to a plague epidemic (1575) and a change in the course of the Ganga river.
Other monuments in Gaur:
- Bara Sona Masjid (Great Golden Mosque, 1526): the largest monument in Gaur, built by Nusrat Shah.
- Dakhil Darwaza: a massive brick gateway built in the 15th century.
- Firoz Minar: a five-storey tower built by Sultan Saifuddin Firoz Shah (1485-1489).
- Lattan Mosque (Painted Mosque).
- Chamkati Masjid and Lukochuri Darwaza.
- Nearby, at Pandua (Adina), is the "Adina Mosque" (1369), once one of the largest mosques in the Indian subcontinent, built by Sikandar Shah of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty.
Other places with relics of the Prophet's footprint:
- "Qadam Rasul" shrines are also found in Cuttack (Odisha), Lucknow, Delhi and other places.
- The "Hazratbal Shrine" in Srinagar holds a hair relic ("Moi-e-Muqqadas") of the Prophet.
About the Bengal Sultanate:
- It was founded by Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah in 1352.
- The Hussain Shahi dynasty (1494-1538) was a golden period of Bengali literature and architecture; Alauddin Hussain Shah was its founder.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Lucknow has Nawabi monuments such as the Bara Imambara.
- ✗Hyderabad has the Mecca Masjid and Charminar.
- ✗Ahmedabad has the Jama Masjid and Sidi Saiyyed Mosque.
Quick tip
Remember: Kadam Rasul Mosque = Gaur, Malda district, West Bengal (1530-31; Sultan Nusrat Shah; footprint relic); Bara Sona Masjid = Gaur; Adina Mosque = Pandua (1369); Hazratbal = hair relic, Srinagar.
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Monuments & Religious Places — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Monuments & Religious Places, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers India's important monuments, temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras and pilgrimage sites, who built them and when, their architectural styles, and India's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Questions ask who built a monument, where it is located, or which dynasty or style it belongs to. For example, the Qutub Minar was begun by Qutbuddin Aibak, and the Sun Temple at Konark was built by the Eastern Ganga king Narasimhadeva I. Revise the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a list, noting the most recent additions. Practise the monuments and religious places questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.