Raudat Tahera - Interior Features

Interior Features

• The inner height of the mausoleum is 80 feet (24 m) above the plinth, the age of the Syedna (AQ). Similarly there are 80 corniches all around the mausoleum.
• The inner dimensions of the tomb are 51 x 51 feet (16 m), symbolizing that he was the 51st representative and Vicegerent of the Fatimid Imams.
• In the center of the tomb is the grave, whose measurement is 28 square feet (2.6 m2). The number 28 indicates the young age at which he became the Dai al-Mutlaq.
• What gives the tomb a unique place of honour amongst all the monuments in the world, is the inscription of the entire Quran within its four walls. Upon the instructions of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin TUS, the 772 page golden handwritten Quran from which Syedna Taher Saifuddin used to recite daily, was photocopied and transcribed onto an equal number, that is 772 marble slabs of 3x2 feet each and pasted in the inner walls of the Raudat. As such, the entire Quran is engraved on the inner walls of Raudat Tahera and makes it the only monument in the world to have a complete religious book engraved within its sanctum sanctorum.
• On top, the structural shell consists of a dome 40 feet (12 m) in diameter with a height of 52 feet (16 m). The dome is a replica of Al Jamea Al Juyushi, Cairo.
• The rosette at the apex of the dome has the same mudawwar design in the interior as that of the masjid Al Juyushi, with the Quranic proclamation "إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ أَن تَزُولَا ۚ وَلَئِن زَالَتَآ إِنْ أَمْسَكَهُمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍۢ مِّنۢ بَعْدِهِ", (Surah 35 Ayat 41) meaning "Allah holds the sky and earth together which none else can" along its periphery. The names of Mohammed and his successor Ali are embellished in Kufic script in the center.
• Though it was not intended originally, but as the laying of the Quranic tablets within the walls continued, it became apparent that all the entrance doors to the tomb got adorned with a Bismillah.
• All the 113 Bismillah in the Quran inscribed on the walls are studded with precious gem stones, such as rubies, diamonds, emeralds, corals etc. The Surat Al Fatiha and Surat Al Ikhlas are studded with rubies.
• Below the Quran, on the walls are the stanzas and verses quoted from the 49 Risalah sharifah, hundreds of Qasidas and munajaats written by Syedna Taher Saifuddin which reflect the Barakah of the Quran and the Ilm of Ale Mohammed. They demonstrate his interpretation of the scriptures, and which inspire the visitor, to a higher plane of thinking and nobler way of life, towards which Islam ultimately beckons.
• A glittering crystal chandelier, suspended from the center of the dome, sheds its brilliance upon the tomb and seems to cast a divine light upon the hallowed precincts, while the four circular corner fittings and twenty four wall brackets lend their light to the radiance within the Mausoleum. The chandeliers are especially made on order and each pendetive is engraved with the Quranic verse "لا يمسه الا المطهرون" (Surah 56 Ayat 79) meaning "none but the pure shall hold the Holy Quran". It is claimed to be among the largest chandeliers in the world.