Spiritual Destination: Haji Ali mosque, India

To honor the Muslim saint Haji Ali, this mosque and tomb was constructed 500 yards into the middle of the sea, with the only access via a narrow causeway that can only be reached at low tide of the Mahim Bay. The Indian Islamic architecture of the mosques is associated with legends about doomed lovers and the dargah inside contains the tomb of saint Haji Ali. The whitewashed mosque, which occupies an area of 4,500 metres, contains a courtyard and access to shore-side rocks exposed during low

tide at the rare end of the mosque, which is favourable spot to relax.

During high tide, the connecting causeway is submerged by the sea giving the impression that the mosque and tomb are floating in spiritual isolation. This image is The Haji Ali Dargah, the floating tomb of a wealthy Mohammedan merchant who renounced his worldly ways before embarking on a pilgrimage to Mecca.

The dargah was built in 1431, but legend has it that Haji Ali died on his way to Mecca and his body, in its casket, floated back to Mumbai; however, some believe that Haji Ali drowned where the dargah stands today.

Abiding to Muslim tradition, the mosque has separate praying rooms provided for women and men to pay their respects. Behind the sculpted entrance, a marble courtyard contains the central shrine, where hundreds of worshippers bend to press their forehead against the red and green covering of the tomb. The tomb sits in a delicate silver frame supported by the surrounding marble pillars. It is decorated with the artful mirror work of the twined blue, green, and yellow chips of glass arranged in kaleidoscopic patterns interspersed with Arabic patterns; all of which spell the ninety-nine names of Allah.

The beauty of the mosque itself is what makes this destination so rich and deeply moving, but added to the mystic of the surrounding sea and unimaginable location, it is one of the most spiritual destinations. Being linked to the mainland only by a tenuous causeway, during the monsoon and high tide season it is practically nonnegotiable to visit, making each visitor’s trip unique and special.

But today, the majority of the structure is corroding and perishing away and the Dargah Trust is awaiting permission from the Central Government to raze the structure and rebuild it with the same marble used to build the Taj Mahal. Even still, as many as 40,000 pilgrims visit the shrine on Thursdays and Fridays, along with people of all faiths visiting and praying at the dargah.