Jame Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque: the Second Most Beautiful Mosque in Brunei

I mean it’s really, really beautiful IMO but it falls below Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque – click the link to be the judge. Other than that, I was totally struck by Jame Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque. I’m don’t have a religion, but I think I spent much more time there than most of the Muslim tourists I came across.

Also called Kiarong Mosque, JAHSM was built to mark the 25th anniversary of the current Sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah. It’s located next to a bustling highway but still manages to be peaceful – somehow, the rumble of vehicle engines was silenced by the Mosque’s tranquility.

I got there on early in the morning while no prayers were performed. At the entrance I saw a madrasah (Islamic school) with little schoolgirls draped in typical pink-and-white baju kurung uniform, exactly what their counterparts in Malaysia wear. One of the girls whipped out an iPhone and gave me a photo which I absolutely love, answering her phone call after the prayer call.

The reason why Jame Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque isn’t as beautiful as SOASM is because of the lack of sky and lagoon around it, so it doesn’t stand out so much in comparison. However, JAHBM definitely beats its counterpart as far as architecture is concerned. The very sight of it from afar was immediately enough to convince me that this is one of Brunei’s must-see places.

The green garden and blue fountain outside were very good complements to the gold and grey mosque.

This is where those attending prayer will store their shoes

There’s an under-the-arch fountain in both Jame Asr Hassanil Bolkiah and Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque. Since it’s present in both, it must have a special function, though I haven’t found it out until now

What this mosque has that SOASM doesn’t is a guided tour. All guests must register themselves, though I didn’t do that (cos I only found out about it much later and I was kinda lazy to anyway), so I just followed a group of Thai Chinese tourists following a staff guide and acted as if I was one of them.

The camouflage worked – they didn’t seem to mind me joining, maybe cos I looked a lot like them, being Chinese and foreign and all, and the mosque staff didn’t realise I was an outsider probably for the same reason. I felt like a spy, it was fun!

The staff was very helpful and patient as he explained away the mosque’s background and usual practices among the umma (faithful). The keyword here is patient, because some of the tourists didn’t understand English well so the staff guide had to re-explain for the tour leader to translate it into Thai, and I think the tour leader occasionally didn’t quite get it too. I was probably the only one got it all (and yes I was very impatient :P).

We were reminded not to snap any pictures of the mosque’s interior, but I was too trigger-itchy. To justify it,
ruzhiwashere.com needs good contentI could write the best ever description capable of my diction, but nothing beats a photo. A batch of photos would promote the mosque a lot more effectively than words because seeing is believing. Surely, the mosque staff would see my point and believe it.

The main entrance. I walked around without wearing a robe and the staff seemed okay with it, probably because I was properly attired.

The Jawi character at the center means ‘Allah’ (God). Together with the character for ‘Muhammad’, these two form the most common (and perhaps necessary) inscriptions in every mosque

The place where Muslims perform the wudhu, compulsory ritual washing of the body before prayer, as instructed by the Prophet.

I don’t know what this is for, but it sure looks like a container for holy water in a Roman Catholic church.

Chandelier. Note the minaret on top of it

Lamp with minaret. Looks like everything in this mosque is fashioned to incorporate one.

The best interior shot that I got was of the prayer room itself. It was large and very wide with many doors leading into it, and the best part (at that time) was the air-conditioning – it was quite hot, so this most important spiritual room soothed my body – and soul if you will. I love how grand and golden it looked.

I was so taken in by Jame Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque that I could’ve spent an extra hour there actually as I wanted to go to every wing of the building (there’s a north, south, east and west section) but left for lunch instead as there were other places I wanted to go. It didn’t feel that bad though, as I had completed at least 80% of the whole building before leaving.

Returning at night was also one of my itinerary’s musts but there are no public buses after 6.30-7pm in Brunei, so I had to scratch that out instead On hindsight, I could’ve hitchhiked, and I’d eventually do that after my exploration of Istana Nurul Iman, the palace of the Sultan of Brunei. Stay tuned!....copy paste from fren