Masjid Ubudiah

Masjid Ubudiah – ranking high on the list of Malaysia’s most beautiful mosques, the Masjid Ubudiah (or Ubudiah Mosque) stands proudly and majestically in Kuala Kangsar, with its golden dome and minarets creating a spellbinding sight, from near and afar.

The mosque was designed by Arthur Benison Hubback, a government architect who is notably credited for the design of the Ipoh railway station and the Kuala Lumpur railway station.

Built in 1913 during the reign of the 28th Sultan of Perak, Sultan Idris Murshidul Adzam Shah I Ibni Almarhum Raja Bendahara Alang Iskandar Teja, the Masjid Ubudiah is located beside the Royal Mausoleum on Bukit Chandan. It was commissioned on the orders of the Sultan, who vowed that he would build a mosque of great beauty as thanksgiving for recovery from an illness which plagued him in those early days.

The construction of the mosque was not without difficulties. Work was interrupted several times, once when two elephants belonging to the sultan’s and Raja Chulan were fighting and ran over and damaged the imported Italian marble titles.

The mosque was finally completed in late 1917 at a total cost of RM200,000 – quite an astronomical figure for those days. It was officially declared open by Sultan Abdul Jalil Karamtullah Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Idris Murshidul Adzam Shah I Rahmatullah, successor to Sultan Idris. This imposing structure is now a symbol of great pride to all Muslims in the state of Perak Darul Ridzuan, the Land of Grace.