The White Silence My Trip To The Faisal Mosque Mirha Qasim   © Copyright 2026 by Mirha Qasim

Photo by Ali Mujtaba at Wikimedia Commons.

We took a van from Rawalpindi to Islamabad.  It was a hot day,September,heat but the road from Faizabad to Islamabad is beautiful. When we entered Islamabad .the air felt different, more clean and more quiet. From for away.I saw the white minarets of the  mosque.like a ship in the middle of Margalla hills.

The van dropped us near Faisal Avenue.  We walk for ten minutes.  The mosque is so big that you feel small when you come close. There are many steps. I was wearing a simple white duppata.  My cousin was holding my hand.  There were many people, some tourists with cameras, some students and some old women making dua.

Before entering, we wash our faces and fixed our scarves. A lady at the entrance gave us plastic bags for our shoes.  The floor outside was hot because of the sun, so we walked quickly.

Inside, the first thing you notice in the Silence. Even though there were hundreds of people, there was a deep silence.  The carpet is red and soft.  The ceiling is so high that you have to bend your neck fully to see it. The huge chandelier in the middle look like stars.  I had seen this Mosque in posters and on my own designs for jumma Mubarak, but seeing it with my own eyes was different.

We sat in the corner of the women's section.  My cousin started reading Quran from her phone.  I just looked around.  l saw a little girl sleeping on her mothers lap and old man sitting alone, his hands raised for dua, tears on his face.  I felt my own heart become soft.

I remember why this Mosque is special.

It was made with help from king Faisal of Saudi Arabia.  It is not a like normal domemosque.  It is shaped like a Bedouin tent, eight-sided,with four tall minarets that are 90 meters high.  It can hold 100,000 people at one time. but on that day it was not  about numbers.  It was about place.

I made a small dua for my channel, for my family, and for my future. I prayed that Allah gives me a good halal job from home. So I can help my family.  In that big hall,my small dua felt heard.

After Zohar azan, everyone stood up.  The azan inside Faisal mosque is very powerful.  It echoes in the whole hall, we prayed after namaz,we went outside to the courtyard.

Outside the white marble was shining.  From there, you can see the green  hills behind the mosque.  The wind was blowing.  It took on my phone and made a small video for my status, but then I put my phone away. I wanted to just  the moment without a screen.

We sat on the steps for a long time.  My cousin told me that many people come here when they are sad because the open space makes sadness small.  I understood what she meant.  My own worries about jobs, about money, about future,t hey all felt very small in front of that white building and blue sky.

On the way back, in the van, I did not talk much.  I was still thinking about the white silence.  I came home and open my laptop.  I made a new jumma Mubarak poster.  This time I wrote on it.:"sukoon sirf Allah ke ghar mein hai."  That poster  many share on my channel.

That a trip was not just a trip. It was as not for shopping or for fun. It was reminder. In Rawalpindi we have noise, traffic,and tension.  Just 30 minutes away there is a place made of white marble where you can hear your own heart.  I think every girl who works from home should take such a small trip, not for Instagram, but for her soul.

If you ever  come to Pakistan, come to Rawalpindi, take a van, and come to Faisal mosque.  Sit on the carpet.  Don't take many photos.  Just sit.

That day I went to buy books, but I came back with peace.