The Badshahi Mosque is attached to the royal fort in Lahore. One of the most splendid examples of Mughals architecture in today's Pakistan, as well as the biggest, it was built by Aurangzeb in 16733-74 and presents a striking contrast with the Pearl Mosque in the Red Fort at Delhi. It is by far the largest building of the reign of Aurangzeb, the last of the great Mughals, and in area it is the largest mosque in the Indian subcontinent, the enclosure measuring approximately 492ft (150m) on each side. The pool in the centre confirms the effectiveness of a fountain in a rectangle of open water as a visual experience, aside from its purpose of providing facilities for washing.

Raised on a high platform and approached by steps, it broadly resembles the Friday Mosque built by Shah Jahan in his new capital, adjoining the Red Fort, in Delhi, though the Badshahi Mosque is altogether a grander structure. The Prayer Hall has a bold central portal with three domes, tucked into low cylindrical drums, in white marble, contrasting with the red sandstone of the facade and the four minarets at the corners, themselves topped by white marble cupolas, which here are octagonal in plan. Together with the large arcaded courtyard, it is in general characteristic of the plan of Friday mosques in South Asia.

The relief decoration employs semi-abstract floral moldings in painted plaster and inlays worthy of comparison with the Taj Mahal. The sense of harmony is enhanced by the delicacy of the cusped arches.