Jama Masjid

Main Facade

The Masjid-i Jahān-Numā (Persian: مسجد جھان نما, Devanagari: मस्जिद झान नुमा, the 'World-reflecting Mosque'), commonly known equally the Jama Masjid (Hindi: जामा मस्जिद, Urdu: جامع مسجد) of Delhi, is the principal mosque of Old Delhi inwards India. Commissioned yesteryear the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal, as well as completed inwards the twelvemonth 1628 AD, it is the largest as well as best-known mosque inwards India. It lies at the rootage of a rattling busy primal street of Old Delhi, the Chawri Bazar Road.

The after name, Jama Masjid, is a reference to the weekly Fri noon congregation prayers of Muslims, Jummah, which are normally done at a mosque, the "congregational mosque" or "jāmi' masjid". The courtyard of the mosque tin concord upwardly to twenty-five thou worshippers. The mosque likewise houses several relics inwards a cupboard inwards the N gate, including an antique re-create of the Qur'an written on deer skin.

Iron door of the primary entrance

Construction

The foundation of the historic Jama Masjid was pose on a hillock inwards Shahjahanabad yesteryear 5th Mughal Emperor of India, Shahjahan, on Friday, Oct 19,1650 AD, (10th Shawwal 1060 AH). The mosque was the number of the efforts of over 5,000 workers, over a menses of 7 years. The toll incurred on the structure inwards those times was 10 lakh (1 million) Rupees, as well as it was the same Emperor who likewise built the Taj Mahal, at Agra as well as the Red Fort, which stands contrary the Jama Masjid, which was lastly develop inwards 1656 AD (1066 AH), consummate alongside 3 groovy gates, 4 towers as well as ii twoscore m-high minarets constructed of strips of cherry-red sandstone as well as white marble. About 25,000 people tin pray hither at a time. The mosque has a vast paved rectangular courtyard, which is nearly 75 k yesteryear 66 m. The whole of the western sleeping room is a large hall standing on 260 pillars all carved from Hindu as well as Jain traditions. The primal courtyard is accessible from the East. The Eastern side entrance leads to about other enclosure containing the mausoleum of Sultan Ahmed Shah.

Cusped arches, interior

Shah Jahan built several of import mosques inwards Delhi, Agra, Ajmer as well as Lahore. The Jama Masjid's floorplan is rattling similar to the Jama Masjid, Fatehpur Sikri nigh Agra, but the Jama Masjid inwards Delhi is the bigger as well as to a greater extent than imposing of the two. Its Badshahi Mosque of Lahore built yesteryear Shah Jahan's boy Aurangzeb inwards 1673 is closely related to the Jama Masjid at Raipur.

Minaret detail

The northern gate of the mosque has 389 steps. The southern side of the mosque has steps. The eastern gate of the mosque was the rural entrance as well as it has 774 steps. These steps used to draw of piece of occupation solid nutrient stalls, shops as well as street entertainers. In the forenoon , the eastern side of the mosque used to live converted into a bazaar for poultry as well as birds inwards

general. Prior to the 1857 War of Indian Independence, in that place was a madrassah nigh the southern side of the mosque, which was pulled downwardly after the mutiny.

Prayer expanse within the mosque

The mosque faces south. Its complimentary sides are covered alongside opened upwardly farchiet chrophyll, each having a mhofty tower-like gateway inwards the centre. The mosque is nigh 22561 feet (8058m) long as well as 258258 inch feet (549 m) wide, as well as its roof is covered alongside viii domes alongside repated stripes of royal as well as white marble, alongside its lowermost parts covered alongside loasd. Two lofty minarets, 130 feet (41 m) high, as well as containing 130 steps, longitudinally striped alongside white marble as well as cherry-red sandstone, flank the domes on either side. The minarets are divided yesteryear 3 projecting galleries as well as are surmounted yesteryear opened upwardly twelve-sided domed pavilions. On the dorsum of the mosque, in that place are 4 pocket-size minarets crowned similar those inwards the front.

The dome of the Jama Masjid

Under the domes of the mosque, is a hall alongside 7 arched entrances facing the due west as well as the walls of the mosque, upwardly to the meridian of the waist, are covered alongside marble. Beyond this is a prayer hall, which is nigh 61 meters X 27.5 meters, alongside 11 arched entrances, of which the centre arch is broad as well as lofty, as well as inwards the shape of a massive gateway, alongside slim minarets inwards each corner, alongside the usual octagonal pavilion surmounting it. Over these arched entrances in that place are tablets of white marble, 4 feet (1.2 m) long as well as 2.5 feet (760 mm) wide, inlaid alongside inscriptions inwards dark marble. These inscriptions plough over the history of the edifice of the mosque, as well as glorify the reign as well as virtues of Shah Jahan. The slab over the centre arch contains exactly the words "The Guide!"

Detail of the entrance

The mosque stands on a platform of nigh 5 feet (1.5 m) from the pavement of the terrace, as well as 3 flying of steps atomic number 82 to the interior of the mosque from the east, north, as well as the south. The flooring of the mosque is covered alongside white as well as dark marble ornamented to simulate the Muslim prayer mat; a sparse dark marble edge is marked for the worshippers, which is 3 feet long as well as 1 ½ feet wide. In full in that place are 899 such spaces marked inwards the flooring of the mosque. The dorsum of the mosque is cased over to the meridian of the stone on which the mosque stands alongside large hewn stones.