The Masjid-i Jahān-Numā, commonly known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is the principal
mosque of Old Delhi in India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, it is the
largest and best-known mosque in India. Construction began in 1650 and was completed in 1656. It
lies at the beginning of the Chawri Bazar Road, a very busy central street of Old Delhi.
The later name, Jama Masjid, refers to the weekly Friday noon congregation prayers of
Muslims, Jummah, which are usually done in a mosque, the "congregational mosque" or "jāma
masjid". The courtyard of the mosque can hold up to twenty-five thousand worshippers. The
mosque also houses several relics in a closet in the north gate, including an antique copy
of the Qur'an written on deer skin.
Construction The foundation of the historic Jama Masjid
was laid on a hillock in Shahjahanabad by the fifth Mughal Emperor of India, Shahjahan,
on Friday, October 19, 1650 AD,. The mosque was the result of the efforts of over 6,000
workers, over a period of six years. The cost of the construction in those times was 1 million
Rupees. Emperor Shahjahan also built the Taj Mahal, at Agra and the Red Fort in New Delhi,
which stands opposite the Jama Masjid. The Jama Masjid was completed in 1656 AD, with
three great gates, four towers and two 40 m-high minarets constructed of strips of red
sandstone and white marble. About 25,000 people can pray here at a time. The mosque has a
vast paved rectangular courtyard, which is nearly 75 m by 66 m. The whole of the western
chamber is a big hall standing on 260 pillars all carved from Hindu and Jain traditions.
The central courtyard is accessible from the East. The Eastern side entrance leads to another
enclosure containing the mausoleum of Sultan Ahmed Shah.
Shah Jahan built several important mosques in Delhi, Agra, Ajmer and Lahore. The Jama
Masjid's floorplan is very similar to the Jama Masjid, Fatehpur Sikri near Agra, but
the Jama Masjid in Delhi is the bigger and more imposing of the two. Its Badshahi Mosque
of Lahore built by Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb in 1673 is closely related to the Jama Masjid
at Raipur.
Architecture The courtyard of the mosque can be reached
from the east, north and south by three flights of steps, all built of red sandstone.
The northern gate of the mosque has 39 steps. The southern side of the mosque has 33 steps.
The eastern gate of the mosque was the rural entrance and it has 35 steps.
These steps used to house food stalls, shops and street entertainers.
In the morning the eastern side of the mosque used to be converted into a bazaar for poultry
and birds in general. The mosque faces west. Its three sides are
covered with open arched colonnades, each having a lofty tower-like gateway in the center.
The mosque is about 261 feet long and 90 feet wide, and its roof is covered with three domes
with alternate stripes of black and white marble, with its topmost parts covered with
gold. Two lofty minarets, 130 feet high, and containing
130 steps, longitudinally striped with white marble and red sandstone, flank the domes
on either side. The minarets are divided by three projecting
galleries and are surmounted by open twelve-sided domed pavilions.
Under the domes of the mosque, is a hall with seven arched entrances facing the west and
the walls of the mosque, up to the height of the waist, are covered with marble.
Beyond this is a prayer hall, which is about 61 meters X 27.5 meters, with eleven arched
entrances, of which the centre arch is wide and lofty, and in the form of a massive gateway,
with slim minarets in each corner, with the usual octagonal pavilion surmounting it.
Over these arched entrances there are tablets of white marble, four feet long and 2.5 feet
wide, inlaid with inscriptions in black marble. The mosque stands on a platform of about five
feet from the pavement of the terrace, and three flight of steps lead to the interior
of the mosque from the east, north, and the south.
The floor of the mosque is covered with white and black marble ornamented to imitate the
Muslim prayer mat; a thin black marble border is marked for the worshippers, which is three
feet long and 1 ½ feet wide. In total there are 899 such spaces marked in the floor of
the mosque. Terrorism incidents
2006 explosions
On 14 April 2006, there were two explosions within the Jama Masjid. The first explosion
came at around 17:26 and the second about seven minutes later, at around 17:33. At least
thirteen people were injured in the blasts. There were about 1000 people in the mosque
at the time of the blasts since it was Friday, the Muslim holy day. According to official
spokesmen, there was no damage to the mosque itself.
2010 shooting
On 15 September 2010, two Taiwanese tourists were injured after gunmen on a motorcycle
opened fire on a bus parked near gate number three of the mosque.
Gallery
Imams of Jama Masjid Shahi Imams of Jama Masjid include,
Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah Bukhari Syed Abdul Shakoor Shah Bukhari
Syed Abdul Raheem Shah Bukhari Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah Bukhari Thani
Syed Abdul Rehman Shah Bukhari Syed Abdul Kareem Shah Bukhari
Syed Mir Jeewan Shah Bukhari Syed Mir Ahmed Ali Shah Bukhari
Syed Mohammed Shah Bukhari Syed Ahmed Bukhari
Syed Hameed Bukhari Syed Abdullah Bukhari
Syed Ahmed Bukhari See also
Islamic architecture Islamic art
Sahn Timeline of Islamic history
Notes
References Jama Masjidpage at India Image, the Government
of India Information portal. Jama Masjid, Delhi page at India Profile,
a travel information site. "Saudi offer to fix Delhi mosque" accessed
5 January Jama Masjid Google News.
External links Media related to Jama Masjid, Delhi at Wikimedia
Commons Jama Masjid, Delhi travel guide from Wikivoyage
Official site Short History of the Jama Masjid of Delhi
and its Imams Jama Masjid tourist info
Flickr: Photos tagged with "jamamasjid"