Jama Masjid, Delhi

Jama Masjid
Basic information
Location	New Delhi, India
Geographic coordinates	28.65075, 77.233071
Religious affiliation	Islam
District	Central Delhi
Ecclesiastical status	Mosque
Architectural description
Architectural type	Mosque
Architectural style	Islamic,
Year completed	1656
Specifications
Capacity	25,000
Length	80 m
Width	27 m
Dome/s	3
Minaret/s	2
Minaret height	41 m

The Masjid-i-Jahan Numa (Urdu: مسجد جھان نمہ), commonly known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal, commissioned its building. Completed in the year 1656 C.E., Jama Masjid represents one of the largest and best-known mosques in India. The mosque stands at the head of a heavily trafficked street in the center in Old Delhi, Chandni Chowk.

Masjid-i-Jahan Numa means "the mosque commanding a view of the world," and the name Jama Masjid refers to the weekly congregation observed on Friday (the yaum al-jum`a) at the mosque. The courtyard of the mosque can hold up to twenty-five thousand worshipers. It houses several relics in a closet in the north gate, including a copy of the Qur'an written on deer skin.

Construction

Jama Masjid, Delhi, 1852.

The mosque was the result of the efforts of over 5,000 workers, over a period of six years. The cost incurred on the construction in those times was 10 lakh (1 million) Rupees. Shah Jahan built several important mosques in Delhi, Agra, Ajmer and Lahore. Its majesty is further enhanced because of the high ground that he selected for building this mosque. The architecture and design of the Badshahi Masjid of Lahore built by Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb in 1673 is closely related to the Jama Masjid in Delhi.

Architecture

Site Lay Out

Three flights of steps, all built of red sandstone, enter the courtyard of the mosque from the east, north and south. The northern gate of the mosque has thirty nine steps. The southern side of the mosque has thirty three steps. The eastern gate of the mosque, serving as the royal entrance, has thirty five steps. Good stalls, shops and street entertainers lined those sets of stairs. The eastern side of the mosque converted into a bazaar for poultry and birds during the evenings. Prior to the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (which many Indian historians call the "The 1857 War of Independence"), a madrassah stood near the southern side of the mosque. After the mutiny, the British destroyed it.

Jama Masjid Described

The mosque faces west. Open arched colonnades, each having a lofty tower-like gateway in the center, cover its three sides. The mosque, measuring 261 feet (80 m) in length and 90 feet (27 m) width, has a roof caped with three domes. They have alternating black and white marble striping, its topmost parts of the domes covered with gold. Two lofty minarets, standing 130 feet (40 m) high, have 130 steps. They are striped longitudinally with white marble and red sandstone, flanking the domes on either side. Three projecting galleries, separating the minarets, host open twelve-sided domed pavilions. On the back of the mosque, four small minarets stand crowned like those in the front.

Jama Masjid, northeast entrance.

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 by 27.5 meters (200.131 ft × 90.223 ft) , 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, 4 feet (1.2 m) long and 2.5 feet (0.76 m) wide, inlaid with inscriptions in black marble. These inscriptions give the history of the building of the mosque, and glorify the reign and virtues of Shah Jahan. The slab over the center arch contains simply the words "The Guide!"

Inside the Jama Masjid

The mosque stands on a platform approximately 5 feet (1.5 m) from the pavement of the terrace, three flights of steps leading to the interior of the mosque from the east, north, and the south. Covered with white and black marble ornamented to imitate the Muslim prayer mat, Jama Masjid has a thin black marble border marked for the worshipers, 3 feet (0.91 m) long and 1.5 feet (0.46 m) wide. 899 such spaces have been created in the floor of the mosque.

2006 explosions

On April 14, 2006, two explosions occurred within Jama Masjid. The first explosion came at around 17:26 and the second around seven minutes later at around 17:33 (IST). At least thirteen people were injured in the blasts. There were around 1000 people in the mosque at the time of blasts as the day happened to be Friday, a Muslim holy day, and because it was the first Friday after Milad un Nabi, Islamic prophet Muhammad's birthday. According to official spokesmen, there was no damage to the mosque itself.

Gallery

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  Main entrance

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  Central dome

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  Minaret detail

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  Cusped arches, interior

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  Main entrance from inside mosque

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  Inlay detail, arches

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  Main arch

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  Red Fort seen from mosque

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  The dome of the Jama Masjid.

See also

• Islamic architecture
• Islamic art
• Sahn
• Timeline of Islamic history

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Ahmad, Zulfiqar. 1982. Mughal India. Selections from Journal of the Panjab Historical Society, 3. Lahore, Pakistan: Sang-E-Meel Publications. OCLC 10146287.
• Batra, N. L. 2005. Jama Masjid: call of the soul. New Delhi: Niyogi Offset. ISBN 9788190193634.
• Stephen, Carr. 1967. Archaeology and monumental remains of Delhi. Allahabad: Kitab Mahal. OCLC 1879746.
• The Astrological magazine. Bangalore: Raman Publications, . v.95, 2006.
• Qaisar, Ahsan Jan. 1988. Building construction in Mughal India: the evidence from painting. Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195622607.

External links

Links Retrieved December 3, 2008.

• Jama Masjid (Delhi)page 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" (BBC) accessed January 5
• Pictures of the Jama Masjid in Delhi
• Jama Masjid
• Satellite picture by Google Maps

Jama Masjid

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