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The
Masjid-i-Jahan NumaThe Masjid-i-Jahan Numa, commonly known as
Jama Masjid of Delhi is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in
India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and
completed in the year 1656 AD, it is one of the largest and best
known mosques in India. It was built after demolition of a very
ancient Hindu temple known as Jamna Devi temple dedicated to the
Yamuna river. (There are also Jama Masjids in many other cities
with a history of Islamic rule, or large Muslim populations.)
Masjid-i-Jahan Numa means "the mosque commanding a view of the
world", and the name Jama Masjid is a reference 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 worshippers. The mosque also houses several relics in a
closet in the north gate, including a copy of the Qur'an written
on deer skin incurred on the construction in those times was ten
lakh rupees. (A lakh is one hundred thousand; ten lakh therefore
equals one million).
Shah Jahan built several important mosques in Delhi, Agra, Ajmer
and Lahore. The Jama Masjid's floorplan is very similar to the
Moti Masjid at Agra, but the Jama Masjid is the bigger and more
imposing of the two. Its majesty is further enhanced because of
the high ground that he selected for building this mosque.
Architecture
Jama Masjid, northeast entrance 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 royal entrance and
it has 35 steps. These steps used to house food stalls, shops
and street entertainers. In the evening, the eastern side of the
mosque used to be converted into a bazaar for poultry and birds
in general. Prior to the 1857 War of Indian Independence, there
was a madrassah near the southern side of the mosque, which was
pulled down after the mutiny.
The mosque faces west. Its three sides are covered with open
arched colonnades, each having a lofty tower-like gateway in the
centre. The mosque is about 261 feet (80 m) long and 90 feet (27
m) 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 (40 m) 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. On the back of the mosque,
there are four small minarets crowned like those in the front. |
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