JAMA MASJID

JAMA MASJID 

The Masjid-i-Jehan-Numa, commonly known as the Jama Masjid, in Old Delhi area of Delhi, is one of the largest mosques in India. Its builder was the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, between 1644 and 1656, and it was inaugurated by its first Imam, Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah Bukhari. Situated in the Mughal capital of Shahjahanabad (today Old Delhi), it served as the imperial mosque of the Mughal emperors until the demise of the empire in 1857. The Jama Masjid was regarded as a symbolic gesture of Mughal power across India. It was also a site of political significance during several key periods of British rule. It remains in active use, and is one of Delhi's most iconic sites, closely identified with the methods of Old Delhi. The mosque structure is a Monument of National Importance.

Names

The mosque has two names. The older one, bestowed by Shah Jahan, is Masjid-i-Jehān-Numā, interpreted as "mosque that reflects the whole world", probably an allusion to the Jām-e-Jehān Numā. The other more common one is Jāmā Masjid (Urdu: جامع مسجد, from the Arabic meaning "congregational mosque"), which emerged among the common populace. The term Jama Masjid is not unique to this mosque; since the 7th century, it has been used to denote the community mosque or Friday mosque, and hence many around the world bear this name and variants of it.

Location

Old Delhi market opposite Jama Masjid, Delhi

The mosque is located within the historic city of Shahjahanabad, today known as the locality of Old Delhi. Across from the mosque are the Red Fort and Sunehri Masjid.^[5] As one of the focal points of Old Delhi, Jama Masjid is surrounded by various commercial centres, such as the historic Chandni Chowk. The tomb of Abul Kalam Azad, Indian independence activist, is located adjacent to the mosque.

History

Construction and Mughal era

Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built the Jama Masjid between 1650 and 1656, at the highest point of Shahjahanabad. It was constructed by approximately 5,000 workers. The workforce was diverse, consisting of Indians, Arabs, Persians, Turks, and Europeans. The construction was supervised primarily by Sadullah Khan, the wazir (or prime minister) during Shah Jahan's reign, and Fazil Khan, the comptroller of Shah Jahan's household. The cost of the construction at the time was ten lakh (one million) rupees.^: 8–9 The mosque was inaugurated on 23 July 1656 by Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah Bukhari, from Bukhara, Uzbekistan. He had been invited by Shah Jahan to be the Shahi Imam (Royal Imam) of the mosque. 

The mosque was one of the last monuments built under Shah Jahan. After its completion, it served as the royal mosque of the emperors until the end of the Mughal period. The khutba was recited by the Mughal emperor during the Friday noon prayer, legitimising his rule. The mosque was hence a symbol of Mughal sovereignty in India, carrying political significance. It was also an important centre of social life for the residents of Shahjahanabad, providing a space transcending class divide for diverse people to interact. In 1757, the khutba was read in the name of Ahmad Shah Durrani, the Afghan conqueror who was invited to Delhi by Emperor Alamgir II.

British rule

The British took over Shahjahanabad in 1803. The Mughal Emperor remained the ritual imperial head of the mosque, but Mughal power and patronage had significantly waned. The initial policy of the British in the city was favourable towards its residents; the British undertook repairs and even renovations of the Jama Masjid. The Masjid continued to serve as a site of social and political discourse, in keeping with other mosques of Delhi at the time; for example, theological and philosophical debates were held between Muslims and Christians.

The Revolt of 1857 was a major turning point in this situation. This event resulted in the deaths of many British people in the city, and weakened colonial authority, deeply affronting the British. It also ended the Mughal empire. The British perceived the revolt as instigated by Muslims, cultivated within Delhi's mosques. After the British reclaimed the city in the same year, they razed many mosques and banned the congregation of Muslims in any remaining mosques. The Jama Masjid fell into British confiscation during this time, and was barred from any religious use. It was repeatedly considered for destruction, but the British eventually began using it as barracks for its Sikh and European soldiers. This was a desecration of the space; Aziz characterises the decision as deliberate, in order to insult the sentiments of the city's Muslim inhabitants.

The Masjid was eventually returned to the Muslim population in 1862, due to their increasing resentment of British actions. Multiple conditions were imposed, including the usage of Jama Masjid as strictly a religious site, as well as mandatory policing by the British. The Jama Masjid Managing Committee (JMMC), consisting of respected Muslims of Delhi, was established as a formal body to represent the mosque and enforce these conditions.

Upon its return, the Jama Masjid was reestablished as a mosque. Though the Mughal state had been dissolved, the mosque received patronage from various regional Islamic rulers and nobles. In 1886, the Nawab of Rampur donated a large sum of 1,55,000 rupees to facilitate repairs. In 1926, a donation from the Nizam of Hyderabad of 1,00,000 rupees was used for similar purposes.

Growing unrest against British rule manifested in Delhi's mosques from 1911. The Jama Masjid was frequently used for non-religious, political purposes, against the rules instituted. While the British could police and clamp down on political activities in public spaces, the Jama Masjid was a religious space and was hence protected from such action, by both law (Religious Endowment Act, 1863) and the sentiments of Delhi. Hindus often gathered with Muslims in the mosque to express anti-colonial solidarity, in spite of simmering tension between the communities in the colonial period.

  

Gates

Eastern (main) gate

The mosque is accessed by three sandstone gates. The most prominent of these is the three-storey high eastern gate, which historically acted as the shahi (royal) entrance, reserved only for the use of the Emperor and his associates. The other two entrances are the northern and southern gates, which are two stories high and were used by the general population. Each gate is accompanied by a three-sided sandstone stairway, with white markings to designate prayer positions. The cabinet located in the north gate has a collection of relics of Muhammad – the Quran written on deerskin, a red beard-hair of the prophet, his sandals and his footprints embedded in a marble block.

Shahi Imam

Main article: Shahi Imam

Shah Jahān's wish was apparently to build the most important mosque in India, without any parallel anywhere in the Mughal Empire. He also decided that its Imam (the Muslim religious leader who leads the prayer) was to become the most important religious leader of his reign. The Imam of Jama Masjid thus received the title of Shahī Imam (religious leader installed by emperor). All subsequent Mughal emperors from Aurangzeb to Bahadur Shah II (1837-1857) were crowned by the Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid in Delhi. The Imams of Delhi's Jama Masjid have traditionally been the direct descendants of the first Imam of the Masjid, Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah Bukhari, who was appointed by Shah Jahan.^: 34–35 Their position is known as that of the Shahi Imam, or Royal Imam. The person next-in-line to the position is known as the Naib Imam, or Deputy Imam.^] The Shahi Imams bear the last name of Bukhari, denoting their ancestral origin in Bukhara (of modern day Uzbekistan). The imams who have occupied the position are listed below.

Ordinal	Name	Title	Term start	Term end	Time in office
1	Abdul Ghafoor Shah Bukhari	Imam-us-Sultan	23 July 1656
2	Abdul Shakoor Shah Bukhari
3	Abdul Raheem Shah Bukhari
4	Abdul Ghafoor Shah Bukhari Thani
5	Abdul Rehman Shah Bukhari
6	Abdul Kareem Shah Bukhari
7	Mir Jeewan Shah Bukhari
8	Mir Ahmed Ali Shah Bukhari
9	Mohammed Shah Bukhari		16 October 1892
10	Ahmed Bukhari	Shams-ul-Ulama
11	Hameed Bukhari		20 February 1942	8 July 1973	31 years, 138 days
12	Abdullah Bukhari		8 July 1973	14 October 2000	27 years, 98 days
13	Ahmed Bukhari I		14 October 2000	25 February 2024	23 years, 134 days
14	Shaban Bukhari		25 February 2024	incumbent	1 year, 290 days