The Friday Mosque is the congregational mosque of Old Delhi (Shahjahanabad), the seventh Islamic city

built on the site of Delhi. The mosque was commissioned, like Shahjahanabad itself, by Shah Jahan (r.
1628-1658), the fifth Mughal ruler of India. The construction of the monument began in 1650 and took six
years, an estimated one million Indian rupees, and five thousand masons to complete. The construction
was supervised by Allami Said and Fazl Khan. The mosque is also called the Masjid-i Jahanuma, or 'the
mosque commanding a view of the world,' as it is sited on a high plinth atop a natural hillock. At the time
of its construction, it was the largest mosque in the subcontinent and today it is exceeded in size only by
the Friday Mosque of Lahore, Pakistan. Due to its magnificence and size, the Friday Mosque of Old Delhi
is often regarded as the apotheosis of Indian mosque design.

In 1638, Shah Jahan shifted his capital from Agra to Delhi and laid out a new city, Shahjahanabad, along
the eastern banks of the river Yamuna. He constructed the Red Fort at the northeastern edge of the city and
placed the Friday Mosque about five hundred meters to its west. The mosque resembles earlier
congregational mosques in Delhi, which are characterized by 2 parts: a main prayer hall and a large
cloistered courtyard preceding it towards the east. The exterior of the Friday Mosque was modeled after
Akbar's mosque at Fatehpur Sikri, while its interior is akin to the Friday Mosque at Agra.

The mosque is separated from nearby roads and the dense city fabric by open lawns of about thirty meters
in depth. Elevated approx. ten meters from the level of the city, the mosque contains a square courtyard
(ca. 115 meters/side). The main prayer hall (ca. 70 meters north-south by ca. 25 meters east-west) is
located along the western side of the courtyard.

Gateways:
Red sandstone gates access the courtyard from the centers of the north, south, and east sides and lead down
to the city via three-sided stairways. The gateways and the steps are finished in red sandstone; the steps
have white markings on the risers to indicate positions during prayers. The eastern approach, originally
reserved for the king and his court, is the most prominent, measuring three stories in height while the north
and south are only two stories tall. The east gate measures ca. 25 meters north-south by 20 meters east-
west. Its street elevation is dominated by a large three-story ogee arch iwan set into a rectangular frame.
Cusped arched recesses flank the iwan on either side and at each level. Each corner of the gate is
chamfered and punctured at each level by arched recesses, accessible balconies protected by low stone
parapets. The rear wall of the iwan is punctured by an double-height ogee arched doorway leading into the
domed interior of the gateway structure and subsequently into the courtyard of the mosque. The gateway is
crowned by a continuous blind parapet described by arched crenellations. The eastern elevation, as are the
adjacent chamfered faces, is further adorned with an intricate arched arcade atop the parapet, with a total of
twenty-five white marble domes crowing the structure. Four convex fluted minarets rise above the parapet;
the eastern minarets associated with the arcade rise higher and are finished with octagonal domed chhatris.
The iwan and balconies on the eastern elevation are also reflected on the western elevation, although the
iwan is not as deep. In addition, a jharokah (projecting balcony), supported on stone brackets, adorns the
tympanum above the entrance doorway. The other two gates are smaller two-story structures similar to
eastern main gate and with street elevations described by a double-height iwan.

Courtyard:
The floor of the courtyard is paved with red sandstone, interrupted by white marble strips which mark
prayer positions for worshippers. Open arcades run along the edges of the courtyard between the gates; the
city and the Red Fort are visible through these arcades. Chhatris mark the four corners of the courtyard and
rise above the arcade roofs.

An ablution tank (ca. 17 m. north-south by 15 m. east-west), surrounded by a raised three-meter-wide

white marble platform, is located in the center of the courtyard. An intricately embossed marble fountain is
located in its center, and marble lampposts three meters in height mark its corners.

The floor of the red sandstone arcades is raised ca. 40 cm from the courtyard level. Composed of cusped
arches spanning between red sandstone columns approx. 2 meters apart, the arcades have similar street and
courtyard elevations. A continuous chajja (eave) runs along the courtyard elevation, interrupted only by the
gates and the prayer hall. Above the chajja is a blank frieze; above the frieze run the horizontal bands of
the parapet (courtyard elevation) and the arched crenellations of the blind parapet (street elevation).
Prayer Hall:

The prayer hall, measuring 61 by 27 meters, is raised approximately 1.2 meters from the ground and
projects into the courtyard; this placement makes it appear independent from the arcades terminating at its
sides. Its eastern, entry elevation is dominated by a central projecting pishtaq with slender minarets at its
corners; these culminate in white marble chhatris atop lotus-shaped capitals. The pishtaq is clad in white
marble with red sandstone trimmings and completed by a crenellated blind parapet. Its rear face is
punctured by a broad cusped arch that provides entry into the mosque. Above the arch, the half-dome of
the pishtaq iwan is clad in red sandstone with white marble strips and flanked on either side by five smaller
cusped arches. Above the line of arches is a white marble blank frieze with Arabic inscriptions framed in
red sandstone. Each arch has a framed inscription above it, followed by a continuous red sandstone
horizontal band and a crenellated blind parapet similar to that found atop the pishtaq. The pishtaq's
flanking wings are lower than the pishtaq itself, reaching approx. 10 meters above the courtyard. At the
outer edge of each wing is a 40-meter-tall red sandstone minaret with inlaid white marble strips. Three
accessible projecting galleries occur at regular intervals along the 130 spiral steps leading to the top of
each minaret. The highest gallery is topped by a domed white marble chhatri. Well beyond the pishtaq
rises the largest of three bulbous domes clad in white marble and inlaid with black marble strips and
topped by golden finials.

The prayer hall is accessed via stairs located at the centre of the pishtaq and at the centre of each adjacent
wing. Within, the hall is divided into two aisles running parallel to the western qibla wall and leading to
side courtyards. The inner aisle (facing the mihrab) is divided into seven bays; the central bay with the
mihrab niche is the largest. These bays are spanned by cusped red sandstone arches with white marble
inlay work in both the lateral and the cross directions. The vertical surfaces in the prayer hall are clad in
white marble to a height of about 2.5 meters from the floor; above the point, the walls, ceiling and niches
are clad in red sandstone. The western wall is described by niches corresponding to the seven bays. The
central mihrab niche, formed of cusped arches set in a rectangular frame, is completely clad in white
marble with intricate embossed tracery. The three-step minbar, carved from a single block of marble, is
located to its right. The outer aisle of the hall is divided into two parts by the central pishtaq portal, with
five arches occurring on either side of it, connecting the mosque to the courtyard. The floor of the prayer
hall is paved with white marble with a
prayer-mat inlay pattern.

The Friday Mosque of old Delhi is clad completely in red sandstone, with white marble employed in the
domes, ceilings, and floor of the prayer hall. Black marble inlays further embellish this material palette; for
example, the geometry of the domes is exaggerated by inlays running from base to apex. In similar
fashion, the minarets are decorated with vertical white marble inlays. The interior surfaces of the prayer
hall are decorated with fine inlay work and Arabic inscriptions, as is the east elevation of the mosque.

Today, the Friday mosque of old Delhi continues to carry out its congregational function, while the grand
imperial gesture that it embodied serves as a reminder of the city's history.