Jama Masjid is the Biggest Mosque in India. Its original name is Masjid-i-Jahan Numa commonly known as Jama Masjid. About 500m away from the Red Fort is the Jama masjid. It was begun by Shah Jahan in 1650 and completed six years later and the whole cost of the construction is about a million rupees. It is hard to imagine a building more suited to evoking the awe of the majesty of Allah in man. The mosque stands on a rocky elevation. Its huge gateway looks down at you like fastidious authority from an immense platform, which has steps that lead up to it.

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 (worship) observed on Friday at the mosque. The courtyard of the mosque can hold up to twenty-five thousand worshippers. The mosque also houses several Relic in a closet in the north gate, including a copy of the Qur`an written on deer skin.

Site & Architecture
Jama Masjid was constructed in Sandstone and white marble, the mosque can be entered from both the directions North and the South Gates. Beyond the intimidating entrance, there is a huge courtyard measuring nearly 100msq. It is bordered by pillared corridors, which run all along the courtyard and have domed pavilions in the middle on either side. 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 Indian rebellion of 1857, 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 porsch, each having a lofty tower-like gateway in the centre. 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. On the back of the mosque, there are four small minarets crowned like those in the front.

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 the prayer hall, measuring 61m by 27.5m. The mosque has a magnificent display of eleven arches, the central one being higher than the others and serving as the entrance. Over these arched entrances there are tablets of white marble, four feet long and 2.5 feet wide, inlaid with inscriptions in black marble. These inscriptions give the history of the building of the mosque, and glorify the dynasty and virtues of Shah Jahan. The slab over the centre arch contains simply the words "The Guide". It is crowned by three magnificent domes, which are richly ornamented and have black and white marble stripes much like the Nizamuddin Dargah.

Devotees, who offer namaz, especially during Muslim Festival, clutter Jama Masjid. For those who don`t belong to non - Muslim community, a specified time is mentioned to enter the mosque. The mosque stands on a platform of about five feet (1.5 m) 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. The back of the mosque is cased over to the height of the rock on which the mosque stands with large hewn stones.

It is said that the walls of the mosque were tilted at a certain angle so that at the time of an earthquake, the walls do not collapse in the courtyard but outwards. The Jama Masjid combines the best of the Hindu and Islamic styles of architecture. The emperors used the main entrance on the eastern side. The eastern gateway is supposed to remain open on Friday. Jama Masjid was the last architectural extravaganza of the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan. Jama Masjid is the replica of the Moti Masjid at Red Fort in Agra. The Masjid also comprises of a great treasure that has been kept in the northeast corner of the white shrine. The treasure comprises of a hair of the beard of Hazrat Muhammad, his used chappal (foot wear), a chapter of Koran taken from its original holy book, the canopy of his tombstone and the footprint of Muhammad on the stone.

Wide staircases and arched gateways are the hallmark of this popular mosque. Its courtyard has a capacity to hold nearly 25,000 worshippers. The area surrounding Jama Masjid is like another World. Located in the center of the old city, the Mosque sits on top of a large hill, projecting high into the Old-Delhi skyline. One can climb the tower of Jama Masjid and get a great view over the city as well as you can hear the sounds of Indian street-life. The tomb houses the graves of three great rulers of Gujarat - Ahmed Shah I, his son, Mohammed Shah and his grandson, Qutubuddin Ahmed Shah II.