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Jama Masjid is the biggest mosque in India, it is situated across the road from the Red Fort. This mosque is located in the centre of the old city on the top of a large hill. This mosque was founded by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan between 1644 and 1658.

The mosque stands on Bho Jhala, which is one of the old Mughal capital cities of Shahjahanbad. Jama Masjid is very beautiful architecturally, it is also a site of religious significance as it houses a hair from the beard of the Prophet, as well as a chapter of the Holy Quran written by him.

This mosque is built in yellow sandstone and is a merger of Hindu and Muslim styles of architecture. The mosque was constructed by more than 5000 artisans, with red sandstone and marble. This mosque stands on 260 pillars supporting 15 domes at varying elevations.

Jama Masjid Front

The courtyard of the mosque is about 408 square feet and is paved with red stone that can hold a large number of people. At the centre of the mosque there is a large marble tank in which the devout wash their hands before attending prayers. The main mosque is circled by three onion-shaped domes made of white marble and inlaid with stripes of black slates. The shape of the courtyard is rectangular which is about 65 by 76 metres. The central courtyard is reachable from the East, though there are three ways on the other side also. The Entrance at the eastern side leads to another area which has the tomb of Sultan Ahmed Shah. Jama Masjid faces the Red Fort, three gateways, four towers and two minarets on the east.  On the north and south of the complex are the two 130 feet high minarets from where an amazing bird’s eye view of the city can be seen. The main gate of the Masjid, the eastern entrance, is usually closed on most of the days of the week. It was perhaps used by the Emperors.
 

Near the Eastern entrance stands the tomb of the Sultan Ahmed Shah, which was homage to the Sultan by his son Mohammed Shah II. The tomb houses the graves of three great rulers of Gujarat - Ahmed Shah I, his son, Mohammed Shah and his grandson, Qutub-Ud-Din Ahmed Shah II. After 100 years, a nobleman, Farhatul Maluk repaired the tomb, who also got the walls of the mosque engraved. Today after centuries of heat and uneven weather, Jama Masjid stands unchallenged serving as a prayer place for various Muslims.