}
The Moti Masjid () is a
Sunni
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
Friday mosque
A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.See:
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, situated in the
Agra Fort
The Agra Fort (''Qila Agra'') is a historical Mughal fort in the city of Agra, also known as Agra's Red Fort. Mughal emperor Humayun was crowned at this fort in 1530. It was later renovated by the Mughal emperor Akbar from 1565 and the presen ...
, a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
, located in
Agra
Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...
, in the state of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
, India. Built in the 17th-century by
Mughal Emperor
The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...
Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...
, the mosque is made entirely of white
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
.
The mosque is a
Monument of National Importance
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...
, administered by the
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...
.
History

The Agra Fort's modern appearance is largely owed to Shah Jahan, who dismantled several structures within the Agra Fort to add his own in marble. The Moti Masjid was one such structure. The mosque was constructed in the period 1646-1653, which was notably later than all of his other Agra Fort contributions (these were commenced in 1627, his first regnal year, and completed in 1638). The mosque's completion in 1653 was five years after the Mughal residence had shifted to
Shahjahanabad
Shahjahanabad colloquially known as Old Delhi( Hindustani: ''Purāni Dillī'') is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city and officially named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan decided to shi ...
. When Shah Jahan visited the mosque upon its completion, he was so impressed with the structure that he returned two years later to show two of his sons.
Architecture
The mosque complex, built on a high plinth, is a walled enclosure situated to the north of the fort's courtyard. It lies on an east-west axis, and faces the
Yamuna river
The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...
. The outside of the walls is clad in red sandstone, while the inside bears marble. A high entryway is situated in the centre of each wall; the eastern one serves as the main entrance.
Inside the enclosure walls is a nearly-square courtyard, lined by arcades on the north, south, and eastern edges. An ablution pool lies in the centre of the courtyard.
On the western edge lies the main prayer hall itself, a
multi-bayed aisle structure supported by twelve-sided piers. The façade of the hall bears seven entryways, while the roof features three domes and several ''
chhatri
''Chhatri'' are semi-open, elevated, dome-shaped pavilions used as an element in Indo-Islamic architecture and Indian architecture. They are most commonly square, octagonal, and round.
Originating as a canopy above tombs, they largely ser ...
.'' The front of the hall is shaded by a deep ''
chhajja
A ''chhajja'' is an overhanging eave or roof covering found in Indian architecture. It is characterised with large support brackets with different artistic designs. Variation is also seen in its size depending on the importance of the building on ...
'' (eave), under which are Persian inscriptions in black marble. The inscriptions employ complex imagery to glorify Shah Jahan and the Moti Masjid. The interior of the prayer hall does not bear much decoration; Asher notes that the use of undecorated marble is typical of Shah Jahan's private religious architecture.
The Moti Masjid displays much influence from an earlier marble congregational mosque, constructed by Shah Jahan at the
Ajmer Sharif Dargah
The Shrine of Mu'in al-Din Chishti, also known as the Ajmer Dargah Shareef, is a Sufism, Sufi dargah complex incorporating the Sufi shrine, shrine of Mu'in al-Din Chishti, several tombs, and a mosque, located at Ajmer, in the state of Rajasthan ...
.
Gallery
Moti Masjid Agra Fort India plan.jpg, Architectural plan
Моти Масджид.jpg, 19th-century painting of the mosque by Vasily Vereshchagin
Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin (; 26 October 184213 April 1904) was a Russian painters, Russian painter, war artist, and traveller. The Violence in art, graphic nature of his Realism (arts), realist scenes led to many of them never being printe ...
Agra-26-Rotes Fort-Perlenmoschee-1976-gje.jpg, Façade
A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face".
In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...
of the mosque
Moti mazjid.jpg, The mosque at night, in 2013
See also
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Sunni Islam in India
Islam is India's Religion in India, second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, or approximately 172.2 million people, identifying as adherents of Islam in a 2011 census. India also has the Islam by country, third-larg ...
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List of mosques in India
This is a list of notable mosques in India, organised by state or union territory. , India had more than active mosques and had the third largest Muslim population in the world.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andhra Pradesh
Assam
B ...
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List of Monuments of National Importance in Agra district
The ASI has recognized 264 Monuments of National Importance in Agra circle of Uttar Pradesh. For technical reasons the Agra circle has to be split in two lists. The rest of Agra circle can be found in the list of Agra circle, except Agra distric ...
References
External links
Ols Drawings of Moti Masjid
{{Mosques in India
17th-century mosques in India
Agra Fort
Grand mosques
Marble buildings
Monuments of National Importance in Uttar Pradesh
Mosque buildings with spires
Mosque buildings with domes in India
Mosques completed in the 1650s
Mosques in Agra
Religious buildings and structures completed in 1653
Stone buildings in India
Sunni mosques in India