The Qutbuddin Mosque, formally the Qutb al-Din Shah Mosque, is a former

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

, now in partial ruins, built in 1449 in the Old City of

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

, in the state of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The structure 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 ...

. Although the mosque is not considered a distinctive building by scholars, it exemplifies the progression of the Indo-Islamic architectural style of Ahmedabad in the 15th century.

History

The Mosque of Qutb al-Din Shah was built during the short reign of

Ahmad Shah II Qutb-ud-Din Ahmad Shah II, born Jalal Khan, was a ruler of the Muzaffarids (Gujarat), Muzaffarid dynasty, who reigned over the Gujarat Sultanate from 1451 to 1458. He defeated invading Malwa Sultanate, Malwa forces at the battle of Kapadvanj. ...

(1451 - 1458), who acquired the title Qutb al-Din Shah following his ascension to the throne. Nevertheless, an inscription band situated within the central

mihrab ''Mihrab'' (, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "''qibla'' wall". ...

of the mosque gives the date 1449 as the year of foundation, falling during the reign of his predecessor and father, Muhammad Shah II. Despite the confusion regarding the date of foundation, scholars ascribe the building to Ahmad Shah II, who was reported in an earlier source under the name Jalal Khan, son of Muhammad Shah II. Ahmad Shah II, who was reported to be a tyrannical and vindictive ruler, spent the eight years of his reign in wars against the sovereigns of Malwa and Chittoor. He famously had a longstanding feud with the dervish (Saint) Shah Alam, who had served as his advisor before the fallout. Besides the mosque carrying his name, he constructed two more buildings during his reign, namely, the great mosque of Rajapur and the artificial tank, Hauz-i-Qutb, at Kankariya.

Location

The former mosque is located at the northern end of the

walled city The following cities have, or historically had, defensive walls. Africa Algeria * Algiers * Ghardaïa * Timimoun Egypt See List of Egypt castles, forts, fortifications and city walls. * Al-Fustat * Cairo * Damietta Ethiopia * Harar Libya *Apo ...

of Ahmedabad. It stands on the right of the main street leading from the market to the Delhi Gate, approximately from the gate. Part of the structure on the north east side protrudes into the straight line of the street. In 1864, a proposal was submitted to the municipality to cut off the protruding structure to align the building with the street. The mosque, which had initially extended over an area of , lost about a fifth of its area to roads and a private property on which huts have been built. The mosque has also been used for storage of cotton bales, and portions have been cut off by partitions to be used as dwellings.

Architecture and design

The Mosque of Qutb al-Din Shah is characteristic of the Indo-Islamic architectural style, featuring a markedly

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

-influenced exterior. The mosque does not represent any substantial architectural development; its immediate prototype is Ahmed Shah's Mosque, which shares the same plan yet differs in scale and exterior decorative scheme. The Qutb al-Din Shah mosque has been criticised by scholars for its stiff proportions. Scholars consider it an unsuccessful attempt at combining an arched

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 ...

with a columnar interior.

Exterior

The mosque is a large rectangular structure, , and is distinguished by its robust and intricately decorated buttresses which are distinctively Hindu-inspired and served as bases for the now lost twin minarets. The buttresses are engaged to the arched prayer hall screen which is made of five arched entries, flanking the central slightly raised arched entrance, enabling it to stand out. The buttresses are decorated with horizontal carved mouldings which are divided vertically and feature panels with floral patterns on the front side of each buttress. The Western (''

Qibla The qibla () is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to ...

'') side facing the street features buttresses marking the location of the mihrabs inside the prayer hall. The structure has four windows on the frontal façade, and six windows at the back, all recessed with carved stone screens. A series of crenellations runs along the top of the whole building. The mosque is topped by five large domes and ten smaller domes, with flat interspaces supported on sixty pillars. The central dome is raised on eight stellate pillars, giving it height of one storey above the general roof, however scholars argue that the height was not sufficient to harmonise the proportions of the building. The courtyard before the mosque includes a square cistern from which water was raised by a wheel for ablution.

Interior

The prayer hall is equipped with five

s, all featuring rectangular and semi-circular recesses made out of stone, while the main mihrab is made of white and grey marble, and includes a recently inserted inscription band giving the date of construction of the mosque and the architect, Nizam son of Hallu Sultani. The hall is also equipped with a modest three steps

minbar A minbar (; sometimes romanized as ''mimber'') is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam (leader of prayers) stands to deliver sermons (, ''khutbah''). It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and le ...

Gallery

Qutub Shah Mosque 6.jpg, The former mosque in 2018 Kootub Shah's Mosque, Ahmedabad (c. 1880).jpg, The mosque,

References

External links

{{Ahmedabad topics, status=collapsed 15th-century mosques in India Buildings and structures completed in 1446 Gujarat Sultanate mosques Hindu temple architecture Indo-Islamic mosques Monuments of National Importance in Gujarat Mosque buildings with domes in India Mosque buildings with minarets in India Mosques completed in the 1440s Mosques in Ahmedabad Mosque ruins in India