The Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, popularly known locally as Sidi Saiyyid ni Jali, 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 ...

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 ...

, located in

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 mosque was built by Sidi Sayyad, a Habshi nobleman, in . 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 ...

History

The Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, known locally as Sidi Saiyyid ki/ni Jali, built in , is a mosque in Ahmedabad. As attested by the marble tablet fixed on the wall of the mosque, it was built by Shaikh Sa'id Al-Habshi Sultani. Sidi Sa'id was originally a slave of Rumi Khan, a Turkish general who had come to Gujarat from Yemen, bringing along with him his Habshi slaves. Sidi Sa'id later served Sultan Mahmud III, and upon his death, joined the Abyssinian general Jhujhar Khan. Upon Sidi Sa'id's retirement from military service, Jhujhar Khan granted him a

jagir A jagir (), ( Hindustani: जागीर/جاگیر, ''Jāgīr''), ( Marathi: जहागीर, ''Jahāgīrá'') also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar ( Zamindar ...

. Sidi Sa'id over his career became a prominent nobleman: he collected a library, owned over a hundred slaves, performed the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

pilgrimage, and instituted a langar (public kitchen). Previously at the site there was a smaller brick mosque, which was rebuilt by Sidi Sa'id, and he was buried near the mosque when he died in 1576. The mosque was built in the last year of the existence of

Gujarat Sultanate The Gujarat Sultanate or Sultanate of Gujarat was a late medieval Islamic Indian kingdom in Western India, primarily in the present-day state of Gujarat. The kingdom was established in 1394 when Muzaffar Shah I, the Governor of Gujarat, decla ...

. During the British colonial period, it served as an office or ''kachery'' for the Mamlatdar of Dascrohi taluka. During its time as an office, doors were installed, the

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". ...

s were converted into presses, and the interior was whitewashed. During an official visit to Ahmadabad,

Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), known as Lord Curzon (), was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, explorer and writer who served as Viceroy of India ...

, Viceroy of India, ordered the Mamlatdar's office to vacate the premises, as part of his wider policies of preserving historic monuments.

Architecture

The mosque is entirely

arcuated An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

and is known for its ten intricately carved stone

latticework __NOTOC__ Latticework is an openwork framework consisting of a criss-crossed pattern of strips of building material, typically wood or metal. The design is created by crossing the strips to form a grid or weave. Latticework may be functional &nd ...

windows (

jali A ''jali'' or ''jaali'' (''jālī'', meaning "net") is the term for a perforated stone or latticed screen, usually with an ornamental pattern constructed through the use of calligraphy, geometry or natural patterns. This form of architectu ...

s) on the side and rear arches. The rear wall is filled with square stone pierced panels in geometrical designs. The two bays flanking the central aisle have reticulated stone slabs carved in designs of intertwined trees and foliage and a palm motif. This intricately carved lattice stone window is the Sidi Saiyyed Jali, the unofficial symbol of city of Ahmedabad and the inspiration for the design of the logo of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. The central window arch of the mosque, where one would expect to see another intricate jali, is instead walled with stone. This is possibly because the mosque was not completed according to plan before the Mughals invaded Gujarat.

Gallery

Sidi Saiyyed Mosque - Marble Screen.jpg, The marble screen from inside Front view of Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, Ahmedabad.jpg, Front view of the mosque Carved Mesh of Sidi Saiyyed Mosque Ahmedabad Gujarat DSC001.jpg, The marble screen from outside Sidi Saiyyed Ni Jali.JPG, Mosque Plaque at Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, Ahmedabad.jpg, Plaque

References

External links

{{Mosques in India 16th-century mosques in India Gujarat Sultanate mosques Indo-Islamic mosques Monuments of National Importance in Gujarat Mosque buildings with domes in India Mosques completed in the 1570s Mosques in Ahmedabad Religious buildings and structures completed in 1573 Sunni mosques in India

History

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References

External links