Jami Masjid Ajmer (Shah Jahan’s Mosque)

¤ The Construction of the Mosque

In the inner courtyard on the east is Shah Jahan’s mosque or Jami masjid, another white marble mosque. of all the monuments within the dargah complex, Shah Jahan’s masjid is needed the most spectacular. This 45m long mosque with 11 arches bears Persian inscriptions under its eaves and is surrounded on three sides by an intricately carved balustrade. The arches are not true arches but merely curved brackets meeting in the centre to hold up the ceiling. The marble that went into the making of this mosque was extracted from the same mines in Makrana from where the marble for the Taj Mahal in Agra was sourced. Slender pillars divide the mosque into three sections, and the mihrab (prayer niché) is a deep star shaped recess in the wall.

On the outside wall of the mosque just above the arches is an inscription in Persian stating that it was built in 1638 and that Shah Jahan, as a prince, had vowed to build a mosque near Moin-ud-din’s shrine. This resolve was in gratitude after Shah Jahan defeated the Rana of Mewar for the second time. The Emperor held Khwaja Moin-ud-din in high esteem, and while building his own mosque ensured that it was devoid of a dome to allow the main shrine to be the dominant one in the complex. The Holy Shrine


The inscription also declares that Shah Jahan comissioned the mosque in January 1628 and that it took nine years to complete it. The Perisian script compares Chisti’s shrine to with that of the Prophet’s in Mecca, adding that Shah Jahan had it built so that he could pray facing the holy Muslim city and still be near the saint’s tomb.
Close to Chisti’s dargah stands the smaller tomb of the saint’s daughter, Bibi Hafiz Jamal. Emperor Shah Jahan’s daughter Chimmi Begum is also buried nearby. Don’t forget to check out the small shops within the dargah complex selling a variety of religious and secular goods. The shops sell flowers and chaddars (coloured silk or satin sheets) meant to be placed on the grave of the saint, but don’t get persuaded into paying hefty donations in the name of the saint.