| Shahi Jama Masjid | |
|---|---|
 Façade of the mosque in 2023 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Islam |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Friday mosque |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | Sambhal,Uttar Pradesh |
| Country | India |
  Location of the mosque inUttar Pradesh | |
| Coordinates | 28°34′51″N78°34′02″E / 28.58073°N 78.56714°E /28.58073; 78.56714 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Mosque architecture |
| Style | |
| Founder | Mir Hindu Beg (on orders of EmperorBabur) |
| Established | December 6, 1526 (1526-12-06)CE |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | East |
| Dome | One(maybe more) |
| Minaret | Two(maybe more) |
| Inscriptions | Several |
| [1][2][3][4] | |
TheShahi Jama Masjid (Urdu:شاہی جامع مسجد) is aFriday mosque located inSambhal, in the state ofUttar Pradesh, India. Established during the reign of the Mughal emperorBabur in December 1526, it is the oldest survivingMughal-era mosque in South Asia.[1] The mosque is a protected monument under theAncient Monuments Protection Act, 1904.[5]
The mosque is situated atop the highest hillock in Sambhal, inmuhallaKot, the fortified old town.[7] An extant inscription on themihrab states the mosque to have been constructed upon the orders ofBabur, by his general Mir Hindu Beg, by 6 December 1526.[1][8][9] Thus the mosque was finished seven months after theBattle of Panipat, in which Babur conqueredDelhi fromIbrahim Lodi, and is the oldest survivingMughal-era mosque in South Asia.[8]
However, bothRam Nath and Catherine Asher, scholars ofMughal architecture, doubt that Babur had any personal involvement.[1][8] Asher suggests that the inscription might have merely alluded to Babur's permission to regional governors to construct mosques in newly gained territories; she calls it a "non-imperial mosque" as opposed to thePanipat mosque, that was constructed by Babur himself.[1] Nath believes that Beg might have refurbished an older Lodi-era mosque.[8]
The mosque is enclosed in a walled complex with a square-shaped courtyard that has a well and an ablution tank; the complex is accessible through a gate on the east.[3][1]
The mosque has a rectangular prayer chamber—with the gateway set in the form of a highpishtaq—with a square-shaped central bay. The bay is enclosed by a dome, supported by stalactitependentives and topped by akalasha pinnacle. On either side of the chamber, there exists a three-bayed double-aisled arcade, covered by low flat domes. Behind theqibla wall of the central bay, lie two small rectangular chambers which open to these arcades.[3][1][2] The exterior walls of the feature are flanked with large octagonal towers.[10]
Repairs
Inscriptions on themihrab attest to repairs undertaken in 1625–26 and 1656–57; in the former, the mosque was referred to as an "old mosque".[11] Records of the mosque-keeper include a confirmation of the office in 1689 and multiple revenue-grants towards the maintenance of the mosque across the eighteenth century.[12] Two inscriptions above the outer and inner arches of the central chamber record restorations effected by local Muslims about 1845.[13]
Burton-Page, a scholar of Indian architecture, notes the mosque to be imposing but "utterly undistinguished" in architectural novelty.[14] Nath believes that the structure has been extensively improved upon, during the repairs, and hence, finds it impossible to guess the original plan of the mosque;[8] Asher agrees with the nature of modifications but feels the original design to have survived nonetheless.[1]
Asher notes a high degree of similarity with the Sharqi architecture of Jaunpur, especially in the usage of a highpishtaq, and suggests a reliance on local artisans.[1] However,Syed Nadeem Ali Rezavi disputes such a lineage and highlights the influence of Timurid architectural conventions—thechahartaq pattern of the central bay, the highpishtaq, and the domed side arcades of a relatively low height.
Abul Fazl, the court chronicler of emperorAkbar, recorded inA'in-i-Akbari that Sambhal had a temple calledHari Mandal (Vishnu temple). The tenth of avatar ofVishnu, calledKalki, was believed to appear among the descendants of the Brahmin priest of that temple.[15] Other scholars of Mughal court have also written about the temple, using names such asHar Mandir,[16] andHar Mandil.[17] These narrations are in line with Hindu religious texts.[18][19][a]
In 1745, Ānand Rām Mukhliṣ, a Hindu scholar and official of the Mughal court, toured Sambhal and recorded the claim thatHari Mandal had been converted into a mosque.[22][23] He recounted a line from SikhDasam Granth to identify the context of the temple:
Mukhlis quoted an inscription on one of the arches saying that the mosque was constructed by Hindu Beg. However, he claimed that it was Babur's son,Humayun, who ordered the conversion of the temple to a mosque after receiving the district as hisjagir. He also narrated that the Hindu pilgrims were still coming to a neighbouring tank and bathing in it as it was considered holy, with Brahmin priests and flower-sellers standing by. Mukhlis did not take umbrage at the conversion of the temple, remarking that what was a place of worship continued to be one.[25]
In 1770, Aḥmad ʿAlī, a scribe under the employment ofEast India Company, toured Sambhal and produced an account similar to Mukhliṣ.[26] About two decades later,Thomas Daniell andWilliam Daniell etched two drawings of the mosque while travelling through Sambhal, noting it to be "on the site of a Hindoo temple."[27]
In 1874, British archaeologistA. C. L. Carlleyle, working for theArchaeological Survey of India, surveyed the mosque and, according toAlexander Cunningham, determined that it was a converted Hindu temple.[28] Carlleyle's report states that the bricks of the central bay were stripped of their stone casings before being plastered over, that the stones in the courtyard pathway contained fragments of Hindu sculptures underneath, and that the new bricks used for the side bays were smaller than those of the central bay.[29] Thus, Carlleyle proposed that the central bay was indeed a Hindu temple that was converted into a mosque—wherein the stone casings with sculptures were stripped and repurposed as footsteps out of aniconic impulses—and followed up with the addition of new side bays.[29]
Howard Crane, a scholar of Islamic art and architecture, doubts that the site of the mosque could have been ever occupied by a temple.[3] In contrast, Ram Nath agrees that a temple was converted into the mosque and notes the pillars of the temple to have been reused.[8][30][31]
In 1873, Ganga Prashad, deputy collector of the district, noted the mosque to still have the chain for the suspension of a bell,[c] and a passage at the back forparikrama carried out by Hindus.[d][4] Around the same time, Carlleyle alleged local Muslims to have confessed to him about the extant inscriptions being forgeries and about how they had usurped total control of the site only around 1850.[29][e]
In 1878, local Hindus filed a plea in the Moradabad Civil Court asking for the site to be returned to them; they lost the case having failed to prove that the Muslims did not have continuous possession of the site during the previous twelve years.[33][34] In addition, the parikrama path did not go through the mosque and the witnesses for the Hindu side were noted to be of a "poor quality" who had never seen the inside of the mosque.[33]
In 1920, the mosque was brought under the purview of theAncient Monuments Protection Act, 1904, and designated as a protected monument.[5]
In 1976 the maulana of the mosque was murdered giving rise to rumours that a Hindu man had committed the murder. The local administration record says that it was actually committed by a Muslim man but some rioting followed, leading to long curfews.[35][36]
On 19 November 2024, Vishnu Shankar Jain, known for his involvement in theGyanvapi Dispute, filed a petition in the Chandausi Civil Court arguing that the mosque was built over a 'Shri Hari Har Temple' and asked for an immediate survey of the site.[34][37] The prayer was grantedex parte and the survey was completed by the evening.[34] Commentators and scholars note the litigation to be part ofa broader Hindu nationalist assault on Indian Muslims.[38][39][40]
On 24 November, there was an attempt at a fresh survey which gave rise to apprehensions that the surveyors were excavating the mosque; stone-pelting and arson followed, resulting in four deaths, likely from retaliatory police firing.[34] A week later, theSupreme Court of India directed the Civil Court to pause all proceedings until theAllahabad High Court heard the Mosque Committee's challenge to the survey order; the Court ordered the survey report to not be unsealed and emphasised upon the responsibility of the government to maintain peace.[41][42]
Local Hindus claim that they have always held the mosque to be Harihar Mandir and that they used to offer prayers at a nearby well till a few decades ago; local Muslims do not oppose the Hindu claims but assert that such a temple existed in the mosque's vicinity in ancient times, and not at the site itself.[34]
In December 2024 a police station was built near the mosques, with resultant controversy.[43][44]
[FromMahabharata] A brahmin by the name of Kalki Viṣṇuyaśas will arise, prodded by Time, of great prowess, wisdom, and might. He will be born in the village of Sambhala, in a pious brahmin dwelling, and at his mere thought all vehicles, weapons, warriors, arms, and coats of mail will wait on him.
When the religion of the Vedas and scriptural tradition are in decline and the Kali age nears its end, Lord Väsudeva—creator of the universe;... the Absolute in the form of the highest self—will manifest an aspect of himself in this world as Kalki in the home the head brahmin Viṣṇuyaśas, in a village called Śaṃbala.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)Amongst the latter the most remarkable was the old city of Sambhal, where the musjid of Bāber was found to be an old Hindu temple altered and adapted to Muhammadan worship.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Media related toShahi Jama Masjid, Sambhal at Wikimedia Commons
