Jama Mosque, Lucknow

Jama Mosque
Jama Mosque
	The grand and large mosque, in 2013
Religion
Affiliation	Shia Islam
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Friday mosque
Status	Active
Location
Location	Husainabad, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Country	India
	Location of the mosque in Uttar Pradesh
Geographic coordinates	26°52′21″N 80°54′04″E / 26.87259°N 80.90101°E
Architecture
Type	Mosque architecture
Style	Indo-Islamic; Mughal;
Founder	Muhammad Ali Shah; Queen Malika Jahan Sahiba;
Groundbreaking	1839 CE
Completed	1845 CE
Specifications
Dome(s)	3
Minaret(s)	4 (incl. 2 incomplete)
Materials	Lakhauri bricks; lime mortar; stucco
Monument of National Importance
Official name	Jama Masjid near Hussainabad
Reference no.	N-UP-L277
	Location of the mosque in Lucknow

The Jama Mosque, also known as the Jama Masjid, is a Shi'ite Friday mosque located in the area of Husainabad, Lucknow, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The construction of the mosque started in 1839 CE by Muhammad Ali Shah, third Badshah of Awadh with the intention to surpass the Jama Masjid in Delhi in size. It was incomplete at the time of his death, and the mosque was completed by his wife, Queen Malika Jahan Sahiba, in 1845 CE,^[1] although not all planned elements were completed.

The mosque is a Monuments of National Importance, administered by the Archaeological Survey of India.^[2]

Architecture

Built with "Lakhauri" bricks and plastered with lime, it is decorated with coloured stucco motifs. Standing on a square lofty terrace, it has a rectangular prayer hall, on the west with a magnificent façade of eleven arches. The central one is higher and provided with an unusually high doorway which rises above the roof in a sharply pointed arch decorated in coloured stucco.

The prayer hall is surmounted by three pear-shaped high double domes decorated with an inverted lotus on the top and is also flanked by two octagonal four-storeyed tapering minarets on either side, crowned by "Chhatries" on the top. An imambara, known as Imambara Malika Jahan, is also situated at the south of the mosque.