Palaiya Jumma Palli () or Meen Kadai Palli is a mosque in

Kilakarai Kilakarai (alternatively spelled Kilakkarai or Keelakarai) is a municipality in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 38,355. Kilakarai is one of the Taluka in Ramanathapuram Distri ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Built in 628–630 AD, it is believed to be one of the oldest mosques in the world and along with

Cheraman Juma Masjid The Cheramaan Perumal Juma Mosque (Malayalam: ചേരമാൻ ജുമാ മസ്ജിദ്‌) (Tamil: சேரமான் பெருமாள் ஜும்ஆ பள்ளிவாசல்) (Arabic: مسجد الرئيس جم ...

Kodungallur Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thr ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and Barwada Mosque in Ghogha, Gujarat, the first mosque in India.Gibb & Beckingham 1994, pp. 814–815 Vol. 4. It has an Islamic heritage of more than 1000 years. It is located in

, an ancient port town in the

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

n state of

known for its Islamic culture. It was built in 628–630 AD and was re-constructed in 1036. The mosque along with the others in the town, is one of the greatest examples of Dravidian Islam architecture.

History and construction

Constructed by the Yemeni merchants and trade settlers of the pre-Islamic period in Pandiya kingdom ordered by Baadhan (Bazan ibn Sasan) Governor of Yemen at the time of Prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

, after they accepted Islam in 625–628 AD at the time of

Kavadh II Shērōē (also spelled Shīrūya, New Persian: ), better known by his dynastic name of Kavad II ( pal, 𐭪𐭥𐭠𐭲 ''Kawād''; New Persian: قباد ''Qobād'' or ''Qabād''), was king (shah) of the Sasanian Empire briefly in 628. He was t ...

son of

Khosrau II Khosrow II (spelled Chosroes II in classical sources; pal, 𐭧𐭥𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭣𐭩, Husrō), also known as Khosrow Parviz (New Persian: , "Khosrow the Victorious"), is considered to be the last great Sasanian king (shah) of Iran, ruling fr ...

(king of Persia). This mosque was rebuilt in the 11th century after saheed war. It is one of the oldest mosques of India. Bazan Ibn Sasan, Tamim Ibn zayd al ansari, Ibnu Batutah, Nagoor Abdul Cadir,

Ervadi Erwadi is a village in Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu, a state in South India. It belongs to Kilakarai Taluk and town panchayat. The village is the location of the grave and shrine of Qutbus Sultan Syed Ibrahim Shaheed Badusha, the previou ...

Ibrahim Sahib, Sultan of Ottoman

Murad Murad or Mourad ( ar, مراد) is an Arabic name. It is also common in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Turkish, Persian, and Berber as a male given name or surname and is commonly used throughout the Muslim world and Middle East. Etymology It ...

and other most famous Islamic scholars visited the mosque and Ibn Battuta said in his travel notes "the people there lived as though they were in the Arab land".

Structure

The mosque architecture looks like a temple architecture, but does not have any idol carving on the pillars or walls. There is the

Mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', 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 w ...

on the wall of inner Masjid which is unique identification of mosques for identifying the direction of prayer towards kaaba, mihrab of this mosque was exactly towards kaaba it's also proof of early navigation system followed here. the name 'pallavasal' means worship place with many door access, which is the tamil name of the mosque.

Gallery

File:Palaiya Jumma Palli.jpg, inner masjid File:Kilakarai Arabic tombstone.jpg, Tombstone in

Arwi Arwi or ArabuTamil (Arabic: , ; ta, அரபுத்தமிழ் ) is an Arabic influenced dialect of the Tamil language, Tamil language written with an Arabic Extended-A, extension of the Arabic alphabet, with extensive Lexicon, lexical a ...

script File:Ojm west veiw.jpg, old jumma masjid top view File:Ojm inner old.jpg File:Ojm side veiw old.jpg File:Inner masjid after conservation.jpg File:Side view of ojm.jpg File:Ojm22310.jpg File:Ojm7600.jpg File:Ojm4369.jpg File:Ojm2623.jpg File:Ojm839.jpg File:Ojm10350.jpg File:Ojm405.jpg File:Ojm841.jpg

References

{{Reflist Mosques in Tamil Nadu 7th-century mosques Religious buildings and structures completed in 1036 Ramanathapuram district Palaiya Mosques completed in 630 11th-century mosques

History and construction

Structure

Gallery

See also

References