The Moti Masjid () is a white

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

mosque inside the

Red Fort The Red Fort or Lal Qila () is a historic fort in Old Delhi, Delhi in India that served as the main residence of the Mughal Emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1638, when he decided to shift ...

complex in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

, India. Located to the west of the ''

Hammam A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the Islamic culture, culture of the Muslim world and ...

'' and close to the Diwan-i-Khas, it was built by the

Mughal emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Aurangzeb from 1659-1660.

History

The mosque was built by the

Aurangzeb at the

complex in

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 ...

, from 1659-1660 for his 2nd wife

Nawab Bai Rahmat-un-Nissa ( fa, رحمت النساء بیگم; died 1691), better known by her title Nawab Bai ( fa, نواب بائی; meaning "The Great"), was a secondary wife of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. She gave birth to Aurangzeb's first two s ...

. The mosque was also used by the ladies of the

Zenana Zenana ( fa, زنانه, ur, , bn, জেনানা, hi, ज़नाना) literally meaning "of the women" or "pertaining to women", in Persian language contextually refers to the part of a house belonging to a Muslim, Sikh, or Hindu f ...

. The mosque was constructed at a cost of Rs. 160,000. The prayer hall has three arches, and it is divided into two aisles. It is surmounted with three bulbous domes, which were originally covered in gilded copper. The gilded copper was probably lost after the

Indian rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

Architecture

The outer walls are oriented in symmetry with the outer walls of the fort, while the inner walls are at a slightly different orientation to align with the location of

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

. The eastern door is provided with copper-plated leaves. The mosque is plastered in white on the outside. Inside is the white marble courtyard and a prayer hall, which stands on a higher level than the courtyard. The floor of the prayer-hall is inlaid with outlines of small carpets for prayers (''

musalla A musalla ( ar-at, مصلى, muṣallá) is a space apart from a mosque, mainly used for prayer in Islam.''The Encyclopaedia of Islam''. New Edition. Brill, Leiden. Vol. 7, pg. 658; ''al-mausūʿa al-fiqhiyya.'' Kuwait 1998. Vol. 38, pg 29 T ...

'') in black marble. In the middle of the courtyard is a small, square ablution fountain. The courtyard measures 40 x 35 feet. Another small mosque by the same name was built for private prayer by Aurangzeb's son, the

Bahadur Shah I Bahadur Shah I (14 October 1643 – 27 February 1712), also known as Muhammad Mu'azzam and Shah Alam I. was the eighth Mughal Emperor who ruled from 1707 until his death in 1712. In his youth, he conspired to overthrow his father Aurangzeb, t ...

(r. 1707-1712), close to the ''Ajmere Gate'' of the

Dargah A dargah ( fa, درگاه ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargah'' दरगाह درگاہ, bn, দরগাহ ''dorgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often ...

of Sufi saint

Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki ''Quṭb al-Aqṭāb'' Khwājā Sayyid Muḥammad Bakhtiyār al-Ḥusaynī, Quṭb al-Dīn Bakhtiyār Kākī ( ur, ) (born 1173 – died 1235) was a Muslim Sufi mystic, saint and scholar of the Chishti Order from Delhi, India. He was the d ...

, which is located in

Mehrauli Mehrauli is a neighbourhood in South Delhi, a district of Delhi in India. It represents a constituency in the legislative assembly of Delhi. The area is close to Gurgaon and next to Vasant Kunj. History Mehrauli is one of the seven mediev ...

at the Jahaz Mahal. It is an imitation of the one inside the Red Fort.

Gallery

File:A door in Red Fort of Mughal era.JPG, Bronze main door with floral decoration File:India-0109 - Flickr - archer10 (Dennis).jpg, Interior view today File:The Motee Musjid dli A136 cor.jpg, Samuel Bourne,
The Motee Musjid. Delhi. 1351
" 1863-1869, photograph mounted on cardboard sheet

References

External links

{{Mosques in India Marble buildings Mosques in Delhi Red Fort 1660 establishments in the Mughal Empire Mughal mosques Mosques completed in the 1660s Monuments of National Importance in Delhi