The Jama Mosque, or Jama Masjid, is a

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

, located in

Bhilai Bhilai is a city in Durg district of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in eastern central India. Along with its twin-city Durg, the urban agglomeration of Durg-Bhilai Nagar has a population of more than a million, making it the second-larges ...

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The mosque was completed in the 1960s and can accommodate 3,000 worshippers at a time and is one of the largest mosques in the state, and also in Asia. It is the first mosque in the world to be built in the shape of the word ''"Ya Allah"'' in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

script. It took three years for the construction of the mosque which was completed in 1967.

History

Before the construction of the mosque, Bhilai Muslims used to pray in their respective localities and gathered only on

Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Fitr () is the first of the two main Islamic holidays, festivals in Islam, the other being Eid al-Adha. It falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide becaus ...

and

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the ...

to offer common prayers near Nehru house of Culture in sector-1, Bhilai. The Muslim executives of Bhilai steel plant formed a committee and applied for its registration. It was registered as Bhilai Nagar Masjid Trust under the ''

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

Public Trust Act 1951''. The Bhilai steel plant allotted a plot measuring in sector-6 to this committee for the mosque. The construction began in 1964 and was completed in 1967. The first Friday prayer was held in the new mosque on 31 March 1967.

Architecture and design

The special design of the mosque has created a history in the world of Islamic architecture through its monumental elevation which forms an Arabic word Yā Allāh (یا الله). The 80 feet high

minar Minar may refer to: *Minar (Firuzabad), a structure in Iran * Minar Rahman, Bangladeshi singer-songwriter * Ivo Minář, Czech tennis player * Thomas J. Minar, American academic administrator *Minar, an alternate spelling for minaret A minare ...

shapes ‘''Ya’'' while the concrete walls of the first floor with a slab above in the shape of ''tashdeed'' projects ''‘

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

’''. The marble dome at the top further enhances the beauty of this unique mosque in the world. It was designed by the architect Khairuddin Ahmad Siddiqui, Siddiqui and associates,

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

. The mosque is high, including the dome, and is long and wide. The Eid-gah adjacent to the mosque is long and wide. Marble tiles have been fixed inside and outside of the mosque’s minar. The mosque is maintained by the founding committee, the Bhilai Nagar Masjid Trust.

Imams

Alhaj Hafiz Sayed Ajmaluddin Haider served as the first

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

of this Mosque from 1968 to 2013. Born in

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

in 1942, his family moved permanently to

Durg Durg is a city in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, east of the Shivnath River and is part of the Durg- Bhilai urban agglomeration. With an urban population of 1,064,077, Durg- Bhilai is the second largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Rai ...

in 1952. His father, Maulana Afzaluddin Haidar became Imam of Jama Masjid Durg since 1952 and his mazaar is in Supela Kabristan, Bhilai. Alhaj Hafiz Sayed Ajmaluddin Haider is affiliated to Qadiriyyah Chishtiya Ashrafiya order of Sufism and is educated from Darul Uloom Islamia

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

. Hafiz Iqbal Haider Anjum is the current Imam of the mosque who commenced on 1 January 2014. He is educated from Jame Ashraf, Kichaucha Shareef,

Faizabad Faizabad (Hindustani pronunciation: ɛːzaːbaːd is a city located in Ayodhya district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated on the southern bank of the River Saryu about 6.5 km from Ayodhya City, the district headquarter, ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

Welfare and development

A Muslim community hall is built near the mosque by the Bhilai Nagar masjid trust with the help of Muslims in Bhilai. The hall is long, wide and high. A ladies’ hall has been partitioned out of it with approximately half of the total dimensions of the hall. The second floor is under construction and is estimated to be completed by the end of July 2015. Representatives from non-Muslim communities,

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and

Arya Samaj Arya Samaj () is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda Saraswati founded the samaj in the 1870s. Arya Samaj was the first Hindu ...

, visit the mosque every year to wish Muslims on the occasions of Eid conveying the spirit of inter-religious brotherhood and peace in Bhilai.

References

{{Mosques in India 20th-century mosques in India Buildings and structures in Bhilai

Mosque buildings with domes in India Mosques completed in 1967 Sunni mosques in India

History

Architecture and design

Imams

Welfare and development

See also

References