Golden Mosque (Red Fort)

Not to be confused with Sunehri Masjid (Chandni Chowk).

For similarly named mosques, see Golden Mosque.

The Golden Mosque (Hindi: सुनहरी मस्जिद), or Sunehri Masjid, is a mosque in the Chandni Chowk neighbourhood of Old Delhi, in Central Delhi, India. The mosque is located outside the southwestern corner of the Delhi Gate of the Red Fort, opposite the Netaji Subhash Park.

Golden Mosque
Hindi: सुनहरी मस्जिद
The mosque exterior in 2009
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Mosque
Status	Active
Location
Location	Delhi Gate, Red Fort, Old Delhi, Central Delhi
Country	India
Location of the mosque in Central Delhi
Administration	Archaeological Survey of India
Geographic coordinates	28°39′02″N 77°14′22″E
Architecture
Type	Mosque architecture
Style	Indo-Islamic Mughal
Founder	Qudsia Begum
Completed	1751
Specifications
Dome(s)	Three (maybe more)
Minaret(s)	Two
Materials	Stone; red sandstone; copper; white marble
Monument of National Importance
Official name	Sunehri Masjid (Red Fort)
Reference no.	N-DL-45

The mosque is a Monument of National Importance,^[1] administered by the Archaeological Survey of India.

History

The mosque was constructed between 1747 and 1751 by the order of Qudsia Begum for Nawab Bahadur Javed Khan, a nobleman during the reign of the Emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur.^[2] Qudsia Begum was the mother of Emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur. Javed Khan was the supervisor of the harem and was in great favour with the begum and therefore was very influential. He was later assassinated.

Nawab Ahmad Bakhsh Khan, father of the Nawab of Firozpur, repaired the mosque to benefit the neighbourhood. Not long after its renovation, Nawab Ahmad Bakhsh Khan was attacked by an infuriated elephant while out with his son. His horse was killed in the attack, and his vehicle was destroyed. The Nawab and his son were only saved from death by taking refuge inside this mosque.

Architecture

The Sunehri Masjid is made of bassee jung, a light salmon-coloured stone not usually used for building mosques, which gives the building a singular and picturesque appearance.^[3]

The mosque is surmounted by three domes, which were originally gilt with copper from which it derives its name. The mosque has a main prayer hall and two minarets. The central arch of the mosque bears an inscription about the builder of the mosque and date of its construction. In 1852, Bahadur Shah II had the mosque repaired and replaced the copper plates of the domes with sandstone facing.

Gallery

• 
  Painting of the mosque, published in Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi, 1843
• 
  Worshippers offering namaz during Idu’l Fitr, 1434 AH (2012/2013CE)

See also

• India portal
• Islam portal

• Islam in India
• List of mosques in India
• List of Monuments of National Importance in Delhi