Shah Jahan Mosque Ajmer
Shah Jahan’s Mosque: In the inner courtyard on the east is Shah Jahan’s mosque or Jami masjid, another white marble mosque. of all the monuments within the dargah complex, Shah Jahan’s masjid is needed the most spectacular. This 45m long mosque with 11 arches bears Persian inscriptions under its eaves and is surrounded on three sides by an intricately carved balustrade. The arches are not true arches but merely curved brackets meeting in the centre to hold up the ceiling. The marble that went into the making of this mosque was extracted from the same mines in Makrana from where the marble for the Taj Mahal in Agra was sourced. Slender pillars divide the mosque into three sections, and the mihrab (prayer niche) is a deep star shaped recess in the wall.
On the outside wall of the mosque just above the arches is an inscription in Persian stating that it was built in 1638 and that Shah Jahan, as a prince, had vowed to build a mosque near Moin-ud-din’s shrine. This resolve was in gratitude after Shah Jahan defeated the Rana of Mewar for the second time. The Emperor held Khwaja Moin-ud-din in high esteem, and while building his own mosque ensured that it was devoid of a dome to allow the main shrine to be the dominant one in the complex. The Holy Shrine