Thousand Lights Mosque

{{Short description|Mosque in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}

{{Use Indian English|date=March 2019}}

{{Infobox religious building

| name = Thousand Lights Mosque

| native_name = ஆயிரம்விளக்கு மசூதி

| native_name_lang = ta

| image = Thousand Lights Mosque (6708375421).jpg

| image_upright = 1.4

| alt =

| caption = The mosque and its domes, in 2011

| religious_affiliation = Shia Islam

| tradition =

| sect =

| district =

| prefecture =

| province =

| region =

| deity =

| rite =

| festival =

| organisational_status = Mosque

| ownership =

| governing_body =

| leadership =

| bhattaraka =

| patron =

| consecration_year =

| functional_status = Active

| religious_features_label =

| religious_features =

| location = Chennai, Tamil Nadu

| locale =

| municipality =

| cercle =

| state =

| country = India

| map_type = India Chennai

| map_size = 250

| map_alt =

| map_relief = yes

| map_caption = The mosque located in Chennai

| grid_name =

| grid_position =

| sector =

| territory =

| administration =

| coordinates = {{coord|13|3|18|N|80|15|18|E|type:landmark_region:IN-TN|display=inline,title}}

| coordinates_footnotes =

| heritage_designation =

| architect = Nawab Umdat ul-Umara

| architecture_type = {{nowrap|Mosque architecture}}

| architecture_style = Indo-Islamic

| founded_by =

| creator =

| funded_by =

| general_contractor =

| established =

| groundbreaking =

| year_completed = 1810

| construction_cost =

| date_demolished =

| facade_direction =

| capacity = 1,000 worshippers

| length =

| width =

| width_nave =

| interior_area =

| height_max =

| dome_quantity = Five

| dome_height_outer =

| dome_height_inner =

| dome_dia_outer =

| dome_dia_inner =

| minaret_quantity = Two

| minaret_height =

| spire_quantity =

| spire_height =

| site_area =

| temple_quantity =

| monument_quantity =

| shrine_quantity =

| inscriptions = Many

| materials =

| elevation_m =

| elevation_footnotes =

| nrhp =

| designated =

| added =

| refnum =

| delisted1_date =

| website = {{URL|princeofarcot.org}}

| module =

| footnotes =

}}

The Thousand Lights Mosque ({{langx|ta|ஆயிரம்விளக்கு மசூதி}}) is a Shi'ite mosque in Anna Salai in Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the largest mosques in the country and is a revered place of worship and azadari for Shia Muslims.{{cite web |url=http://www.princeofarcot.org/contributions.html#4 |title=About |work=Prince of Arcot |date=1990-11-22 |access-date=21 July 2015 }}{{self-published-inline|date=February 2025}}

History

The mosque was built in 1810 by Arcot Nawab Umdat ul-Umara.{{cite book |last=Muthiah |first=S. |title=Madras, Chennai: A 400-year Record of the First City of Modern India |publisher= Palaniappa Brothers |series= |volume=1 |date=2008 |location=Chennai |page=126 |isbn=9788183794688}} It was constructed in medieval architecture.{{cite journal |author1= Priya, R. Sasi Mary |author2=Radhakrishnan, V. |title=The art and architectures along the Tamil Nadu coast |journal=International Journal of Art & Humanity Science |volume=3 |issue=2 |page=43 |date=March–April 2016 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313763972 |jstor= |issn=2349-5235 |doi= |access-date=18 December 2021}} The site of the mosque was previously occupied by an assembly hall. There was a tradition of lighting thousand oil lamps to illuminate the assembly hall. The mosque thus gets its name from this tradition.{{cite book |author= |editor= |title=DK Eyewitness Travel Guide India |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |year=2017 |location= |page= |isbn=9780241326244}}

The chief Shia Qazi of Chennai functions from the mosque, and the post has been continuously held by the same family.{{Rp|128}}

See also

{{stack|{{portal|India|Shia Islam}}}}

References

{{reflist}}