The older one, bestowed by Shah Jahan, is Masjid-i-Jehān-Numā, interpreted as "mosque that reflects the whole world", probably an allusion to the Jām-e-Jehān Numā.

[5] As one of the focal points of Old Delhi, Jama Masjid is surrounded by various commercial centres, such as the historic Chandni Chowk.

It was also an important centre of social life for the residents of Shahjahanabad, providing a space transcending class divide for diverse people to interact.

[14] The Masjid continued to serve as a site of social and political discourse, in keeping with other mosques of Delhi at the time; for example, theological and philosophical debates were held between Muslims and Christians.

This was a desecration of the space; Aziz characterises the decision as deliberate, in order to insult the sentiments of the city's Muslim inhabitants.

Multiple conditions were imposed, including the usage of Jama Masjid as strictly a religious site, as well as mandatory policing by the British.

The Jama Masjid Managing Committee (JMMC), consisting of respected Muslims of Delhi, was established as a formal body to represent the mosque and enforce these conditions.

[22] Hindus often gathered with Muslims in the mosque to express anti-colonial solidarity, in spite of simmering tension between the communities in the colonial period.

Indian independence activist Abul Kalam Azad delivered a speech from its pulpit during the Thursday (Jumerat) prayers of 23 October 1947.

[24] During 1948, the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Asaf Jah VII was asked for a donation of 75,000 rupees to repair one-fourth of the mosque floor.

On 28 May 1987, amidst rising communal tensions and riots all over India, the Jama Masjid was closed by the Imam and adorned in black cloth, symbolising Muslim resentment of government actions at the time.

The Muslims of the city traditionally gather here to offer communal Friday prayer, as well as for major festivals such as Eid.

[29] In 2006, it was reported that the mosque was in urgent need of repair, following which the Saudi Arabian king Abdullah offered to pay for it.

A project aiming to renovate the Jama Masjid and its surroundings has remained unimplemented since the early 2000s, due to several administrative and logistical roadblocks.

[33] On 15 September 2010, two Taiwanese tourists were injured after gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on a bus parked near gate number three of the mosque.

[36] In September 2013 it was reported that Yasin Bhatkal, a leader of the group, along with Assadullah Akhtar, were arrested the month before and they admitted that they carried out the attack with the on-the-run Pakistani national Waqas.

Yasin said that he was ordered by Karachi-based IM head Riyaz Bhatkal to do the task as the Imam allowed "semi-naked" foreigners inside it.

Shah Jahan claimed the mosque was modelled after the Jama Masjid of Fatehpur Sikri, and this is reflected in the design of many exterior features, such as the façade and courtyard.

[10][9]: 250  Arabic and Persian calligraphic pieces are found on various surfaces of the structure, whose content ranges from religious to panegyric.

The most prominent of these is the three-storey high eastern gate, which historically acted as the shahi (royal) entrance, reserved only for the use of the Emperor and his associates.

[10] The cabinet located in the north gate has a collection of relics of Muhammad – the Quran written on deerskin, a red beard-hair of the prophet, his sandals and his footprints embedded in a marble block.

The façade of the prayer hall features a grand pishtaq in the centre, flanked by five smaller, cusped archways on either side.

All subsequent Mughal emperors from Aurangzeb to Bahadur Shah II (1837-1857) were crowned by the Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid in Delhi.

[27] The Shahi Imams bear the last name of Bukhari, denoting their ancestral origin in Bukhara (of modern day Uzbekistan).