From the archive record
Huge number of people gather on the eve of Iftar at Jama Masjid, Delhi. Iftar is the evening meal when Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. For Sunnis, it is at the time of the call to prayer for the evening prayer; for Shias, it is after the evening prayer. The Masjid-i Jahān-Numā, commonly known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, it is the largest and best-known mosque in India. Construction began in 1650 and was completed in 1656. It lies at the beginning of the Chawri Bazar Road, a very busy central street of Old Delhi. The later name, Jama Masjid, refers to the weekly Friday noon congregation prayers of Muslims, Jummah, which are usually done in a mosque, the "congregational mosque" or "