Jame Mosque of Qom

The Jame Mosque of Qom is a two-iwan structure with a quadrilateral plan. Considered the second oldest mosque in Qom after Imam Hassan Askari Mosque, this mosque has extensive tilework, stucco reliefs and moqarnas decorations.

No iron has been used in the construction of this mosque, which sprawls over a 6,000-square-meter area. Lightwells as well as lattice panels and walls have been used throughout the structure to provide lighting and a level of air conditioning in different parts of the mosque. The dome of the mosque, one of the biggest mosque domes in Iran, dates back to 1134.

The main iwan (a vaulted hall, walled on three sides and open on one side) of the mosque is 7 meters wide, 18 meters high and has a 14-meter entrance. This iwan is covered in stucco moqarnas decorations with small tiles and numerous inscriptions. The gold moqarnas decorations of this iwan appear to be brick from a distance.

There is a large courtyard directly in front of the main iwan which has Shabistans on three sides and a large pool at the center.

The north iwan as well as the northern and eastern shabistans (alcoves) were built during the reign of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (1772–1834). During this time the south iwan and dome chamber were also renovated. The west Shabistan and its basement date back to the Nasser-al Din Shah (1831-1896) era. This basement has 18 columns and is one of the best air-conditioned parts of the mosque.

The mosque has several Mihrabs (prayer niche). In one of the eastern Shabistans, the Mihrab is built slightly lower than the surface on which worshipers stand and has a lattice wall directly in front which provides air conditioning for the prayers leader during the warmer months of the year.

The oldest inscription in the mosque is located above the south iwan and dates back to 1134. This inscription bears Quranic verses on mo’arraq tiles in large letters so that it can even be read from a distance. This inscription was restored upon the order of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Boroujerdi (1875-1961).

The tile decorations of the mosque were carried out in 1832 during the reign of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar but the damage caused to these decorations by the passage of time resulted in two subsequent restorations once in 1945 and once in 1955.

There is also a unique stone indicator located in the northern part of the mosque, which shows the exact time for the noon prayers.

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Jame Mosque of Qom