Jama Masjid, Bhilai is one of the largest mosques in Chhattisgarh, India, with a capacity to accommodate more than 3000 worshippers at a time. It is the first Mosque to be built in the word "Ya Allah" in Arabic script. It took three years for the construction of the Mosque, which was completed in 1967. Before the Mosque's construction, the Muslims of Bhilai used to pray in their respective localities. They gathered only on Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha to offer common prayer near Nehru house of Culture in sector-1, Bhilai. The Muslim executives of the Bhilai steel plant formed a committee and applied for its registration. It was registered as Bhilai Nagar Masjid Trust under the Madhya Pradesh public Trust act 1951. The Bhilai steel plant allotted a plot measuring 12000 square feet in sector-6 to this committee for the Mosque. The construction began in 1964 and was completed in 1967. The first Friday prayer was held in the new Mosque on 31 March 1967. The special design of the Mosque has created a history in the world of Islamic architecture through its monumental elevation, which forms an Arabic word Y? Allah. The 80 feet high minar shapes' Ya' while the concrete walls of the first floor with a slab above in the shape of tashdeed projects 'Allah'. Furthermore, the marble dome at the top further enhances the beauty of this unique Mosque in the world. It was designed by the architect Khairuddin Ahmad Siddiqui, Siddiqui, and associates, Hyderabad, Telangana. The Mosque is 59 feet high, including the 16 feet high dome, 120 feet long, and 100 feet wide. The Eid-gah adjacent to the Mosque is 250 feet long and 230 feet wide. Marble tiles have been fixed inside and outside of the Mosque's minar. The Mosque is maintained by the founding committee Bhilai Nagar Masjid Trust. A Muslim community hall is built near Mosque by the Bhilai Nagar masjid trust with the help of Muslims in Bhilai. The hall is 90 feet long, 42 feet wide, and 22 feet high. A ladies' hall has been partitioned out of it with approximately half of the total dimensions of the hall. The second floor is under construction and is estimated to be completed by the end of July 2015. Representatives from non-Muslim communities - Sikh, Christian and Arya Samaj - visit every year to the Mosque for wishing Muslims on the occasions of Eid, conveying the spirit of inter-religious brotherhood and peace in Bhilai.
