The Thousand Lights Mosque, a multi-domed mosque located in Anna Salai in Chennai, is one of the largest mosques in the country and a revered place of worship for Muslims. It was built by Nawab Umdat-ul-Umrah in 1810. There is an interesting story behind the name of the mosque. It uses one thousand lamps to illuminate the assembly hall. From this, it derived its name, Thousands Lights Mosque. However, others believe that the Indian National Congress provided the lights to mark their first visit to Madras. The mosque is a medieval architectural style building. It has an exhilarating structure, with multi-domes and spearing minarets. The average height of the minarets is around 64 feet above the ground. The community added another mosque in 1981, with two tall minarets and five inward curving domes showing modern West Asian influence. Besides, the mosque has quotes from the holy book of Muslims, the Quran. The main hall on the ground floor offers prayers by men, while there is a separate room for women. There are two rooms on the second floor, which are known as Bargah and represent the sanctuary. The Thousand Lights Mosque holds great importance for the Shiite Muslims and is a pilgrimage site for them. The mosque is popular for several reasons: its name, architecture, and historical and religious importance. In the early 19th century, the place where the mosque presently stands used to be the Shiite Muslims' assembly place during the month of Muharram. The descendent of the Wallajah family made the hall in 1810. Today, the Thousand Lights Mosque is a familiar mosque for all Muslims, a primary holy place for Shias. It is a great scene during the annual Moharram festival. The old mosque is quite impressive from the inside and very different from the grandeur of the new mosque. The mosque is also the home of Chief Shia Ghazi Moulana Ghulam Mahadi Khan of Tamil Nadu, and a Shia burial ground is inside.
