The Principal Mosque

The main mosque of the Furfura Sharif complex is a substantial structure capable of accommodating thousands of worshippers and serves as the focus of the Friday Juma prayer that draws pilgrims from the surrounding district. The mosque follows the standard mosque architectural idiom, a broad prayer hall, multiple domes, a courtyard with ablution facilities, without the ornamental exuberance of some of India's great mosque complexes, but with a functional dignity appropriate to its purpose.
Non-Muslim visitors may observe the exterior of the mosque and the approach to the prayer hall but should not enter the prayer hall itself, particularly during prayer times. The Friday Juma prayer (midday on Fridays) brings the largest regular weekly gathering to the complex and is an extraordinary sight from a respectful distance: the courtyard and surrounding lanes fill with worshippers in rows that extend far beyond the mosque's physical boundaries, the call to prayer rolls across the rooftops, and for the duration of the prayer the entire complex achieves a stillness that contrasts absolutely with its usual animated character.