Jhaudia Shahi Mosque is located at Jhaudia village in Kushtia sadar upazila, about 6.5 km west of the Kushtia-Jhenaidah highway.

The mosque is built on a low plinth with an open courtyard. The main mosque is an oblong building and the entire compound is surrounded by a wall. There are two additional octagonal domed pavilions on the corners of the front boundary wall. These corner towers are similar to those of Sat Gambuj Mosque in Dhaka and Ghoraghat Fort mosque in Dinajpur. Each pavilion has four axial arched openings. Their presence suggests that they were used as madrassah or for reciting the Quran. In between the pavilions, in the middle of the eastern boundary wall, there is a gateway to enter the mosque premises.

The mosque has three mihrabs (niches) on its western wall. The central one is bordered by turrets. Internally, the mosque is divided into three bays. All bays are surmounted by domes on octagonal drums. The domes are crowned by lotus and kalasa finials. The mosque is well-known for its stunning ornamentation with merlons and stucco works. Merlons are found around the drums and parapets. Stucco floral designs are found on the arched panels of the wall surface and on the gateway.   

There is a lot of disagreement about the origin of mosque’s construction, as it is written (in Bangla) at the entrance of the mosque: ‘Its biggest identity is it was built by people and established during the reign of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’. That is why no one knows the exact history of who constructed it. According to local legend, Shah Sufi Adari, also known as Saint Ahmed Ali, came from Iraq to Kushtia to spread Islam in the latter part of the 18th Century during the reign of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Finally, he settled at Jhaudia village. It is believed that Sufi Adari built the mosque.

There is also a ruinous tomb adjacent to the mosque. It is believed that Shah Sufi Adari is buried there. People from both Muslim and Hindu communities gather there daily, particularly on Fridays, and offer special prayers.

The Department of Archaeology (DOA) took the initiative to restore the mosque. It is now a protected monument of DOA. It is one of the best preserved ancient mosques of Bangladesh, where devotees can say their prayers five times a day. 

References: Muslim Monuments of Bangladesh by Dr Syed Mahmudul Hasan (Islamic Foundation, 1980), Muslim Architecture in Bengal by AH Dani (Asiatic Society, 1961), and

Mosque Architecture in Bangladesh by Dr Abu Sayeed M Ahmed (UPL, 2006).

Photos: Writer.