Mihrab

Mihrab (Arabic: , miḥrāb, pl. maḥārīb), (Persian:

, mihrāba), is a semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that
indicates the qibla, that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and
hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying. The wall
in which a mihrab appears is thus the "qibla wall".

The minbar, which is the raised platform from which an Imam (leader
of prayer) addresses the congregation, is located to the right of the
mihrab.

Contents
Etymology
History
Architecture Mihrab in the Mosque–Cathedral of
Present-day use Córdoba

Gallery
See also
References
External links

Etymology
The word is possibly derived from the verb ḥariba ("to fight", from the root Ḥ-R-B), so miḥrāb would mean
"battlefield" or "place of fight (with Satan)". Some scholars have suggested that the word is from the Ethiopian
mekʷerab, or from the Hebrew ḥorḇôt.[1]

History
The word mihrab originally had a non-religious meaning and simply denoted a special room in a house; a
throne room in a palace, for example. The Fath al-Bari (p. 458), on the authority of others, suggests the mihrab
is "the most honorable location of kings" and "the master of locations, the front and the most honorable." The
Mosques in Islam (p. 13), in addition to Arabic sources, cites Theodor Nöldeke and others as having
considered a mihrab to have originally signified a throne room.

The term was subsequently used by the Islamic prophet Muhammad to denote his own private prayer room.
The room additionally provided access to the adjacent mosque, and the Prophet would enter the mosque
through this room. This original meaning of mihrab – i.e. as a special room in the house – continues to be
preserved in some forms of Judaism where mihrabs are rooms used for private worship. In the Qur'an, the
word mihrab refers to a sanctuary/place of worship. The passage "then he [i.e. Zechariah] came forth to his
people from the sanctuary/place of worship"[29:11 (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2
002.02.0006%3Asura%3D29%3Averse%3D11)], for example, is inscribed on or over some mihrabs.[2]

During the reign of Uthman ibn Affan (r. 644–656), the Caliph ordered a sign to be posted on the wall of the
mosque at Medina so that pilgrims could easily identify the direction in which to address their prayers (i.e. that
of Mecca). The sign was however just a sign on the wall, and the wall itself remained flat. Subsequently,
during the reign of Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik (Al-Walid I, r. 705–715), Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Mosque of the
Prophet) was renovated and the governor (wāli) of Medina, Umar ibn AbdulAziz, ordered that a niche be
made to designate the qibla wall (which identifies the direction of Mecca), and it was in this niche that
Uthman's sign was placed.

Eventually, the niche came to be universally understood to identify the qibla wall, and so came to be adopted
as a feature in other mosques. A sign was no longer necessary.

Architecture
Mihrabs are a relevant part of Islamic culture and mosques. Since they are used to indicate the direction for
prayer, they serve as an important focal point in the mosque. They are usually decorated with ornamental detail
that can be geometric designs, linear patterns, or calligraphy. This ornamentation also serves a religious
purpose. The calligraphy decoration on the mihrabs are usually from the Qur'an and are devotions to God so
that God's word reaches the people.[3] Common designs amongst mihrabs are geometric foliage that are close
together so that there is no empty space in-between the art.[3]

Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba: The mihrab in the Mosque of Cordoba is a highly decorated piece of art that
draws one's attention. It is a contribution made by Al-Hakam II that is not just used for prayer.[4] It is used as a
place of convergence in the mosque, where visitors could be amazed by its beauty and gilded designs. The
entrance is covered in mosaics "which links to the Byzantium tradition, produced by the craftsmen sent by
Emperor Nicephorus II. These mosaics extend along the voussoirs with a geometric and plant-based design,
but also in the inscriptions which record verses from the Koran".[4] This mihrab is also a bit different from a
normal mihrab due to its scale. It takes up a whole room instead of just a niche.[5] This style of mihrab set a
standard for other mihrab construction in the region.[6] The use of the horseshoe arch, carved stucco, and glass
mosaics made an impression for the aesthetic of mihrabs, "although no other extant mihrab in Spain or western
North Africa is as elaborate."[6]

The Great Mosque of Damascus: The Great Mosque of Damascus was started by al-Walid in 706.[7] It was
built as a hypostyle mosque, built with a prayer hall leading to the mihrab, "on the back wall of the sanctuary
are four mihrabs, two of which are the mihrab of the Companions of the Prophet in the eastern half and the
great mihrab at the end of the transept".[7] The mihrab is decorated similarly to the rest of the mosque in
golden vines and vegetal imagery. The lamp hanging in the mihrab has been theorized as the motif of a pearl,
due to the indications that dome of the mihrab has scalloped edges.[8] There have been other mosques that
have mihrabs similar to this that follow the same theme, with scalloped domes that are "concave like a conch
or mother of pearl shell.[8]

Present-day use
Today, mihrabs vary in size, are usually ornately decorated and often designed to give the impression of an
arched doorway or a passage to Mecca.
In exceptional cases, the mihrab does not follow the qibla direction. One example is the Mezquita of Córdoba,
Spain that points south instead of southeast. Among the proposed explanations, there is the localization of the
ancient Roman cardo street besides the old temple the Mezquita was built upon.

Another is the Masjid al-Qiblatayn, or the Mosque of the Two Qiblas. This is where the Prophet Muhammad
received the command to change the direction of prayer from Jerusalem to Mecca, thus has two prayer niches.
In the 21st century the mosque was renovated, and the old prayer niche facing Jerusalem was removed, and
the one facing Mecca was left.

Gallery
Mihrabs

A mihrab in Sultan Ibrahim Mihrab in the Great Mosque Mihrab (prayer niche); 1354–
Mosque in Rethymno of Damascus 1355; mosaic of polychrome-
glazed cut tiles on
stonepaste body, set into
mortar; 343.1 x 288.7 cm,
weight: 2041.2 kg; from
Isfahan (Iran); Metropolitan
Museum of Art (New York
City)
Mihrab in the Mosque of Mihrab in the Hagia Sophia, Mihrab in the Bou Inania
Uqba also known as the Istanbul, Turkey Madrasa, Fes, Morocco
Great Mosque of Kairouan;
this mihrab dates in its
present state from the 9th
century, Kairouan, Tunisia

Mihrab in the Jameh Mosque Mihrab in the Dome of the Mihrab in the Mezquita of
in Yazd, Iran Chain, Temple Mount, Córdoba, Spain
Jerusalem.

Mihrab in the Qila-i-Kuhna Mihrab in the Islamic Society Mihrab of 13th century
Mosque, in Delhi of Boston Cultural Center, in Eşrefoğlu Mosque in
Roxbury, Boston. Beyşehir, Turkey
See also
Exedra

References
1. Fehérvári 1993, p. 7
2. Kuban, Doğan (1974), The Mosque and Its Early Development, Muslim Religious Architecture,
Leiden: Brill, p. 3, ISBN 90-04-03813-2.
3. Terasaki, Steffie. "Mihrab" (http://courses.washington.edu/disisme/Our_Encyclopaedia/Entries/
2008/8/30_Mihrab.html). courses.washington.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
4. "Mihrab" (http://mezquita-catedraldecordoba.es/en/descubre-el-monumento/el-edificio/mihrab/).
Mihrab. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
5. "Mezquita de Córdoba | The Meaning of the Great Mosque of Cordoba in the Tenth Century" (ht
tps://archnet.org/sites/2715/publications/3350). Archnet. p. 83. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
6. Bloom, Jonathan M.; Sheila S., Blair (2009). Bloom, Jonathan M; Blair, Sheila S (eds.). "The
Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture" (https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.
1093/acref/9780195309911.001.0001/acref-9780195309911-e-597).
doi:10.1093/acref/9780195309911.001.0001 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Facref%2F978019530
9911.001.0001). ISBN 9780195309911. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
7. Grafman, Rafi; Rosen-Ayalon, Myriam (1999). "The Two Great Syrian Umayyad Mosques:
Jerusalem and Damascus". Muqarnas. 16: 8. JSTOR 1523262 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/152
3262).
8. Flood, Finbarr Barry (2001). The Great Mosque of Damascus: Studies on the Makings of an
Ummayyad Visual Culture (https://books.google.com/books?id=r5f8kxIyykQC&pg=PR9&dq=m
osque+of+Damascus+decoration#v=onepage). BRILL. ISBN 9789004116382.

External links
Diez, Ernst (1936), "Mihrāb", Encyclopaedia of Islam, 3, Leiden: Brill, pp. 559–565.
Fehérvári, Geza (1993), "Mihrāb", Encyclopaedia of Islam, New edition, 7, Leiden: Brill, pp. 7–
15.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mihrab&oldid=978008524"

This page was last edited on 12 September 2020, at 09:23 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.