ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

• Arabia, Its extreme climatic and geographic conditions, was at the periphery of the

great cultural centers of the age.

• The center of Arabian religion, which focused on nature and heavenly bodies, was in

Mecca.

• Mohammed (ca. 570-632 CE) began preaching monotheism (the doctrine or belief that

there is only one God). Successful in attracting followers, he eventually conquered

Mecca and transformed it into Islam’s Holies city. He died in 632 CE after having

converted most of Arabia to the new creed.

• Muslims do not require a building, or even a consecrated space, to worship; rather, Islam is

based on five “pillars,” the most important being the five daily prayers performed while
facing Mecca.

• Shahada: declaration of faith and trust that professes that there is only one God
• Salat: consist of five daily prayers according to the sunna.
• Zakah: Alms-giving is the practice of charitable giving based on accumulated wealth.
• Sawm: Three types of Fasting (Ramadan)
• Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca is an obligation once in a lifetime to those who are physically and
financially able to perform it.

MOSQUE OR MASJID

• A Muslim Building or place of worship. A building associated with the

presence of Islam. Masjid is an Arabic word for mosque.

• The typical mosque has a courtyard (Sahn) through which one enters

and that contains a well or fountain for washing the hands and feet.

• In the first centuries of Islam, the hall of worship was, in most

instances, a space consisting of rows of columns so that the

congregation could face the qiblawall—a wall that stands at right

angles to a line drawn to Mecca.

• The imam, or prayer leader, stands in front of a mihrab, or niche, in the

middle of the qibla wall.

MOSQUE OR MASJID

• In some mosques, the bay just in front of the mihrab is elevated and roofed with a dome. To
the right of the mihrab is a stepped pulpit, the minbar, made of wood or stone, from which
the imam can deliver a sermon (khutba), usually on Friday.
• Almost all mosques have a minaret from which the faithful are called to prayer
• A Muslim Building or place of worship.-A visual dictionary of architecture
• A place to worship, the congregation of the faithful becomes one with God in sublime state
of humility and reverence.
• Place of prostration - believers bow their heads to the ground in veneration to God and as
part of a well-defined ritual of prayer as an expression of their faith.

SANCTUARIES are holy places divinely endowed with special

sanctity

• Al-Haram (Enclosure) Mecca, associated with Abraham,

venerated as a holy man (hanaf) and the first Muslim believed

to have first built the Kaaba

• Al–Munuwwara, (The Illuminated One) Medina, the city of

the Prophet located in western Arabia, north of Mecca

• Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) Jerusalem, also known as

the Mosque of the City

Each numbered item in the following list

corresponds to features noted in the

diagram image.
1. Al-Ħajaru al-Aswad, "the Black Stone", is located on the Kaaba's eastern corner.

- Its northern corner is known as the Ruknu l-ˤĪrāqī, "the Iraqi corner", its western as the Ruknu
sh-Shāmī,- "the Levantine corner", and its southern as Ruknu l-Yamanī, "theYemeni corner".

- The four corners of the Kaaba roughly point toward the four cardinal directions of the compass.
Its major (long) axis is aligned with the rising of the star Canopus toward which its southern wall
is directed, while its minor axis (its east-west facades) roughly align with the sunrise of summer
solstice and the sunset of winter solstice.
3. Meezab-i Rahmat, rainwater spout made of gold. Added in the rebuilding of 1627 after the
previous year's rain caused three of the four walls to collapse.

4. Gutter, added in 1627 to protect the foundation from groundwater.

5. Hatim(also romanized as hateem), a low wall originally part of the Kaaba. It is a semi-circular
wall opposite, but not connected to, the north-west wall of the Kaaba known as thehatīm. This is
90 cm (35 in) in height and 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in width, and is composed of white marble. At one time
the space lying between the hatīmand the Kaaba belonged to the Kaaba itself, and for this
reason it is not entered during the tawaf. According to western scholars the space contains the
remains of Hagar and Ishmael as it is called hidjr Ismail

6. Al-Multazam, the roughly 2 meter space along the wall between the Black Stone and the entry
door. It is sometimes considered pious or desirable for a hajji to touch this area of the Kaaba, or
perform dua here.

7. The Station of Abraham (MaqamIbrahim), a glass and metal enclosure with what is said to be
an imprint of Abraham's feet. Abraham is said to have stood on this stone during the
construction of the upper parts of the Kaaba, raising Ismail on his shoulders for the uppermost
parts.

8. Corner of the Black Stone (East).

9. Corner of Yemen (South-West). Pilgrims traditionally acknowledge a large vertical stone that
forms this corner.

10. Corner of Syria (North-West).

11. Corner of Iraq (North-East). This inside corner, behind a curtain, contains the Babut Taubah,
Door of Repentance, which leads to a staircase to the roof.

• Dome of the Rock Mosque Built in Jerusalem

• The Dome of the Rock mosque is built in Jerusalem on the site where Muslims believe
Muhammad ascended to heaven. It is the earliest surviving example of Islamic architecture
and a site of Muslim pilgrimage.
• Space reserved for the community of believers in which they can gather to pray and to deal
with community affairs
WHAT IS MASJID?

• Imam, as the leader of the prayers

• Muezzin, a mosque official, summons Muslims to prayer from a minaret

• The dome is the cosmic symbol and represents the vault of heaven

• The ablution area is the WUDU/ FAWARA, similar to Christianity, water is a symbol of purification as
sacramental

Architectural Design of the Prayer Hall in three Main Forms:

1. Hypostyle hall where the roof was supported by parallel rows of uniform columns spaced closely
together. Common throughout Islam for the first 500 years and maintained its preeminence in the
Arab-speaking world.

2. Iwan, developed in Iran, a high vaulted hall open on one side, situated in the middle of the courtyard
wall.

3. 15th c., the Ottoman Turks evolved a variety of mosque types where the dominant feature was a large
central dome surrounded by smaller domes and semi-domes.

IWAN

• Vaulted hall or space, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open.
• Trademark of the Sassanid architecture of Persia, later adopted in Islamic architecture
• Open on to a central courtyard, and have been used in both public and residential
architecture.
 • Two-storey passageway
• Acts as a connection between the various parts of the building or as an entrance.
• It has the symbolic effect of separating what is below from what is above through its roof
and defining a point on earth through its sides.

RIWAQ

• An arcade in the courtyard of the mosque.

SAHN

• A courtyard surrounded by riwaqs, (colonnaded or arcaded porticos) with wells or

foundations
• Prayer hall is divided into arcades with round arches resting on columns of Roman and
Byzantine origin.
• Impost of carved wood or stone were fitted to the columns to compensate for the
differences in their heights.
• Ceilings were plastered or painted

• Massive pillars divide the spacious hall

• Name of Allah appears with various decorative symbols in the large-scale calligraphy on the
walls and pillars.
MINBAR

• Pulpit entered by a flight of stairs and stands next to mihrab which dates back to the
Prophet.
• Originally a high three-stepped stool, was used for sermons, proclamations and readings.
• One of the symbolicfeatures of the mosque
• Most decorated part of the building, most often with lamps symbolizing the divine presence
and the universality of the Muslimmessage.

Mihrab

• Interior prayer niche adorned with perforated wall panels and vaulting is painted with
beautiful tendril ornamentation.
• Side walls and front arch are faced with shimmering metalicluster tiles.

QIBLA

• Direction of the prayer which commemorates the presence of the Prophet.

DIKKA

• Raised platform form which the respondents (qadi) repeat the ritual postures of the iman
and speak the responses so that the stages of prayer may be transmitted to larger
congregations.

MINARET

• 1 st c. - was primarily a visual beacon indicating Muslim community or as in the Arabian

sanctuaries of Mecca and Medina as possible location of a holy place.
• Considered the place from which the faithful are called to prayer by a muezzin.
Other parts of the Mosque

Domes and Cupolas

• Feature of all Islamic architecture both from Sassanian and Early Christian architectural
traditions.
• Symbol of Heaven with God at the center.
• Locus of the Divine Throne, passive to the intellect, maternal in gender and sublimely times
in form.
Mausoleum of Mehmed I, Bursa after 1421

• Built on octagonal ground plan and vaulted over with a dome of flat bricks.
• Walls are subdivided by a series of marble ogives and decorated in between tiles that
replaced the original tile cladding after an earthquake.

CUPOLA

• Roof having a rounded form, hemispherical or nearly so; also, a ceiling having the same
form.
• When on a large scale it is usually called dome.
• A light structure on a dome or roof, serving as a belfry, lantern, or belvedere
• Consists of a dome-shaped or quadrilateral-shaped ornamental structure located on top of a
larger roof or dome, often used as a lookout or to admit light and provide ventilation.
HILAL

• The Quran says: "And from among His Signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the
moon. Prostrate not to the sun nor to the moon, but prostrate to Allah Who created them, if you
(really) worship Him." (sura 41 (Fussilat) 37). In another verse, “They ask you, [O Muhammad],
about the new moons. Say, ‘They are measurements of time for the people and for Hajj.’” (sura 2
(al

Court of the Palace of Lions

• Lavish ornamentation on the arcades.

• Foilage and geometric decoration created using minute mosaic tiles includes calligraphic bands
and medallions containing dedications, quotes from Koran and prayer to Allah.
• Application of decoration to buildings that are simple - typical feature of Islamic architecture.
ELEMENTS OF A GARDEN:

1. Water – fountains, pools, and flowing watercourses and the greenery.

2. Walls or screens which make the garden an enclosed rectangle, mysterious and private.

3. A lay-out in harmonious symmetry, using beautiful geometric shapes for pools, paths, pavilions or
flowerbeds.