ISLAMIC

ARCHITECTUR
E
 DEFINITION OF TERMS
 HADITH – collection of Mohammed's sayings or
injunctions and in lesser weight, while the law is extracted
from the prophet’s instructions, from tradition and
example.
 ISLAM – means submission.
 MOSQUE - a Muslim house of worship.
 MUSLIM – those who submit to the expression of the
will of God by the prophet Mohammed.
 NICHE – something(as a sheltered or private space) that
resembles a recess in a wall.
 INTRODUCTION
 Islamic architecture is the entire range of architecture that
has evolved from Islam as a social, cultural, political and
religious phenomenon.
 Islamic architecture can be define as a building traditions
of Muslim populations of the middle east and any
countries where Islam has been dominant from the 7th
century onwards.
MUSLIM COUNTRIES
GEOGRAPHY
 GEOGRAPHY
The spread of Islam has been frequently associated with:
- MILITARY CONQUEST
- RACIAL MOVEMENTS and
- CONSEQUENT DISPLACEMENT OF
ESTABLISHED POPULATIONS.
The most important of these movements were the Arab
expansion northwards and westwards out of the Arabian
Peninsula, and the drive of the Turkish and Mongol
groups South, South-East and South-West of the Central
Asia.
 MATERIALS USED FOR
CONSTRUCTION
The countries into which Islam first expanded were already
rich in building tradition and the important techniques of
exploitation of natural resources for building works and
trade in building materials had long been established.
- Brick making
- MARBLE was generically available
- CERAMIC production
- GYPSUM PLASTER
- GLASS manufacture and
- METALWORKS with various forms
- STRIATED MASONRY
 MATERIALS USED FOR
CONSTRUCTION
BRICK
 MATERIALS USED FOR
CONSTRUCTION
MARBLE
 MATERIALS USED FOR
CONSTRUCTION
CERAMIC
 MATERIALS USED FOR
CONSTRUCTION
GYPSUM PLASTER
 MATERIALS USED FOR
CONSTRUCTION
GLASS
 MATERIALS USED FOR
CONSTRUCTION
METAL WORKS
 MATERIALS USED FOR
CONSTRUCTION
STRIATED MASONRY
 ISLAMIC RELIGION
 DATE FOUNDED: A.D.622
 PLACE FOUNDED: MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA
 FOUNDER: MOHAMMED(BORN C.570), A
TRADE MERCHANT FROM
ARABIA.
 ADHERENTS: 1.3 BILLION
 MAIN LOCATION: MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH
AFRICA
 SACRED TEXT: QUR’AN (KURAN)
 ISLAMIC RELIGION
 SIZE RANK: SECOND LARGEST IN THE
WORLD (RELIGION STATISTICS)
 LANGUAGE: ARABIC
 HOUSE OF WORSHIP:MOSQUE
 ULTIMATE REALITY: GOD (ALLAH IN ARABIC);
THE SAME GOD REVEALED IN
THE JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN BIBLES
 TYPE OF THEISM: STRICT MONOTHEISM
 ISLAMIC RELIGION
 PURPOSE OF LIFE: SUBMIT TO THE WILL OF
ALLAH AND ATTAIN PARADISE AFTER
DEATH.
 AFTERLIFE: RESURRECTION OF BODY AND
SOUL FOLLOWED BY ETERNAL
PARADISE OR HELL.
 SYMBOLS: CRESCENT MOON AND STAR.
 ISLAMIC RELIGION
 HOW TO LIVE: FOLLOW THE QUR'AN,  HADITH
AND FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM.

THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM ARE:

 DAILY CONFESSION OF FAITH (SHAHADA)
 DAILY RITUAL PRAYER (SALAT)
 PAYING THE ALMS TAX (ZAKAT)
 FASTING DURING THE MONTH OF RAMADAN
(SAWM)
 PILGRIMMAGE TO MECCA (HAJJ)
 ISLAMIC RELIGION
MOHAMMED,
THE PROPHET OF MUSLIMS
 ISLAMIC RELIGION
 QUR’AN (KURAN)
 ISLAMIC RELIGION
 MOSQUE
 ISLAMIC RELIGION
 CRESCENT MOON AND STAR
 ISLAMIC RELIGION
The Islamic faith produced in successive generations a
way of life and a set of attitudes which had a great
influence on their architecture.
 AN ACCEPTANCE of the transitory nature of earthly

life;
 PERSONAL HUMILITY;
 an ABHORRENCE of images worship.
 ISLAMIC RELIGION
Effects of beliefs on Islamic architecture can be seen on:
 NO ESSENTIAL DIFFERENTIATION in techniques

between religious buildings and other buildings;

 IMPORTANT ARCHITECTURAL ENDEAVOR is

normally expended on buildings having direct social or

community purpose, including that of worships, that
decorations tend towards the abstract, using geometric,
calligraphic and plant motifs, with a preference for a
uniform field of decoration;
 and BASIC CONSERVATISM discouraged innovations

and favored established forms.

 ISLAMIC RELIGION
NO ESSENTIAL DIFFERENTIATION in techniques
between buildings with directly religious connotation and
other buildings;
 and that a basic conservatism discouraged innovations

and favored established forms.

 SPREAD OF ISLAM
ISLAM IS FOUNDED BY MOHAMMED
 IN MECCA
 IN 632 A.D.

MOHAMMED DIED AND ISLAM SPREADED

 TO PALESTINE, EGYPT, PERSIA.
 SUNNIS AND SHI’S DEVELOPED.

ISLAM EXPANDED TO AFRICA AND EUROPE

 TO NORTH AND WEST AFRICA.
 TO CORODOBA AND GRANADA IN SPAIN AND

ALSO TO SICILY.
BUILDING TYPES

MASJID (PERSIA, INDIA)

 BUILDING TYPES

JAMI: mosque, principal place of worship, or use of the

building for Friday prayers
BUILDING TYPES

MADRASSAH: (EGYPT)
BUILDING TYPES

Saray, Serai: Palace

BUILDING TYPES

Mesjid: (Turkey) small prayer house

DESIGN ELEMENTS
Islamic architecture may be identified with the
following design elements, which were inherited
from the first mosque built byr hall (originally a
feature of the Masjid al-Nabawi):
DESIGN ELEMENTS

MIHRAB: niche oriented towards Mecca

 DESIGN ELEMENTS

MIMBER: raised platform for ceremonial announcements

 DESIGN ELEMENTS

IWAN, IVAN: (Persia): open-fronted vault facing on to a court

BUILDING COMPONENTS

BAB: gateway
DESIGN ELEMENTS

SAHN: courtyard of a mosque

DESIGN ELEMENTS

MINARET: tower from which call to prayer is made

TYPES OF
MINARETS:
1. Iraq
2. Morocco
3. Turkey
4. India
5. Egypt
6. Asia
 DESIGN ELEMENTS

HAREM: women’s private quarters of a house or palace

DESIGN ELEMENTS

QIBLA, KIBLE: axis orientated towards Mecca

PERSONNEL

MUENZZIN: caller who summons the faithful to

prayer

IMAN: man who leads the congregation at prayer

CALIPIN: successor to the prophet as military,

judicial and spiritual leader of Islam
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

 Balance and symmetry

 Concept of perfect creation
 Formal Landscape
 Centered upon God
 Use of Striated Masonry
TYPES OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

MOSQUE: Muslim center and place for worship

TYPES OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

MADRASAH: Public school

TYPES OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

HAMMAM: a structure design for a hot bath house

TYPES OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

CARAVANSERAI: a road side inn for travelers

TYPES OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

CASBAH/CITADEL: a fortress
TYPES OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

MAUSOLEUM: a tomb or a monument

 PARTS OF A
MOSQUE
MINARET – a tall tower in, or
continuous to, a mosque arch stairs
leading up to one or more balconies.
Also from which the faithful are
called to prayer

NOTE: A mosque may serve many

functions other than prayer. It may be
used as a school, transactions may be
made there ad storage for treasurers.
PARTS OF A
MOSQUE
COURTYARD – is a
fundamental feature of
the mosque. According
to their function the
courtyards were
cloistered and arcaded
and the sides were
punctuated with
gateways, prayer
chambers or arched
porches (IWANS).
PARTS OF A
MOSQUE
MASHRABIYA –
projecting window
enclosed with carved
wood lattice work.
PARTS OF A
MOSQUE
MIHRAB – semicircular
niche in a wall of a
mosque that indicates
the qibla.
PARTS OF A
MOSQUE
SAHN – a courtyard
with ablution area.
PARTS OF A
MOSQUE
DIKKA – a place of
delivering royal
message.
PARTS OF A
MOSQUE
DOME – focal point and
covering the main
prayer hall.
PARTS OF A
MOSQUE
MIMBAR – a pulpit
where imam deliver
khutbah
PARTS OF A
MOSQUE
MUQARNAS –
stalactite vault,
Persian
architectural
ornament.
PARTS OF A
MOSQUE
PRAYING
AREA HALL –
main area to
perform
congregational
prayer.
PARTS OF A
MOSQUE
ARCH – structure
that spans a space
while supporting
weight.
 ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

POINTED ARCH
- The most important
form of opening.
- Principally two and
four-centered and
generally constructed
as a true arch though
corbelled examples
were common in
India.
 ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

WINDOW
OPENINGS -
Frequently small and
traditionally closed
with wooden shutters,
iron bars, marble
grilles or plaster lights
set with clear glass.
 ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

DOMES - widely
used throughout
the Islamic
world; Persia,
Mughal and
Egypt domes
tended to be
pointed in
contrast to the
hemi-spherical
Turkish version
 ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

WIND-
SCOOPS
- were added to
the construction
techniques in
order to meet
the climatic
conditions.
 DECORATIVE ELEMENTS
WATER
– in hot Islamic
climates, the water
from courtyard pools
and fountains cools as
it decorates.
- it can also serve as a
means of emphasizing
the visual axes.
DECORATIVR ELEMENTS
 DECORATIVE ELEMENTS
CEOMETRIC
PATTERN
– exemplify the Islamic
interest in repetition,
balance, symmetry and
continuous generation
of pattern.
 DECORATIVE ELEMENTS
ARABESQUE
(ISLIMI)
– arabesque designs
are biomorphic, floral
patterns representing
the underlying order
and unity of nature
with a great deal of
accuracy.
 DECORATIVE ELEMENTS
CALLIGRAPHY
– it is closely linked
to geometry. The
proportion of the
letters are all
governed by
mathematics.
TYPICAL ELEVATION OF MOSQUE
MOSQUE TYPOLOGY
 FAMOUS ISLAMIC
ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURE
MEDINA
 The great mosque of

prophet
Muhammad.
 It is rebuilt in stone

with a colonnade on
the kiblawall.
 It consists of

prophet’s tomb.
 FAMOUS ISLAMIC
ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURE
KAABA
 Built in 16th

century, it
consists of an
arcade
slightly
oblong in
plan.

Kaaba, Mecca
 FAMOUS ISLAMIC
ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURE
GRAND MOSQUE,
BURSA
 Ordered by Sultan

Bayezid I,
the mosque was designed
and built by architect Ali
Neccar in 1396–1399. It
is a large rectangular
building, with
twenty domes arranged in
four rows of five that are
supported by twelve
columns.
 The mosque has
 FAMOUS ISLAMIC
ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURE
MOSQUE OF RUSTEM
PASHA, ISTANBUL
 Designed by Ottoman

imperial architect Mimar
Sinan for the grand
vizier Rüstem Pasha.
 Rüstem Pasha died in July

1561 and the mosque was

built after his death from
around 1561 until 1563. The
mosque complex hosts now
a religious school.
 FAMOUS ISLAMIC
ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURE
GREAT MOSQUE
AT CORDOBA,
SPAIN
 In planning the

mosque, the
architects
incorporated a
number of Roman
columns with
choice capitals.
 FAMOUS ISLAMIC
ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURE
MOSQUE AT KUFA
  One of the earliest

mosques in the world.

The mosque, built in the
7th century, contains the
remains of Muslim ibn
‘Aqīl - first cousin of
Husayn ibn ‘Alī, his
companion Hānī ibn
‘Urwa, and the
revolutionary Mukhtār
al-Thaqafī.
 FAMOUS ISLAMIC
ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURE
MOSQUE OF AL-AZHAR,
EGYPT
 first building of the

Fatimid dynasty of Egypt.

An exquisite madrasa is
attached to it, which is one
of the world’s oldest
universities.
 The Fatimid conquerors

from Tunisia laid this city

described as the “Gate of
Islam”.
 FAMOUS ISLAMIC
ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURE
UMAYYAD PALACES
 Umayyad palaces

represent early Islamic

architecture. They are
spread throughout the
greater Levantine
countryside in what today
extends into Syria,
Lebanon, Jordan and
Palestine.
 FAMOUS ISLAMIC
ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURE
DOME OF THE
ROCK, PALESTINE
 Palestine was

conquered by the
Islamic Empire,
beginning in 634 CE.
 The Dome of the

Rock, completed in
691, was the world's
first great work of
Islamic architecture.