A Review of Mosque Architecture

The word "mosque" originates from the word "Mesjid", meaning the place where people prostrate to God. It has been distorted to Msguid to Mosquite and to the English Mosque. It is also referred to as the House of llah !The one, God, the lmight" #reator$. That is where llah is worshipped. It occupies the heart of Muslim life and the centre of its settlement. Its importance has been hea%enl" emphasised and its form has been di%inel" guided. The function is clearl" established in &ura '(, "a )*+ "In houses which Allah has permitted to be exalted and that His name may be remembered in them, there glorify Him therin in the mornings and the evenings." !'(+)*$ nother %erse establishes the building principle+ "Certainly a masjid founded on piety from the very first day is more deserving that you should stand in it in it are men who love that they should be purified and Allah loves those who purify themselves." !,+-./$ Meanwhile, boo0s of "&eerah", the life of the 1rophet Mohammed !pbuh$, refer to the di%ine guidance during his !Muhammed$ life including the construction of the mosque in Medina. This first embr"onic mosque soon de%eloped into a comple2 building equipped with a number of functional and decorati%e elements and incorporating spatial arrangements considerabl" different from components and buildings of earlier religions. The s"mbolic meaning gi%en to these components is also important. Introduction !see resource below for full article$ The mosque represents the heart of Muslim religion and communit". It is the House of llah "3eit llah" where one of the fi%e pillars of Islam are conducted namel" the fi%e dail" pra"ers and 4rida" "&alah". dditionall", a large number of 1ilgrimage "Hajj" rituals are also carried out in l5Harem s5&harif !6aabah$, the sacred mosque. &uch importance is further emphasised b" the 7uran in numerous %erses !-* times in singular form and 8 times in plural$, indicating " nd that the mosques are llah9s therefore call not upon an"one with llah" !:'+-/$. In terms of communit", the mosque
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is the place where members !the faithful$ meet at least fi%e times a da", united in the worship of one God, and stand equal in rows facing the direction of 6aabah. The Mosque also embraced other functions in the past including the following through which the Mosque became the nucleus that created the characteristics of the Muslim societ"+

learning school for all t"pes of religious, literar" and scientific subjects. court where justice was carried out. political forum where citi;ens discussed their problems with the 6halifa. The tradition indicates that the ruler !whether a 6halif or an Emir$ led the congregational pra"er, discussed the affairs of the state, and often 4rida" 6hutba contained political speeches ending with the communit" renewing allegiance.

Morphological components of the Mosque The abo%e features and functions forced the Muslim architect to adapt his structural, spatial and decorati%e designs to accommodate them in one remar0able entit". <e find, for e2ample, the dualism of dome and minaret achie%ed a perfect e2pression of the submission to llah, which became central elements of Muslim religious architecture. The dome, popular in most cultures, had two main s"mbolic interpretations in Islamic architecture in%ol%ing the representation of the %ault of hea%en and a s"mbol of di%ine dominance engulfing the emotional and ph"sical being of the faithful. In functional terms, it is used to e2ternall" define the 7ibla !direction of 6aabah$ and internall" lighten it !=e00ie, -,:/$. The most common forms of the dome are the semi5circular, which is the oldest, and most spread !figure -$. The bulbous dome !also called the onion shaped dome$ was fa%oured particularl" b" the Mugals who spread it in 1ersia, the Indian sub5continent and sia. #oncerning the si;e, the earliest domes were small and often erected on the crossing before the Mihrab as seen in 7uairawan !*:.5*:8$, >ma""ad Mosque in =amascus !:.85:.:$ and #ordoba !:8*5:,*$ !figure '$. The" progressi%el" grew in si;e and number and were later used in %arious areas including the centre and some times co%ering the entire roof as seen in "Mausoleums", tombs of founders or of hol" men. >nder the ?ttomans, in particular, the si;e of the dome e%ol%ed to co%er the entire
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sanctuar" area preceded laterall" with smaller and numerous domes as seen in &ule"mania Mosque. The minaret is the tall needle lie0 column used to call for pra"ers ! dhan$. Its height is mainl" determined b" how far the call is heard, a method which until recentl" did not require the modern amplifier. The minaret is also gi%en a s"mbolic meaning gi%ing the highest position to the declaration and attestation of faith, "&hahada". The declaration of " llah is the greatest" and "there is no God e2cept Him and Mohammed !pbuh$ is His messenger", and the rest of the wording of dhan is in fact a dail" confession of Islam of that particular communit" or cit". This noble meaning has been undermined b" the articulation of s0"scrapers, which dominate Muslim urban landscape including the cit" of Ma00ah itself. The shape of the minaret %aried substantiall" between regions, reflecting local taste and tradition. The square minaret e%ol%ed in &"ria starting from the Great >ma""ad Mosque and was de%eloped under the lmora%ids who ruled @orth frica between !-.)-5--8.$. E2amples of this include the three world famous minarets of 6utubia Madrassa !Morocco --*(5--/($, Great Mosque of Telemcen ! lgeria --:'$ and Giralda !&pain --/(5--,*$. 4inall", the spiral form dominates the 1ersian connection spreading to India and Tur0e" while the c"lindrical and pol"gonal or combination of these st"les is found in the rest of Muslim world. The other feature in the mosque is the use of court"ard !&ahn$ furnished with a fountain pro%iding a space for ablution and under its co%ered arcades !Aiwaqs$ sheltered its %isitors especiall" the poor. The edifice is generall" oriented towards the "7ibla" compl"ing with the regulation pro%ided b" &ura ' "ah -(8, which states that+ "And now !e will turn you indeed towards a "ibla which shall please you. #o turn your face $in prayer% toward the #anctified &os'ue, and ye $o &uslims% wheresoever ye find yourselves, turn your faces $li(ewise% toward it." !'+-(8$ The sanctit" of 7ibla was further emphasised b" the introduction of "Mihrab", a niche used to mar0 such direction, and in pri%ate houses bedrooms and bathrooms are deliberatel" disoriented as a mar0 of respect. This leads us to raise an issue that man"
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non5Muslims confuse with other religions thin0ing that Muslims attach special regard to the "Mihrab" li0e the #hristians do to the ltar. The sanctit" of the "Mihrab" does not come from the shape per se but from the direction it indicates !7ibla$, in other words the 6aabah. This meaning had been clearl" e2pressed in Tur0e" where some fragments of stones of the 6aabah were included in the "Mihrab" of &o0ollu Mehmet 1asa mosque at 6adirga in Istanbul as well as the representation of 6aabah underneath the arch of "Mihrab" in some ?ttoman Augs !=ic0ie !-,:/$. 4urthermore, there are other h"potheses, which we cannot ignore. The 7uran e2plicitl" spo0e of "Mihrab" in &urah ), "ah ), referring to 1rophet Ba0aria being pra"ing in front of a Mihrab when he was promised a son Cahia !Dohn$+ ")hen the angels called to him as he stood praying in the sanctuary *&ihrab+, that Allah gives the good news of -ahiya verifying a word from Allah, and honourable and chaste and a .rophet from among the good ones." !)+),$ In "ah ): of the same &urah, Mar"am !Mar"$ is the one described as pra"ing in the Mihrab+ "whenever /a(ariya entered the sanctuary *mihrab+ to *see+ her, he found with her food." !)+):$ The Mihrab here was translated as sanctuar" rather than the niche. The meaning of niche is also introduced in &urah '(, "ah )8+ "Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth, a li(eness of His light is as a niche in which is a lamp, the lamp is in a glass, *and+ the glass as it were a brightly shining star, lit from a blessed olive oil tree, neither eastern nor western, the oil whereof gives light though fire touch it not, light upon light, Allah guides to His light whom He pleases." !'(+)8$ The word niche here has been transmitted in the s"mbolic form of Mihrab where traditionall" Muslims put candles and lanterns reflecting the di%ine description and later was e2pressed in the use of this lamp under the arch of the Mihrab in most pra"er rugs and carpets. &uch s"mbolism e2tended to the la%ish use of light in other parts of the mosque. In spatial terms, the mosque, unli0e #hristian church, is wider than deep. The selection of this spatial form was intended to gi%e more worshippers the chance to get nearer to the 7ibla wall which is 0nown for its hea%enl" merits. The first to come and sits in the front rows near the Mihrab is better rewarded than the one comes last and sits in the rear.