PRELIM: Islamic Architecture

ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

Defined as any construction based on the religious principles of Islam.

Both religious and secular buildings reflect design principles of Islamic culture.

These include mosques, funerary monuments, private dwellings, and fortifications

Muslims make up a majority of the population in 49 countries around the world.

Spread of Islam has been frequently associated with military conquest, racial movements, and with the consequent displacement of established populations.

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INDONESIA

COUNTRY WITH LARGEST MUSLIM POPULATION

MUHAMMAD

In the year AD 610, a wealthy merchant named "The Trusted One" was travelling outside Mecca, and later reported that one evening the angel Gabriel came to him and told him he would from then on be the messenger of God, given the task of reciting God's commandments.

Muhammad

Thus, al-Amin (c. 570-632) became...

Muhammad

the "messenger of Allah," and established the religion of Islam

"submission toGod's will."

Islam MEANS

MECCA, MEDINA

The main religious centers were -----, the prophet's birthplace and -----, to which he fled from enemies in 622

Mecca

a city in Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Mohammed and spiritual center of Islam.

Ka'aba

a small cubical stone building in the courtyard of the Great Mosque at Mecca containing a sacred black stone and regarded by Muslims as the House of God, the objective of their pilgrimages and the point toward which they turn in praying.

KAABA

( HOUSE OF ALLAH )

Koran

Hadith

Law

Moslem thought is codified in three works:

Koran

It is regarded as revelation through the medium of the prophet Mohammed.

Hadith

It is a collection of his sayings or injunctions.

Law

It is extracted from the prophet's instructions, from tradition and example.

Timber was of limited type and quality

GEOLOGICAL

There was a long tradition of ceramic production, use of gypsum plasters, glass manufacture and the various forms of metalwork needed for buildings

GEOLOGICAL

The prevalence of earthquakes in the near and middle-eastern countries resulted in the employment of some long-established, specialized structural techniques

GEOLOGICAL

Public life was reserved for perform the significant public men. They duties and controlled all public affairs.

SOCIAL

Women played a secondary role. A woman's place was in the private part of the household-the HAREM.

SOCIAL

Harem

It is the household in Islam

Sunni

Shi'a (Shiites)

Two types of Muslims

Sunnis

Almost 90% of Muslims are

Both Sunni and Shia Muslims share the most fundamental Islamic beliefs and articles of faith

The differences between these two main sub-groups within Islam initially stemmed not from spiritual differences, but political ones.

SOCIAL

Significant populations of Shia Muslims can be found in Iran and Iraq, and large minority communities in Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, and Lebanon

SOCIAL

IMAM

an Islamic leadership position.

may lead Islamic worship services, serve as community leaders, and provide religious guidance by Sunni Muslims only.

Caliph

he head of state of the Islamic community . A successor to the Prophet as military, judicial and spiritual leader of Islam

Arabesque

means of decoration influenced by Arabian style

Muhammedan

(Mohammadan or Mohammetan)

used by the followers of Muhammad or Mohammet who founded the Islam religion

Moslem or Muslim

the followers are called Moslem or Muslim

Islamic

because of the Islam religion

Saracenic

name of Greek origin applied by the Romans and afterwards to the crusaders to the Nomad tribes or the desert of Egypt and western Asia

Moorish

named after the Moors of South Africa

Seljur/Seljuh

name used in Turkey in its earliest stage and in the later stage was called Ottoman after Turkish dynasty

Mugaha or Mogul

after a line of emperors in India

The concept of Allah's infinite power is evoked by designs with repeating themes.

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Human and animal forms

are rarely depicted in decorative art as Allah's work is matchless.

Calligraphy

is used to enhance the interior of a building by providing quotations from the Qur'an.

Islamic architecture

focuses on the beauty of the interior rather than exterior spaces.

Use of impressive towering minarets, forms such as large domes, and large courtyards are intended to convey power.

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Moorish Architecture

The Islamic Architecture of the North Africa and esp. of the regions of Spain under Moorish domination, characterized by the building of large mosques and elaborate fortress palaces

Moor

A member of the Muslim people of Northwest Africa who invaded Spain in the 8th and occupied it until 1942

Mozarabic Style

a style of spanish architecture produced from 9th - 15th century by christians under moorish influence, characterized by the horshoe arch and other moorish features

Mudejar Architecture

A style of Spanish Architecture produced from the 13th-16th century by Mudejars and Christians working within the Muslim traditions,

characterized by a fusion of Romanesque and Gothic with Islamic elements.

Mudejar

A Muslim permitted to remain in Spain after the Christian reconquest, esp. during the 8th-13th century.

Seljuk Architecture

The Islamic Architecture of several Turkish dynasties that ruled over central and western Asia from the 11th-13th century, much influenced by Persian Architecture.

Ottoman Architecture

The Islamic Architecture of the Ottoman empire from the 14th century on, much influenced by Byzantine Architecture

Mogul Architecture

the Indo-Islamic Architecture of the Mogul Dynasty, 1526- 1857, typified by monumental palaces and mosques with highly detailed decorative work

Mosque , Jami, or Masjid

principal place of worship serve many functions other than prayer, such as school, transactions and storage for treasures.

Congregational or Friday Mosque (Famimasjid)

Madrassah (Collegiate Mosque)

Tomb Mosque

3 Types of Muslim Mosques

Congregational or Friday Mosque (Famimasjid)

a mosque used for public or congregational worship

minaret

tower

muesin /muezzin

callers

sahn (atrium)

central courtyard of a mosque

Meda

fountain or ablution (mid of sahn )

liwanat or colonnades

a large vaulted portal opening onto the central courtyard of a mosque

mihrab (niche)

sanctuary or decorative panel where founder of the mosque is estombed,

- recessed in a wall to contain sculpture

- niche oriented towards Mecca, where the leader of the congregation makes his prayers

- no altar only pulpit

mimbar

pulpit

elevated platform for imam

raised platform for ceremonial announcements ( dais - Roman/ bema - early Christian)

dikka

reading desk

maqsura (screen)

similar to the reredo of Early Christian churches found between the mihrab, mimbar and dikka

Quibla

- the wall in a mosque in which the mihrab is set, oriented to Mecca

- axis oriented towards Mecca

Iwan

open-fronted vault facing on to the court

Bab

gateway

Chatri (India)

umbrella-shaped cupola (finial)

Kiosk

small pavilion usually open built in gardens and parks

Madrassah (Collegiate Mosque)

- cruciform in plan with central portion open to the sky

- the forearms of the cross are covered by pointed vaults and behind the mihrab is where the founder's tomb is found and covered with a dome

Collegiate Mosque (Madrassah)

The social obligations within the religion later led to the addition of madrassa (schools, colleges or universities) attached.

Islamia College

Situated in Peshawar, Pakistan, ----- was established in 1913 by Nawab Sir Sahabzada Abdul Qayyum and Sir George Roos Kepel. The idea of Abdul Qayyum, an educationist-cum-politician, was to build an educational institute that imparts modern education to the Muslims.

Tomb Mosque

- often used for private prayer

- the structure is sometimes entirely covered with domes, vaults or flat roofs (facing Mecca)

mosque

the most important Islamic building. It is a sacred building used by Muslims for prayer. The word "-----" is Arabic for "a place of prostration" or bowing down to Allah. Besides being a place of prayer, the ------- was also used as a "community center" for a combination of reasons: a school, for political and social meetings, a place for judging cases, and other functions in the Islamic community

salah (prayer)

Muslims believe that offering ----- with other people has much more value than praying alone.

Sunna

It states that salah in the mosque is 27 times more valuable than when offered in the home.

Imam

means 'someone who stands in front'. The imam leads the prayers and preaches the Friday sermon, in which he explains a passage from the Qur'an or a story about the prophet Muhammed

muezzin

calls Muslims to prayer from the minaret. He recites the adhan, or call to prayer, at set times.

ABAYA

Muslim clothes

WUDU

Muslims wash in a special sequence called -----. They believe this makes them physically and spiritually clean before Allah. Men and women wash separately

PRAYER ROOM

where Muslims pray in rows

compass

is used to find the qiblah - the direction of Mecca - so that we can pray facing the right way.

Prayer beads

are made up of three sets of thirty-three beads and one large to make a hundred.

They are usually made of wood or plastic, although sometimes they can be made of olive pits, ivory, amber or pearls.

Some strings of prayer beads have an Arabic letter printed on each bead.

Salah

is ritual prayer practised five times a day as one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

rak'ah

a special sequence of movements and verses from the Qur'an, and involves standing, bowing and kneeling with your forehead touching the floor, while reciting the appropriate verse for each position.

Prayer Mats

used during the five daily times of prayer. ----- often have pictures of the Kaaba or other Islamic holy sites on them to help focus the worshipper's attention on holy things.

MINARETS

ARE TOWERS OF A MOSQUE. FROM THE MINARET A PERSON (A "MUEZZIN") CALLS PEOPLE TO PRAYER FIVE TIMES A DAY.

ARCHES

VARIED IN MOSQUES. SOME WERE ROUND, SOME POINTED, AND SOME WERE "HORSESHOE" SHAPED AND HELD UP ON THIN PILLARS.

Chamfer

a diagonal cutting of an arris formed by two surfaces meeting at an angle.

Stalactite Corbelling

structural and ornamental device

Corbel (Muqarna)

a block of stone, often elaborately carved or moulded, projecting from a wall, supporting the beams of a roof, floor or vault.

Muqarna

Corbel in islamic architecture is also known as

COLUMNS

ready-made columns, from old Roman and Byzantine buildings in the locality, were often utilized for colonnades of mosque.

In Spain : very slender columns, 12 m in height , surmounted by capitals

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In India : short, stunted pier (Eastern and Hindu) either cubiform capitals or deep abacus block

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DOMES

ARE COMMON IN MANY MOSQUES IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND TURKEY.

THEY ARE OFTEN DECORATED ON THE OUTSIDE AND INSIDE WITH BEAUTIFUL TILES IN GEOMETRIC DESIGNS. DOMES GIVE A BUILDING A SPIRITUAL FEELING IN THAT THEY BRING ONE'S ATTENTION FROM THE GROUND LEVEL (THE WORLD OF MAN) TO THE HEAVENS (THE WORLD OF GOD).

Spherical - same/similar to the

Byzantine structure

Bulbous shape

Saucer shape

Slightly pointed

Shapes of Domes in Muslim Architecture :

Domes are supported by pendentives formed by rouse of small arches known as stalactites

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SAUCER DOME

THE ARCHITECTURAL TERM USED FOR A LOW PITCHED SHALLOW DOME

Cresting

an ornament of a roof, a roof screen, or a wall generally rhythmic and highly decorative

Arabesque

surface decoration, light and fanciful in character.

a style of decoration characterized by intertwining plants and abstract curvilinear motifs.

- Religious leaders forbade the depiction of animals & people.

Geometric Designs

Intricate patterns emphasizing symmetry and repeated rhythms

Mnemonic Inscription or text

extracts from the Koran either in the stiff characters known as Kufic or in a more flowing Nashky Alphabet

Super-imposed Ornaments

made up of conventional design in different planes in which one scheme of design forms the background to the one over it.