Islam Architecture (Part 1)
ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
(SARACENIC ARCHITECTURE)
History
• The religion of Islam began in Arabia
• 610 AD, Muhammad from Mecca saw visions of an angel
• Message from Allah to stop worshipping false idols and to accept the will of god “Islam”
• Arabs of Mecca rejected this message
• 622 AD, the Hegira - Muhammad moved to Medina and converted the people into Islam
• Within 10 years, the framework of religion and military organization tasked with spreading the faith was established
• Medina then fought Mecca and in 630 AD destroyed all its idols and converted it to Islam
Architectural Characters
Description
• Countries already rich in building tradition
• Product of the rapid conquest of diverse territories by a people with no architectural tradition
• Synthesis of styles under one philosophy but in many different circumstances, Islam had a profound impact on its architecture: • No essential difference in techniques between religious and non-religious buildings
• Important architectural endeavor is normally expended on buildings having a direct social or community purpose
• Decorations tend toward the abstract, using geometric, calligraphic and plantmotifs, with a preference for a uniform field of decoration rather than a focal element
• Basic conservatism discourages innovations and favors established forms
• Symmetry and balance (as in the concept of perfect creation)
• Centered upon God
• Related to a principal axis, the kibla, pointing towards Mecca
Decoration
• in lieu of human and animal forms: abstract and geometric motifs, calligraphy, floral abstraction, geometric interlacement, mouldings and friezes, carvings in bas relief, stone inlay and mosaic, patterned brickwork, ceramic and glass mosaic, painting, timber inlay, Arabesques, screen or pierced grilles in marble
Islamic Architecture
- Also Muslim, Muhammadan or Saracenic architecture.
- Mosque as a distinct building type.
- Domes, tunnel vaults, stilted, horseshoe, and ogee arches, and rich surface decorations (calligraphy and floral motifs in a geometric framework; use of glazed tiles on interior and exterior surfaces).
- Squinches, supports under the dome.
- Muqarnas, "stalactite" decoration of icicle-like elements hanging from the ceiling.
The prophet Muhammad called on people to honor Allah in prayer
- mosques were built wherever Islam had spread
• Principal place of worship
• Building used for Friday prayer
• Prime purpose was contemplation and prayer
• Could also be used as a school, place for transactions, storage for treasures, place for hearing official notices
• Masjid - small prayer house
• Madrassah - religious college and mosque
• Inward-looking building
• Courtyard with sides punctuated with gateways, prayer chambers and porches
• No positive object of attention or adoration
• Conceived around an axis towards Mecca
• In every mosque, there is a wall with a hole or niche cut into it, showing the direction of Mecca
Minaret - tower attached to the mosque, where the muezzin calls the Muslim people to prayer
Iwan - also ivan or iiwan, large vaulted portal opening onto the central courtyard or a mosque
Minbar - also mimbar, pulpit from which the imam delivers his sermons
Qibla - also qiblah, wall in a mosque in which the mihrab (niche or decorative panel) is set, oriented to Mecca.
Sahn - atrium
Fawwara - fountain for washing before prayers
Liwannat - colonnade
Dikka - reading desk
Maqsura - screen; protective barrier of the minbar
Personalities:
• Muezzin - caller who summons the faithful to prayer
• Imam - man who leads congregation in prayer
• Caliph - successor to the prophet as military, judicial, or spiritual leader of Islam • Sufi - holy man
Types of a Mosque
Four levels of prayer
1. the individual, (masjid)
2. the congregation, (jami)
3. the total population of a town, (idgah) and
4. the entire Muslim world
Masjid - general term for a mosque, also a mosque used for daily prayer by individuals or small groups, only has a mihrab (niche)
Jami - the congregational or Friday mosque; used for the main weekly service; usually larger than a masjid and provided with a mihrab and mimbar (pulpit)
Idgah - “Place of (community) prayer”; A great open praying area with nothing but a mihrab
Notable Examples
Dome of the Rock
- influenced by byzantine architecture
- used as a shrine for pilgrims; at its center is the sacred rock from which Muhammad is said to have ascended to heaven
- Octagonal in plan
Ka’ba
- also Ka’aba or Ka’abah
- “House of God”
- small cubical stone building in the courtyard of the Great Mosque at Mecca
- Contains a sacred black stone
- The point toward which they turn in praying
Moorish Architecture
- Islamic architecture of North Africa (regions of Spain under Moorish domination
- Building of large mosques and elaborate fortress-palaces
- structural systems and decorations adapted from classical antiquity and combined with Islamic architecture
Mughal Architecture
Or Indo-Islamic; blended traditions from India and Islam. (Mughal Period, golden age of Islamic architecture in northern India.)
Taj Mahal
- "Crown Palace"
- Built by Shah Jahan as a tomb for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Placed on a chahar bagh, a platform at the end of a walled garden divided by canals.
- The marble facade is decorated with floral motifs and a type of inlay called pietra dura (using cut, fitted, and polished colored stones to create images).