READING 3

RITUALS AND WORSHIP

  1. SACRED SPACE

  • Mosques (masajid)

    • Place of gather for worship

    • Prophet Muhammad built the first mosque in the courtyard of his house in Medina 622

    • Provided a place for Muslims to gather for prayer and communities

    • Modelled after Muhammads first mosque design and purpose, contemporary mosques still embrace the general features of Muhammad’s initial design

  1. INTERIOR

  • Outer rooms surround a courtyard or large open area used for prayer, sometimes covered by a roof

  • Floor is covered with mats and carpets

Mihrab

  • Niche set into the wall

  • Indicates the direction of Mecca and where to pray

Minbar

  • Platform used by the prater leader to deliver the Friday sermon

  • Women and men are segregated in the mosque

Ziyadah

  • Perform ritual cleansing before prater in an outer courtyard

  • Minaret

    • Tower outside the mosque

    • Muezzin calls the faithful to prayer 5x a day

    • No ritual objects, pictures or statues

  • Walls

    • Decorated with patterned mosaics, vs from the Quran, and occasionally the names of Muhammad and his companions

    • Styles range from simplistic to monumental

  • Visit the mosque 5x a day for prater

  • Place to get her and socialize, to find help and information and comfort in times of crisis

  • Discuss business agreements, and to engage in political discussion and debate

  • Provide religious education, and aid in the collection and distribution of zakat (charity)

  • Visit the mosque before and after pilgrimage, bring bodies of deceased family members to the mihrab for prayers before the burial

  1. Hadith

  • Mosques at Medina, Mecca and Jerusalem

  • Says if a person visits the mosque at Medina, Muhammad will intercede for him or her on the Day of Judgement (not be confused with the Dome of the Rock)

  • Said to stand on the site of Muhammad’s famous night journey

  • Dome of Rock

    • Stands on the side of Muhammad’s ascent into heaven with the angel Gabriel

  • Grand Mosque

    • Located in Mecca

    • Holds the Kaaba, a shrine near its centre

    • Most sacred place in the world

      • Called “house of God”

  • Kaaba (cube)

    • Predates Islam, and tradition holds that one of Muhammad’s first actions upon entering Mecca

    • Conqueror was to destroy all idols and shrines, dedicating the Kaaba to Allah

      • Allah is the one true God, performing the Islamic rites of Pilgrimage

    • No matter where in the world, Muslims always pray in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca when they pray

    • Dead are buried with their heads pointing in the direction of the Kaaba

  • Shape if the shrine

  • Corners align with the four points of the compass

  • Interior is empty with three pillars supporting the roof and ceiling lamps made of gold and silver

  • Islamic tradition holds that after he and Eve were expelled from paradise, Adam built the Kaaba

    • Copy of God’s heavenly house

    • Adam’s shrine was destroyed in Noah’s flood, except for the foundation, and Abraham and Ishmael rebuilt it

    • Muhammad also rebuilt the Kaaba and was entrusted to place the cornerstone in the cornerstone in the building

  1. Black Stone of Mecca

  • literally a black rock approximately 12 inches in diameter, fixed in the wall of the Eastern corner of the Kaaba

  • Tradition holds that the Black Stone was given to Adam when he and Eve were expelled from paradise

  • Placed in the Kaaba by Abraham and Ishmael

  • Symbol of God’s covenant with Abraham, Ishmael, and the Muslims

  • Pilgrims need to walk counter-clockwise around the Kaaba seven tomes in imitation of the angels walking around God’s heavenly throne

  • Sometimes kiss or touch the tone, absorbs the sins of those who touch it, stone was originally pure white but turned black from absorbing the sins of the faithful

  • Sufi and Shi’i Muslims

    • Built shrines over the tombs of holy men and women

    • Pilgrimage sites, served as mosques

    • Believed to possess special spiritual power, received as blessing by pilgrims, believed to have healing powers

  • Shi’a

    • Shrine of Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, and the shrine of Husain ibn Ali, Muhammad’s grandson are considered very holy

    • Located in Iraq

    • Ali in Najaf

      • Shrine of Husain in Karbala

    • Important religious and education centres, shrine Husayn is second of importance to Shi’i pilgrims after Mecca

    • Sufi Muslims, the heart, the holder of the soul, is the most important place in the world