Islam - Abrahamic monotheistic religion.
- centered on Qur'an and teachings of Muhammad
- originated in Mecca around 610 CE.
- Architectural styles developed from belief system, for worship and study of Qur'an.
HISTORICAL:
7th Century CE- Muhammad promulgated the religion in Mecca.
622 CCE - Prophet migrated to Medina.
The Prophet- his preaching was accepted and Islam as religion started.
- "beautiful model" for Muslims in Qur'an.
GEOGRAPHICAL:
Arabian Peninsula(Middle East)- Islam's geographical roots.
- characterized by a warm desert climate
- weather is very high during summer, mild winters.
TRADITIONAL INFLUENCES:
- Islamic Architecture evolved from the Middle East, North Africa, Egypt, and Central Asian region.
- Varied climate and different building material affected development of Architecture.
SYRIA- classical architectural tradition
NORTH AFRICA- Berber tradition
EGYPT- Pharaonic and Coptic
IRAN- Persian & Sassanian
NEAR-EAST- Byzantine
CENTRAL ASIA- Abstract patternwork
INDIA- Hindu and Buddhist
UNIFYING FORCES OF ISLAMIC ARCH:
- Fundamental religious belief system of Muslims
- Sayings of the Prophet
- Principle of ijmaa' (helps establish acceptable norms based on theological opinions)
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS:
● Minarets
● Muqarnas
● Arabesque
● Islamic geometric pattern
● Pointed arch
● Onion dome
● Pointed dome
Minaret - tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques.
- provide visual focal point, used for Muslim call to prayer (Adhan)
- includes a base, shaft, a cap and head.
Muqarnas - single most common architectonic element used in decoration of Islamic
architecture.
- developed in north-eastern Iran and Maghreb around 10th century.
- geometric subdivision of a vaulting structure into "honeycomb" or stalactite.
- stone, brick, wood, or stucco.
- Islamic West: adorns outside of dome or cupola.
- Islamic East: limited to interior face of vault.
Vegetal ornament - taken to new heights of expressiveness in decoration of Islamic
architecture.
- expression of constant movement, relating them to flow of calligraphy
or whirl of moving tendrils/leaves.
- tendrils frequently seem more striking than leaves and flowers, giving
great sense of energy to the ornaments in Islamic decoration.
Arabesque - "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and
interlacing foliage, tendrils"
- plain lines, often combined with other elements.
- Foliate ornaments derived from stylized half-palmettes, which combined
with spiraling stems.
Geometry - absence of figural representation
- played a role as abstract means of representation in the religious art and architecture of Islam.
- Islamic architecture established a direct connection not only with mathematics and science,
but also with other forms.
Islamic Geometric Pattern - built on combinations of repeated squares and circles
- overlapped and interlaced to form intricate complex patterns including a
wide variety of tessellations.
- may constitute the entire decoration and form framework for floral or or
calligraphic embellishments.
- may retreat into the back around other motifs.
Use of Calligraphy - used inscription as major form of decoration.
- lines of literary inscription frequently encircle Muslim buildings.
- Arabic calligraphic inscriptions of verses from Qur'an.
- Two main scripts:
▪ Angular Kufic - earliest form of calligraphy used
extensively in architecture during first five centuries of
Islam
▪ Cursive Nakshi
Color - without this, Muslims could hardly have achieved ephemeral qualities of architecture
- color schemes used in a complementary manner with other available means of
decoration
- applied on exterior and interior surfaces of Islamic buildings.
- avoid giving any undue prominence to any single element in the decoration of
buildings.
- create relaxing and tranquil effect
Textiles - another medium to provide color in Islamic architecture.
- doorways were often hung with curtains, hangings made an open colonnade a
private space.
- bare floors were often covered with carpets and mats.
- spaces for royal receptions were created by spreading colorful cloths and rugs
inside tents.
Arches in Islam - horseshoe arch(Moorish arch) became a popular feature in Islamic structures.
- acquired this from the Visigoths in spain but they may have obtained it from Syria and
Persia where horseshoe arch had been used by Byzantines.
- In Moorish architecture, the curvature of horseshoe is much more accentuated.
- Alternating colors accentuate effect of its shape.
Domes - considered one of the most important
architectural elements in Islamic architecture in
general.
- started from the Umayyad period in
Jerusalem in 691 AD.
- influenced by Byzantine architecture at its
inception.
- symbolizes Allah's universe.
- allows air to circulate, particularly in hot
countries
- built over the prayer hall to allow one's voice to be amplified.
Squinches :
- pendetive is a spherical triangle forming transition from circular plan of a
tome to the polygonal plan of supporting structure.
- squinch is an arch built across the upper inside corner of a square tower to
support side of a superimposed octagonal structure.
ISLAMIC:
- Masjid(Mosque)
- Madrasa
- Tombs
- Storage Inns
- Secular Structures
- Gardens
Mosque - aka 'Masjid' or 'Musjid'
- Muslim bldg or place of public worship.
- 4 levels of prayer:
• Individual (Masjid)- general term for mosque, used for daily
prayer by individuals/small groups.
- has a Mihrab(niche) but no minbar(pulpit)
• Congregation (Jami)- congregational or Friday mosque.
- used for main weekly service.
- larger than Masjid and provided with Minbar.
• Total population of town (idgah)- place of community prayer.
- great open praying area with nothing but qibla
wall and mihrab
• Entire Muslim world
Hypostyle Hall Type - having flat roof with possible additions of one or more domes.
- approached from an axially placed front courtyard
- believed to have been derived from early Islamic period from Persian royal hall, the
apadana.
- seen both in Arabia and Africa.
- Great Mosques are hypostyle Hall types.
Prayer Hall with mud-brick or rammed-earth piers, arches, and walls
- structurally strengthened on the outside by closely spaced buttresses as seen in sub-
Saharan Africa.
A large courtyard surrounded by a prayer hall with multiple domes –
on one side and by shade galleries on the other three sides.
- as seen in Arabia, North Africa, Egypt, and India.
A prayer hall with a sloping roof or superimposed roof in a pyramidal form-
set within a walled area, as seen in the southeast Asia.
A prayer wall with its central area covered by a large dome - approached from an axially
placed courtyard, characteristic of early mosques in Anatolia and Timurid mosques in
Central Asia and Iran.
Madrasa - a teaching mosque.
- term generally refers to a kind of institution in historic Muslim world which primarily taught
Islamic law and jurisprudence(fiqh), as well as other subjects on occasion.
PARTS OF A MOSQUE:
• Wudu(Ablution Fountain)- area reserved for ritual cleansing/purification.
• Minaret - tower attached to mosque, reserved for a muezzin where 'call
to prayer' is performed.
• Iwan - aka Ivan or Iiwan, large vaulted portal opening onto central
courtyard of mosque.
• Liwanat - colonnade
• Sahn - courtyard/atrium
• Fawwara/Meda - fountain for washing
• Quibla - wall facing Mecca
• Maqsura - screen/protective barrier of mimbar
• Minbar/mimbar - raised platform where imam delivers sermons
• Mihrab - niche in Quibla wall
• Kursi - chair used by Islamic scholars
• Dikka - reading desk
PURIFICATION IN ISLAM - the ritual washing of face, arms, head and feet is a personal act before
prayer.
- takes place in close proximity to prayer without offense to worshipers.
TOMBS - often used as formal adjuncts of educational and charitable ensembles.
- Taj Mahal in Agra, India have become one of most famous examples
STORAGE INNS(caravansary) - safe storage of goods and accomodation of
merchants and drivers of camel caravans.
- One of most important types of Muslim secular bldgs.
- were built along the main trade routes
- had a four-iwan plan, connected by two-story passages, lower story used as
stables and warehouses and upper story sheltered guests.
SECULAR STRUCTURES - urban dwelling with rectangular courtyard open to sky.
- symbolized microcosmic image of order of the universe or a paradise in its
garden settling described in Quran.
GARDENS - well-known Islamic gardens are often associated with palaces.
- gardens were important features not only to homes but also to mosques and mausoleums
throughout the Muslim world.
NOTABLE EXAMPLES OF MOSQUES:
• Kaaba - stone bldg at center of Islam's most important mosque and holiest site,
Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
- Considered to be the Bayt Allah(House of God) and is the qibla for Muslims around the world.
• Al-Masjid an-Nabawi - the prophet's mosque
- second largest & mosque built by prophet Muhammad in Medina, after that of quba.
- holiest site in Islam after Masjid al-Haram.
- located at the heart of Medina
- final place residence of Muhammad where his grave is.
• Masjid al-Aqsa - Jerusalem's Temple Mount
- first qibla of Muslims before Kaaba.
- the site of the mosque built by Sulaymān, son of Dāwūd
and king of the Israelites.
• Shah Mosque - located in Isfahan, Iran. Southside of nagsh-e
Jahan square.
- built during the Safavid dynasty under the order
Shah Abbas I of Persia.
- regarded as one of the masterpieces of Persian architecture in the Islamic era.
• Umayyad Mosque - aka Great mosque of Damascus, located in capital of Syria.
- one of largest and oldest mosques.
- religious importance stems from eschatological
reports concerning the mosque and associated historic events.
- Christian and Muslim consider it the burial place of John the Baptist's head.
• Badshahi Mosque - iconic Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
- located opposite of Lahore Fort in the outskirts of the Walled City
- built between 1671 and 1673 and by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
- an important example of Mughal architecture, with exterior thats decorated with
carved red sandstone with marble inlay.
• Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hasan - monumental mosque and madrasa located in Salah al-Din Square
in the historic district of Cairo, Egypt.
- built between 1356 -1363 during the Bahri Mamluk period, commissioned by
Sultan an-Nasir Hasan.
- considered remarkable for its massive size and innovative architectural
components.
• Hagia Sophia - mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey.
- last of three church buildings successively erected on the site by the Eastern
Roman Empire, completed in 537 AD.
- It served as a mosque until 1935, when it became a museum, in 2020, the site
once again became a mosque.
• Barak Khan Madrasa - lies at the west end of the Hast-Imam (or Khast-Imam) square in the heart of
old Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
- Like the square itself, the building is canted to the WSW to orient the
qibla wall of its accompanying mosque perpendicular to Mecca.
