Symbolic form of
Mughal Masjid or Mosque
Keun young, Park ARCH 644 Visual cultures of Islamic South Asia Fall 2010 Instructor: Stephen Caffey
Islam
7C. The youngest of the great world religions. Qur’an, the holy book Muslims believe to be the preexistent, perfect words of Allah. Islam and Christianity:
The Qur’an testifies of itself that it was given by God through the angel Gabriel to the prophet Muhammad.
Islam is more than a religion. It’s the way of life. The Arabic word Islam is rooted in the word ‘silm’ or peace. It is understood by Muslims to mean submission or total surrender to Allah and His order.
Islamic architecture Mosque
“The earth has been created for me as a masjid and a place of purity, and whatever man from my Ummah finds himself in need of prayer, let him pray.�
The most distinctive elements are the Dome and minaret.
Location of principal mosques of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan
Islamic Cosmology
The concept of Allah’s infinite power is evoked by designs with repeating themes.
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 forms such as large domes, towering minarets, and large courtyards are intended to convey power.
Mughal architecture
Greatly influenced by Persian styles where they were originate from.
Constructed excellent mausoleums, mosques, forts, gardens and cities.
The Mughal buildings show a uniform pattern both in structure and character. Main characteristic features: bulbous domes the slender minarets with cupolas at the four corners large halls massive vaulted gateways delicate ornamentation.
Symbolism The entire journey to God is a journey in symbols, which refer to both the universal aspect of creation and the particular aspect of tradition. In fact, the whole of the visible, sensible world and its many manifestations is the symbol of God.
Mosque as symbols of House of God Mosque may be identified with the following design elements, which were inherited from the first mosque built by Muhammad in Medina, as well as features adapted from churches and synagogues:
• Minarets (towers) • Domes • Arabesque: Use of geometric shapes and repetitive art • Use of decorative Arabic calligraphy • Mihrab (niche) on an inside wall indicating the direction of Mecca. (this direction is called qibla) • Ablution fountains
Mosque as symbols of Muslim victory
Monumental architecture: Architecture as Symbol and Self-Identity
Mosque as symbols of society It is obvious that a devout Muslim does not require a defined space or structure for divine worship since the whole earth is his prayer house. Yet from time immemorial man has painstakingly erected innumerable mosques. The reason is that from the very inception, mosques have been looked upon not merely as congregational prayer places but as a nucleus of other socio-cultural aspects, and a symbol of identity, strength, peace and justice. Very few mosques lie in open areas, and very few mosques do not have shops and commercial activities in the
The origins of Mosque
The house of the Mohammad
Essentially, a mosque is no more than a wall at a right angles to the qibla axis and behind, or before that wall there could be anything.
2 types of mosques
- Jama’a: “Friday Mosque” or “Great Mosque” Where the Friday prayer is recited. Often richly adorned.
- Masjid: The local and smaller mosque.
Masjid is a word meaning ‘place for prostration’ and they were used by the early Muslims for houses of worship, even at times for other religions.
Today the Arabic ‘masjid’, and the English ‘mosque’, are used exclusively for the religious houses of Islam.
The success in designing a mosque, is measured by the degree of reconciliation of the conflicting axes and by producing an equilibrium between the mass and volume.
Sometimes, two levels of mosque, the first level- the men’s level, and the mezzanine- the women’s level.
Symmetry “I (Allah) created the beings couples.�
This meaning had been interpreted in building plans as symmetry; the symmetry is the first stage of being balanced, even the highest. The balanced symmetrical form is complete & beauty form on the basis of Islamic ideology.
The Ornamental Patterns Meaning The main precept of Islam is the unity and oneness of Allah and the importance of worshipping only Allah and not any statues or other beings. Allah was taken to be immune to representation via imagery. So Islamic aesthetics emphasized on decorative function of art, or its religious functions via non-representational forms. Geometric patterns, floral patterns, arabesques, and abstract forms were common, as was calligraphy. Order and unity were common themes.
We find closed forms & expansible motifs in Islam. The infinity expansible geometrical motifs have been the symbol of the hidden interior of Islam & its mystical signification of creation infinity multiplicity. The emanation existence that has sent out from Absolute Unity: The Multiplicity within Unity.
Using the circle as the symbol of empyrean, & the rectangle as the symbol of the Earth.
* empyrean: the highest part of the spherical heavens
Elements - Onion Dome
Onion dome: Dome whose shape resembles the onion. Taper smoothly to a point. Located above the prayer room, to signify vaults of heaven & the sky. The symoblism of a gentle curve of dome is peace. Pendentives: the device essential to placing a dome over a square compartment Why are the mosques round and domed?
Mosques are round and domed because of the architecture style of the middle east. They are elaborately decorated on the outside and have geometric patterns. This is used to make people feel more spiritual on ground.
As time progressed, domes grew, from occupying a small part of the roof near the mihrab to encompassing the whole roof above the prayer hall.
Elements - Star and Cresent moon on top of dome or minaret
Like Christians use their symbol as a cross, some Muslims use the crescent and star as Islams symbol on top of the dome. Long ago the moon and stars guided travellers, so the moon is a symbol of guidance. Some scholars of Islam think that it should be forbidden because there is no evidence that the crescent is a symbol prescribed by Islam.
Elements - Minaret Minaret: Tower At the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the call to prayer was made from the highest roof at the mosque. Today, calls to prayer are usually done in the prayer hall through a loudspeaker, and serve as decorative purposes. Mosques don’t need minarets. A symbol of faith and power. The number of minarets per mosque varies, from one to as many as six. A minaret has one or more balconies, from which the muezzin announces the call to prayer, and a spiral staircase on the inside or outside.
Elements - Mihrab mihrab: An apse or niche in one of the wall among four sides inside the mosque that faces Mecca. Mihrabs were copied from similar niches found in Christian churches but which pointed to Jerusalem. The plan of mihrab may be rectangular, polygonal or semi-circular.
The mihrab is where the Imam stands and leads the congregation in prayer. It is often an ornamented object, often an arched niche. It has become the central feature mosques, and it is oriented towards Mecca. The area in front of the mihrab must be roofed. In the wall of the mihrab there can be no doors. As for the other walls, there can be as many doors as the builders want.
Elements - Minbar A minbar is the pulpit from which the Friday sermon is delivered. In its simplest form, the minbar is a platform with steps. This simple design was a direct response to the functional needs of the community of worshippers. It did not attribute any complicated mystical significance to the structure Muhammad’s successors, the caliphs, used the Prophet’s minbar as a symbol of their authority. Became a religious object. It became more permanent in nature, the number of steps increased, and it was commonly made of stone or brick. It was even covered with a cloth.
India, Bangladesh, Pakistan
Thoughts A chicken-and-egg situration
Structure first or Symbolism first?
The Mosque structure evolved to accomodate growing number of worshippers and the assigned meaning of God and showiness of power.
Shapes that strengthening the structure. Onion dome: Structurally advanced than Roman round dome. Dome can span large spaces to accomodate many people without columns.
Colonnade: To accommodate people as many. Pointed arch: Structurally more stable than round arch
Work Cited Kuban, 1974,Muslim religious architecture Frishmand and Khan, 1994, Mosque Khan, 1991, Development of mosque architecture in Pakistan Brown, 1968, Indian architecture (Islamic period) Fifth edition Iranian Mathematical Aesthetics in Designing the symbolic Forms http://www.scribd.com/doc/15504374/Iranian-Mathematical-Aesthetics-in-Designing-the-Symbolic-Forms Badshahi Mosque http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badshahi_Mosque Mosque structure http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0834176.html Ardalan, 1980, The visual language of symblic form: A preliminary study of mosque architecture https://archnet.org/library/documents/one-document.jsp?document_id=2621 Mosque http://www.al-hakawati.net/english/Architecture/mosque-definition.asp ArchNet, Dictionary of Islamic Architecture http://archnet.org/library/dictionary/entry.jsp?entry_id=DIA0473&mode=full Minaret http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/things/minaret.htm