INTRODUCTION TO ISLAMIC ARCHITCTURE

The earliest architectural monument of Islam that retains most of its original form is the Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhrah) in Jerusalem, constructed in 691-92. It has mosaics depicting scrolling vines and flowers, jewels, and crowns in greens, blues, and gold. Similar in some aspects is the later Great Mosque of Damascus which was built by Al Walid over what was originally a Roman temple. The interior walls have stone mosaics that depict crowns, fantastic plants, realistic trees, and even empty towns. This is thought to represent Paradise for the faithful Muslim. Both the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and The great Mosque of Damascus used the Syrian cut-stone technique of building and popularized the use of the dome.

The 8th-century desert palace Khirbat al-Mafjar (in present day Jordan) reveals a wealth of carved and molded stucco decoration, sculptured stone relief's, and figural fresco paintings. In 750 the Abbasid dynasty moved the capital east to Baghdad, and from 836 to 892 the Abbasid rulers resided at Samarra. The Great Mosque of Samarra is an important example of the Iraqi hypostyle, noted for its massive size and spectacular minaret. In Iran few Islamic buildings erected before the 10th century are still standing. Sassanid building techniques, such as the Squinches, were combined with the mosque form. Sassanid influence is also strong in many Umayyad dynasty residential palaces, built mostly in Syria. The most famous is the 8th-century palace of Mshatta; much of its delicately carved stone facade is now in Berlin.

In the middle of the 8th century the last of the Umayyads escaped to Spain and re-founded his dynasty there. The great Mosque of Cordoba was begun in 785 and is famous for its rows of double-tiered arches. The mosque was extended four times. The culture of Islamic Spain reached its apogee in Moorish art and architecture, Faïence and lacy pierced-stone screens are the hallmarks of its decoration. The same style prevails in North Africa and is seen at its best in Fès, Morocco, where much elaborately carved wood is used. The Mudé jar style of Spain, employed throughout the 18th century and influential until much later, is based on this architecture.

Late in the 9th century the governor of Egypt, Ibn Tulun, initiated the high period of Egypto-Islamic art with the building of his famous mosque in Cairo. In the 10th century the Fatimids introduced into Egypt the decorative stalactite ceiling from Iran and placed emphasis on decorative flat moldings. The most important Fatimids buildings are the Cairo mosques of al-Azhar and al-Aqmar. The cruciform Mosque of Hasanin Cairo, built by a Mamluk sultan in 1536, still reflects Persian influence.

In India a distinct style, preserved mainly in architecture, developed after the Delhi Sultanate was established (1192). This art made extensive use of stone and reflected Indian adaptation to Islam rule, until Mughals art replaced it in the 17th cent, seen in Taj Mahal. The square Char Minar of Hyderabad (1591) with large arches, arcades, and minarets is typical.

In Turkey the mosque form was also derived from Persia, as was most Turkish art. The great Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia, adapted for use as a mosque, greatly influenced Turkish architects. The most famous among these is Sinan, chief architect in the Ottoman court from 1539 until his death in 1588. He constructed or designed most of Sulayman I's buildings, the most noted of which is his Sulayman Mosque (1557) in Istanbul, where he is buried. It has four minarets and stained-glass windows flanking the mihrab. The mosque of Sultan Ahmed is similarly distinguished by its dome lit by numerous windows, and wall surfaces covered with green and blue tiles. Fine ornate buildings were erected in Turkey until the middle of the 17th century.

HISTORY OF MASJID

The first mosque was built in Makkah, the area that surrounded the Ka'ba, the most holy shrine.  But the model of early mosques came from the courtyard of Prophet Mohammed's house in Madinah, which was constructed in 622 AD.  This was organized with a qibla, facing in the direction of Jerusalem.

       The mosque in Madinah had social, political, and judicial functions, as well as housing prophet's family.  The religious functions were mixed with alternative daily-functions.  Rules on prayers seem to have not been shaped at the first period, since the prescriptions of the Quran, came gradually in the early periods of  Islam.  Apart from the mosques of Makkah and Madinah, one finds some few indications that there were other mosques in the time of Mohammed.

       Mosques soon grew into becoming more complex, and uniform, in their shape.  A minbar, the pulpit, from where the Friday prayer is held, was placed next to the mihrab.  Within few years after the death of Prophet Mohammed, mosques became such important symbols, that when Muslim conquerors established themselves somewhere, a mosque was put up first, and then the military camp was built around it.  This was inspired by the Madinah example, but in some principal cities, Muslims constructed their mosque in the place that was the center of other religions.

     The shape of mosques came in many cases from a mixture of the architecture of conquered territories, and of the original patterns.  The addition of minarets, the towers from where the callings are made, were absent in the early mosques.  It was inspired by religious buildings of other religions, where one believes that it was the churches of Syria, that were most important.  The implementation of minarets, were both for embellishment of the mosques, and for the functionality of the mosques, as calling for prayer, adhan, from ground level, did not carry more than a few blocks.  However, for some time after the introduction of the minaret, the adhan was still performed with the Muezzin walking the streets, while inviting for prayer.  The first minaret came probably in 703, almost 100 years after the Madinah mosque.  But there are written material suggesting that minarets were erected as early as 665 AD.