Muhammadthe Messenger of
Allah
Prophet Muhammad was
appointed by Gabriel on
“The Night of Excellence”
during the Holy Month
of Ramadan in 610 c.e.
This miraculous revelation
occurred near
Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
The revelations comprise the
Islamic Qur’an
The followers of Allah are
Referred to as Muslims
This page is one side of a double-sided sheet
from a copy of the
Qur’an, a collection of
revelations to the Prophet Mohammed that
forms the basis of the Islamic religion.
Information within the book indicates that the
scribe worked on it for 22 years and completed
it in 1207 A.D. The black letters are in Arabic
and the smaller red letters are in Persian.
The book was found in Tehran, Iran, in 1952,
and this sheet was donated to the Smithsonian
Institution
In the Islamic tradition, representations of
human or animal figures are discouraged,
resulting in a fluid
calligraphic style
often incorporating geometric and floral
designs.
The
Qur’an was transcribed after the
death of Muhammad and assembled in
114 chapters
called surahs
Architecture of Islam
• The Umayyad dynasty established the center of the Muslim world as
Damascus. Built many shrines, mosques and palaces…
After Mecca and Medina,
Jerusalem was the holiest of sites
In the center of Jerusalem there is a rock outcropping that is identified
-as the place from which Muhammad ascended to the presence of God on the
Night Journey, chapter 17- Qur’an
-as the place where the patriarch Abraham prepared the sacrifice of his son
Isaac at the command of God, Genesis- Bible
-as the site of the temple of Solomon
The Dome of the Rock is a shrine constructed from Christian and Byzantine
methods at this outcropping
Dome of
the Rock
An octagon within an octagon
Concentric aisles allow the devout visitor to circumambulate the rock
Visitors must walk first clockwise then counterclockwise to read the
inscriptions in gold mosaic surrounding the rock outcropping
Holy Kaaba
• Located in Mecca, Saudi
Arabia
• Site of Hajj, or pilgrimage,
most holy site for Muslims
• Thought to have been
built by Abraham and his
son Ismail
• Qibla, the direction that
Muslims pray towards is
pointed towards the
Kaaba
• The Kaaba is cubical with
its ends roughly the four
cardinal points
Muslims follow
the Five Pillars of Islam
sometimes symbolized by an open
hand with the five extended fingers
1-There is no god but Allah and
Muhammad
is his messenger
2-Ritual worship five times
a day
3-Charity to the poor
4-Fasting during the month of
Ramadan
5-Pilgrammage to Mecca
Mosques provide a
place for regular public
worship. The
characteristic elements
were dictated during the
time of the Umayyad.
Adhan was also instated during
this time
The Great Mosque of Tunisia
although built in the 9th century
reflects this early form of the
mosque.
Damascus Mosque, Syria
Kairawan, Tunisia
Mosque is
divided
between a
courtyard and a
flat-roofed
hypostyle hall
All mosques are laid out so that
worshippers face Mecca as they
pray.
Congregrational worship at a mosques
take place on Friday.
A huge tower- a
minaret rises
from one end of the courtyard.
The muezzin or crier will call the faithful to
prayer from the minaret
Designating the direction of Mecca and opposite the
minaret are the qibla wall and mihrab
This continues the tradition of a niche that signify a holy place.
(ie: an apse, or wall with Torah niche)
Minbar is the pulpit or throne by the mihrab
The Mosque at Cordoba, Spain,
begun 786.
the Baroque church added in
the middle of the structure
during the 17th century
The Cordoba mosque was built on
the site of a Christian church. It
was expanded three times. The
hypostyle prayer hall was
assembled with recycled classical
parts.
Islamic builders also used repeated horseshoe arches in the
prayer hall or iwan shown here at Cordoba, Spain
Islamic builders used the
muqarnas nichelike
component shown here at Alahambra, Spain
Muqarnas are
used in multiples
as interlocking,
successive,
loadbearing,
vaulting units.
The Alahambra was a sophisticated pleasure
palace, an attempt to create paradise on earth.
It serves as typifying the beauty and luxury of
Islamic palace architecture.
Fortified hilltop palace complex with well watered
walled gardens and fountains. Believed to be
the private retreat for Muhammad V.
At the heart of Alahambra is the Court of the Lions,
a rectangular courtyard named for a marble
fountain surrounded by stone lions.
LATER ISLAMIC ART
The Nasrid's red fortress:
In the early years of the 11th century,
the Umayyad caliphs' power in Spain
unraveled, and their palaces fell prey
to Berber soldiers from North Africa.
Paradise and heaven:
Before the final
expulsion of the
Muslims from Spain
in 1492, the Nasrid
rulers in Granada
built a huge palacefortress called the
Alhambra.
Sultan Hasan's major building project in
Cairo was a huge madrasa (school)
complex which housed four theological
colleges devoted to the teaching of
Islamic law, as well served as a
mosque, mausoleum, orphanage,
hospital, shops, and baths. The iwan
functioned as classrooms.
Al-Azhar University
• Oldest University in
the world
• Located in Cairo,
Egypt.
• Built during the Shia
Fatimid Dynasty
• Built from 969-971
A.D.
• Most prestigious
Islamic University
Sinan the Great 1568-75
Mosque of Sultan Selim Edirne, Turkey
The minarets that soar
295 feet are only 12.5
feet in diameter at the
base. Only royal
mosques were allowed
multiple minarets and
having more than two
was highly unusual
Suleyman Mosque
By: Sinan Pasha
Istanbul, Turkey 1551-1558
Construction Type: Bearing
Masonry
Ottoman Style
Sinan’s inspiration came from
the Hagia Sophia
Dome has a diameter of 85 feet
and a height of 170 feet.
Sinan the Great: A contemporary of Michelangelo and with equal aspirations to
immortality, Sinan perfected the Ottoman architectural style.
The central plan of the Mosque of Sultan Selim at Edirne, Turkey:
At the Mosque of Selim II at Edrine, Sinan created a structure that made it possible
to see the mihrab from almost any spot in the mosque.
Dome is larger than
Hagia Sophia
Completed when
Sinan was 80
Sinan was credited
for more than 300
imperial
commissions,
including palaces,
madrasas, Koran
schools, burial
chapels, public
kitchens, hospitals,
treasure houses,
baths, bridges,
viaducts and 124
large and small
mosques.
Unlike the Mosque of Selim II,
many major Islamic
architectural projects, such as
this, were built or remodeled
over several centuries.
Great Mosque, Isfahan, Iran,
eleventh to seventeenth
centuries.
Winter prayer hall of the Shahi (Imam) Mosque,
Isfahan, Iran, 1611-1638.
Some of the masterworks of Arabic calligraphy are
found not in manuscripts but on walls. These
are mosaic works.
Mihrab from the Madrasa Imami, Isfahan,
Iran, ca. 1354. Glazed mosaic tilework, 11'
3" X 7' 6". Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York.
TAJ MAHAL-1632
Agra, India
built as
mausoleum
reflecting
pools and lush
gardens are
mean to evoke
a vision of
paradise
The facades are delicately inlaid
with inscriptions and arabesques in
semi precious stones-carnelian,
agate, coral, turquoise, garnet,
lapis and jasper.
I.M. Pei and Islam
• Museum of Islamic
Arts
• Doha, Qatar
• Architect- I.M. Pei
• 31,500 sq. miles
• Opening in Summer
of ‘07