Early Islamic architecture
Byzantine architecture had a great influence on early Islamic architecture with its characteristic horseshoe arches, vaults and domes. Many forms of mosques have developed in different regions of the Islamic world. Among the most notable mosque types are the early Abbasid mosques, T-type mosques, and Anatolian central dome mosques.
Early styles of Islamic architecture produced "Arabic plan" or hypostyle mosques during the Umayyad dynasty. These mosques follow a square or rectangular plan with an enclosed courtyard and a covered prayer hall. Most early hypostyle mosques had flat roofs for the prayer hall, requiring numerous columns "Column (architecture)") and supports&action=edit&redlink=1 "Support (structure) (not yet drafted)").[3] The Mosque in Córdoba, Spain was built as a hypostyle mosque supported by more than 850 columns.[4] Arab-style mosques continued under the Abbasid dynasty.
Ottoman architecture
The Ottomans introduced "central dome" mosques in the 15th century, which have a large dome centered over the prayer hall. In addition to having a large dome in the center, there are often smaller domes that exist off-center above the prayer hall or in the rest of the mosque, in areas where prayer is not performed.[5] The Dome of the Rock Mosque in Jerusalem is perhaps the best-known example of a mosque with a central dome.
Iranian sacred architecture
The "iwan mosques" are notable for their vaulted chambers and iwan, which are vaulted spaces open at one end. In iwan mosques, one or more iwans face a central courtyard that serves as a prayer hall. The style represents a borrowing from pre-Islamic Iranian architecture and has been used almost exclusively for mosques in Iran. Many iwan mosques are converted Zoroastrian fire temples in which the courtyard was used to house the sacred fire.[3] Today, iwan mosques are no longer built.[5] The Mosque of the Shah&action=edit&redlink=1 "Mosque of the Shah (Isfahan) (not yet redacted)") in Isfahan, Iran is a classic example of an iwan mosque.
Characteristic features and styles
A common feature in mosques is the minaret, the tall, slender tower that is usually located in one of the corners of the mosque structure. The top of the minaret is always the highest point in mosques that have it, and often the highest point in the immediate area. The first mosques did not have minarets, and even today the most conservative Islamic movements, such as the Wahhabis, avoid building minarets, considering them ostentatious and unnecessary. The first minaret was built in 665 in Basra during the reign of the Umayyad Caliph Muawiyah I. Muawiyah encouraged the construction of minarets, as they were supposed to equate mosques with Christian churches with their bell towers. Consequently, the architects of the mosques borrowed the shape of the bell tower for their minarets, which were used for essentially the same purpose: to call the faithful to prayer.[6].
Domes have been a hallmark of Islamic architecture since the 7th century. As time went by, the size of mosque domes increased, from occupying only a small part of the roof near the mihrab to encompassing the entire roof above the prayer hall. Although domes were typically semi-sphere-shaped, the Mughals of India popularized onion-shaped domes in South Asia and Persia.[7].
The prayer room, also known as musalla, lacks furniture; There are no chairs or benches in the prayer room.[8] The prayer rooms do not contain images of people, animals, or spiritual figures, although they may be decorated with Arabic calligraphy and verses from the Quran on the walls.
Normally, in front of the entrance to the prayer room is the qibla wall, which is the most visually prominent area within the prayer room. The qibla wall is usually placed perpendicular to a line leading to Mecca.[9] Worshipers pray in rows parallel to the qibla wall and are therefore positioned so that they face Mecca. In the qibla wall, usually in its center, is the mihrab, a niche or depression that indicates the qibla wall. Normally, the mihrab is also not occupied by furniture. Sometimes, especially during Friday prayers, a minbar or raised pulpit is placed on one side of the mihrab for a khatib or other speaker to deliver a sermon (khutbah). The mihrab is the place where the imam leads the five daily prayers on a regular basis.[10].
Mosques often have ablution fountains or other washing facilities in their entrances or courtyards. However, worshipers in much smaller mosques often have to use the bathrooms to perform their ablutions. In traditional mosques, this function is usually housed in a free-standing building in the center of a courtyard.[4] Modern mosques may have a variety of services available to their congregants and the community, such as health clinics, libraries, and gyms.