Architecture

Published: 2002

The first of Islam’s three great shrines is the Ka’ba in Mecca. For Muslims, this mosque is the holiest spot on Earth. All mosque mihrabs face the Ka’ba, so Muslims pray toward Mecca.

Islam can be seen as the spokes of a wheel radiating from the Ka’ba. This picture shows the rite of circumambulation, one of the rites of the hajj or pilgrimage. The lines inscribed in the pavement are also circular.

The second great Islamic shrine is the Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Madina, Saudi Arabia. The Prophet founded this mosque in 622, and he is buried under its floor. In 707, under the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I, the mosque, including the enclosure of the Prophet’s tomb, was enlarged.

The mosque was decorated with marble and gold-glass mosaics depicting trees and buildings. These decorations covered the walls of the open courtyard and the colonnaded sanctuary against the south wall. The Abbasids, Mamluks, and Ottomans redecorated the mosque. Most recently, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia refurbished and enlarged the entire mosque.

The rectangular mosque enclosure has five minarets and a large green dome. The mihrabs are Mamluk and Ottoman. With its bipartite division and axial plan, this mosque became a prototype for later Islamic religious buildings. The prototype is called an “Umayyad hypostyle mosque.”

Al Sakhra Mosque was constructed 680-692 CE. The last of the three great shrines of Islam is Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock, a masterpiece of world architecture in Jerusalem, is another Islamic holy site. The Dome of the Rock is the crowning jewel, like the Taj Mahal in India and the Alhambra in Spain; it is a celebrated example of Muslim art. The Dome of the Rock was built in 680–692 A.D./C.E. and thus holds the unique distinction of being the first monument of Muslim civilization.

The structure is lavishly faced with brilliantly colored ceramic tiles and surmounted by a massive golden dome, which has just been fully restored. Abd al-Malik bin Marwan built the Dome of the Rock seven years after he proclaimed the Muslim civilization’s seventh caliph. His family became known as the Umayyad Dynasty. Centered in Damascus, they ruled the region for 110 years, from Casablanca to Khurasan. Like the Medicis in Florence, some seven hundred years later, the Umayyads were major sponsors of art and contemporary craft. Tradition says this is the same rock used in Abraham’s sacrifice. Later tradition says this same rock was the point from which the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven on the mystic Mount Buraq. This ascension is called “Mi’raj.” The Dome of the Rock is a unique masterpiece of Muslim art.

The Taj Mahal (Crown of the Palace) was built in Agra, India, for Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan’s favorite wife. Considered the greatest masterpiece of Indo-Islamic architecture, the mausoleum was built between 1632 and 1648. With a profile as distinct as the Tower of Pisa, the Pyramids, or the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal has become an icon for the country where it stands.