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Within the mosque, the mihrab is the key religious
feature. Although mihrabs lack the size and grandeur of other features
of the mosque such as the minaret, the mihrab has the greatest religious
importance. While minarets make political statements pertaining to the
mosque's power, the mihrab makes a religious statement. The mihrab is the
center focus of the mosque to which the congregation orients themselves
in prayer. Set within the qiblah wall, the mihrab is a concave, well-decorated
niche. Because of a Koranic passage, there are typically lamps and a prayer
rugs within the mihrab niche.
The mihrab to the left, from the Mosque of
Sokullu Mehmet in Istanbul, is flanked by candles and a prayer rug covers
the ground within the niche. To the right of the mihrab is another feature
of the Mosque, the minbar. This structure is designed with stairs leading
up to a podium from which the imans, leaders of prayer, address the
congregation and lead the prayer. |
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The
Orgins of the Word 'Mihrab'
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The word 'mihrab' derives from pre-Islamic
and folk cultures. From the history of these two cultures, the 'mihrab'
signifies an important place in a palace. However, the word lacks further
definition causing various scholars to theorize on the orgins of the word.
Based on the fact that the word 'mihrab' relates
to the palace, some scholars believe that the mihrab was designed by and
for the royal class. They believe that the mihrab was incorporated into
the mosque to reflect the superior status of royalty. However, this theory
is easily rejected considering mihrabs were not only a feature in official
mosques, but a feature of congregational mosques in the common people as
well.
Other scholars claim that the word 'mihrab'
originated in Muhammad's house. Since the first mihrab was in the Umayyad
Mosque in Madinah (the location of Muhammed's house), scholars believe
that the mihrab marks the honorary spot where Muhammad, when leading prayer,
planted his lance to indicate the space where people should pray. Despite
the various conjectures into the orgin of the word 'mihrab,' a clear definition
remains unknown. |
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The Orgins of the Mihrab
Niche
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The architectural form
of the mihrab originated from the Jewish synagogue. In the back of the
synagogue, a similar structure as the mihrab, a holy niche, was located.
However, Grabar points out that the basic structure of the niche, an arch
supported by two columns, has been a standard motif for worship from classical
times onwards. Therefore, the mihrab is a variation on a universal structure
designated for worship. However, the mihrab has individual details which
make it unique to the Islamic faith.
It remains vague exactly why and how the mihrab
originated as an Islamic art form. While the earliest mosques lacked a
mihrab niche, al-Walid I standardized its use in the mosque during his
reign. He is responsible for making the mihrab a traditional and mandatory
feature in the mosque. |
Mihrab from The Mosque of Sultan
Hassan, Cairo,
1250-1317 |
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The
Decoration of the Mihrab
|
| The Decoration of the
mihrab varies from region to region. Within mihrab and mosque decoration,
figural forms never exists. The decoration does not have definitive meaning
or narrative, but depends on Koranic inscription and pattern. Pattern oftern
occurs in either vegetal of geometric motifs. Vegetal motifs consist of
vines, arabesques, palmettes, and flowers. Sometimes decoration consists
of a combination between vegetal and geometric motifs. Within these motifs,
ornament is two-dimensional and extremely well-detailed. Rather than depict
individual forms, |
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decoration portrays the relationship between
repeated forms. Also, decoration often grows out from a central point.
The above picture of a Mausoleum from the
Fatimid Period in Cairo reveals the use of geometic decoration. The picture
to the left, a detail from the mihrab at the Great Mosque at Cordob, exemplifies
the use of Koranic inscription as well as the vegetal motif , visible in
the lower portion. |
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The
Great Mosque in Kairouan
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| The mihrab from the Great Mosque at Kairouan
dates from the Abbassid Period. It is considerably sized and well-decorated.
It is decorated with carved marble panels and tiles which were imported
from Iraq. The tiles were quite expensive and the craftsmen did not have
enough to complete the niche. Therefore, they placed the tiles in a chessboard
pattern in order to fill the space with only half the tiles needed. The
mihrab is supported by two marble columns with corinthian capitals, most
likely taken from another building. |
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The
Great Mosque at Cordoba
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| The mihrab niche from the Great mosque at Cordoba is quite unique.
Rather than following the typical protocol of a shallow niche within
the qiblah wall, it actually consists of an entire room. The result
is an increased darkness from the depth of the niche which suggests
the infinity of God. The room within the mihrab is octagonal. To enter
the room, one must pass under a horseshoe arch, typical of the Spanish
Umayyad culture. In front of the mihrab niche is a cupola (above right)
which enhances and dramatizes the mihrab niche. |
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The
Friday Mosque at Isfahan
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 |
The mihrab from Isfahan
is over six meters high and three meters wide. The decoration of the mihrab
depicts the common arrangement of concentric designs within rectangular
bands. The concentric designs consist of arabesque scrolls, sprouting vegetation,
and stippled palmettes. These motifs are worked over the entire structure.
In addition, the niche exhibits elegant inscriptions to Ali, Muhammad's
son-in-law and deemed his sucessor by the Shi'ite religion. Most
likely, the inscription was commissioned to commemorate Uljaytu's conversion
to Shi'ism at the end of 1309. The inscription was done by Haydar, the
most famous calligrapher of the times, who signed the work at the typanum's
foundation. |
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The
Mihrab versus The Apse
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Mihrab from The Mosque of Sultan
Hassan, Cairo,
1250-1317
|
Apse in Sant' Apollinare on Classe
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The mihrab was influenced by Jewish and Christian
religious prototypes. Therefore, both the mihrab and the apse share the
same religious importance within their holy structure. However, the mihrab
differs in many ways from the apse. Although it derives from the apse,
the mihrab exhibits characteristics specific to the Islamic world.
While the apse is a grand space elevated from
the rest of the church, the mihrab is quite humble. Unlike the apse, the
mihrab is a shallow niche and the focal point for prayer. Although one
can enter the mihrab at Cordoba, the common mihrab niche was meant solely
to be looked upon. The apse, on the otherhand, is a large space meant for
the high ministers of the church. The differences between the mihrab's
and the apse's use of space marks the main difference between the two structures.
The apse places the priest as a intermediary between God and the congregation.
Unlike the hierarchical system of Christianity, the Islamic mihrab simply
suggests the direction towards which each member of the congregation must
sit in prayer as they make their own connections with Allah. |
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 (details
from apse at Sant' Apollinare in Classe)
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(above detail from "San Vitale"
Christ on Globe of Universe Apse Mosaic)
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(detail from the Maidan Mosque,
Shi'i mihrab) |
| Besides differing in their architectural forms,
the mihrab and the apse contrast sharply in how they decorate the most
holy place in their religious buildings. While the church used figural
images to represent Christianity, the mihrab used pattern and inscription,
the word of God. The Islamic culture did not believe that religious figures
could be represented in their figural form. They also opposed the narratives
used in apse decoration. Instead, they sought to achieve a window into
the spiritual world through beautiful patterns and Koranic inscription. |
Bloom, Jonathan and Shila Blair. Islamic Arts.
London: Phaidon Press Limited, 1997.
Brend, Barbara. Islamic Art. Harvard: University
Press Cambridge, Massachussetts, 1991.
Grabar, Oleg. The Formation of Islamic Art.
New Haven: Yale University Press, 1973.
Irwin, Robert. Islamic Art in Context.
New York: Perspectives Prentice Hall, Inc., and
Harry N. Abrams,
Inc., Publishers, 1997.
