ARCHITECTURE AS TAWHID
Masjid Al Haram
Masjid Al Haram also known as the Holy Mosque, is located in
Saudi Arabia, Makkah. This mosque is the primary destination of the Pilgrimage
known as Hajj in Arabic. The focal point being the Ka’bah at its cetre, this is
an extremely pronounced example of architecture that is unifying. One of the
main reasons why it is so is due to the fact that every Muslim around the world
prays facing the Ka’bah in the Mosques central courtyard, making it a place of
pilgrimage, which is defined as a holy area. Going back to the five pillars of
Islam; one requires every Muslim to perform Hajj – Pilgrimage at least once in
their lifetime– a the process which requires the pilgrims to walk seven times
around the Ka’bah in a counterclockwise direction – this circumambulation is
known as Tawaf. The Ka’bah causing thousands of people to go to it; is what
makes Masjid Al Haram an area that is unifying – hence defining that
architecture as so. Known as the holiest Mosque it is the only one that has no
Kiblah and through modifications made over the years to accommodate pilgrims
the entire mosque today covers an area of 356,800 square meters including the
outdoor and indoor praying spaces – which can accommodate up to 820,000
worshipers during the Hajj Period.
The Ka’bah is a large cube shaped stone structure
constituting of pillars that support the roof, a single room and a marble floor
– this is the heart of the Holy Mosque. It is the focal point around which
Masjid Al Haram is built. The four walls of the Ka’bah are covered with an
extremely heavy cloth known as Kiswah which is fastened by copper rings. The
founders of the Ka’bah as written in the Holy Qur’an are Ibrahim (Abraham) and
his son Ishmael – together they built the holy shrine dedicated to the worship
of God – Allah. To the eastern corner of this structure lies the black stone -
Al Hajar Al Aswad, which predates the birth of Islam, this is the essential
part of the Ka’bah. To the north east side of the structure lays a stone –
Maqam Ibrahim, which Ibrahim stood on while building the structure and near
this lies the well of zamzam.
Masjid Al Nabawi
This is the second most sacred structure, it is known as the
prophets’ mosque, the original mosque was actually built by prophet Muhammad
himself, next to the house he settled in after his emigration to Madinah (622).
It was built with palm trunks and mud walls; accessed through three doors, to
the south west and east. At first the mosque faced the north but when the
prayer direction was changed to Makah it was then reoriented to the south. Where
this mosque is, is also the area upon which Prophet Muhammad was buried. The
most noticeable feature is the green dome of the prophet, which rises higher
amongst all the others; this is where the Prophets tomb is located. Volunteers
guard this area, to help prevent pilgrims from touching the fence that
separates the tomb space.
The mosque served as a community centre, religious school
and a court. After considerable reconstruction to accommodate visiting Muslims,
the mosque is now 100 times larger than it was when the prophet built it. Both
Masjid Al haram and Masjid Al Nabawi are structures that unify the cities they
are located in, through adhering to the laws of Islam. Areas that maintain both
practical and spiritual character creating a close-knit society in a
sense. They are centers for Muslim
social life bringing people together like all mosques around the world – these
two being ones that bring the greatest amounts of people together and are
considered to be sanctuaries. Though there have been great modifications to
each Mosques’ due to expansion; the process should not threaten the meaning or
values of the original structures – the changes must be able to protect and
continue demonstrating the meaning and values of Islam. The construction of a
Mosque is generally considered a form of religious endowment – a voluntary
action that portrays irrevocable dedication to Islam, it is a permanent
dedication that cannot be given away/inherited; it was made to benefit the
community around – providing a place of worship and sanctuary.
