1. Islamic architecture (ARCH207) Lecture 1 June 13th 2010 By: Mr
Islamic architecture (ARCH207) Lecture 1 June 13th By: Mr.Zulkifli Husin

2. Architectural vacum – Time of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.
Under the 4 caliphs (S.Abu Bakr, S.Omar, S.Usman and S.Ali r.h) Islam spread from Hijaz Muqaddis to Damascus and Aqsa, entire Tigris and Euphrates, Nile Valley and South coast of Mediterranean until the eastern Persian.
Time Line: - Rasulullah s.w.a 632
Saidina Abu Bakr (632 – 634)
Saidina Omar ( )
Saidina Usman ( )
Saidina Ali (656 – 661)
The early muslim built big building was at Umayyid and Abbasid era.
About 30 years later after the death of the Prophets s.a.w. only the outstanding building appeared –
Dome of the rock and
the Al-Aqsa Mesjid and
Great Mesjid of Damascus
The Great Mesjid and Dar Al Imara at Kufa

3. ISLAMIC PERIOD (637 AD - 1258 AD)
1 EARLY ISLAMIC PERIOD (637 AD AD) Kufa and its famous Mosque
2 UMMAYAD PERIOD ( 661 AD AD)
Wasit (Mosque and Dar-al-Imara

4. Dome of the Rock: - Qubbat al-Sakhra (685 – 692 completed)
Time of Umayyad caliph Al-Marwan built in 695
Centrally planned building act as ciborium has associated with all 3 faiths.
On it or near it begun the Night-journey to heaven of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.
The design, with inner and outer ambulatory and many other interesting features has in the building.
The exterior is octagon with quartered marble and turkish tiles and glass mosaics covered the drum of the dome.The subject of the mosaics are tress, flowering plants and buildings.

5. Dome of the Rock: - Qubbat al-Sakhra (685 – 692 completed)
It has 4 portals, each with 2-columned vaulted porch.
It compose of Roman entablature with 24 arches and 8 piers.
The inner ambulatory is screened from the central chamber by the 16 arches and 4-piers supporting the drum of the dome.
The plan is based on 45 degree turning of one square upon another.
Vegetable motifs in the form of whole trees and vine scrolls spread over surfaces. No geomatrical ornament yet applied.
Crown symbolis Islam victory over persian empire.and anticipated Islam’s victory over Byzantium and over christian powers.

7. It was built on a platform over the rock of Mount Moriah by the Umayyad Caliph Abdul Malek bin Marwan.
It was completed in 691 A.D. , in the Al-Aqsa Mosque commemorating the Prophet Mohammad's journey to the Seven Heavens.
There are eight stairways with arcades leading to the raked platform of the Dome of the Rock. There is even a sun dial on top of the center top archway.
The shrine holds about 1,500 people.
The Rock is about 12 x 15 meters in size, and is about 2 meters high above the Al-Aqsa Mosque's level ground. There is a cave below the rock known as the "Cave Of Souls."
The inner wooden dome is decorated with stucco and it was restored by Salahuddin Al-Ayyoubi in 1187 A.D. after defeating the Crusaders.
During the Crusader period, the Dome of the Rock was renamed Templum Domini.
Some Biblical scholars and theologians think that the Dome of the Rock is not sitting on the Temples of God which were built by King Solomon. The bible scholars think that the original site of the temple was to the South near Fort Antonia.

8. Rock Of Mount Moriah
Dome Of The Rock, Ceiling

9. Back front
Back 7

10. Mesjid Al-Aqsa:
On one platform having 2 important building:
1) Mesjid Al-Aqsa (southern)
2) Qubbat As-Sakhra
S.Omar visit 668 at that time simple building built for muslims.
There was just a temporary structure built.
709 – 715 craftmen from Egypt work on the Al-Aqsa mesjid.
It is the first mesjid design arcades at right angles to qibla wall with the intension to orient the mihrab aisle upon the south entrance of Dome of the Rock.
The mesjid been rebuilt many times due to earth-quake.
1033 was rebuilt by fatimid caliph of Egypt Al-Zahir.
Consist 3 aisles east and west of the Mihrab aisles.

11. Back front

13. Interior view of the prayer hall of al-Aqsa Mosque

14. Great Mesjid of Damascus.
The most influential building of its time in Islam and remains today.
One of the monuments.
Structure executed by Syrian craftsmanship, with central spatial alterations and changes in proportion.
Central nave perpendicular to the qibla wall.
Rectangular plan so different from all previous mesjids with square plan.
Reason perhaps dictated by the site and earlier christian practice.
635 at the conquest of Damascus the building was Temple of Jupiter Damascenus.
New Great mesjid completed at 714.
The prayer hall was devided into three broad aisles with gable roofs parallel to the south wall.

15. Back Slide 2Front

17. The Ummayad Mosque, also known as the Grand Mosque of Damascus
The mosque holds a shrine which still today contains the head of John the Baptist (Yahya), honored as a prophet by both Christians and Muslims alike.
There are also many important landmarks within the mosque for the Shī‘ah, among them is the place where the head of Husain r.a the grandson of Muhammad s.a.w. was kept.
There is also the tomb of Saladin, which stands in a small garden adjoining the north wall of the mosque.

19. From the Treasury to the Wudu Khana, the Northern Wall of the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus is a grand space indeed

21. Mesjid Kufa
One of the earliest mosques in Islam, the original Great Mosque at Kufa was built on a square site determined by lance/trench thrown outwards in the four directions. It was constructed in the middle of the 7th century after the Caliph Omar established the city.
Surrounded by a trench, it possessed an arcade of marble columns that extended 20 meters in length. It measured approximately 100 square meters with the side of the qibla organized into five aisles and the others arranged into two. According to early literary sources, the aisles were demarcated by masonry block columns that rose to the height of the mosque's flat roof, which is described as being rather high.
The mosque has been redeveloped in various phases over the years and today it features an elegant gold dome and Saffavid tile work from the 17th and 18th centuries. Twenty-eight semi-circular towers support the exterior wall;
Furthermore, the qibla side of the mosque is structurally connected to the west wall of the Dar al-Imara.

22. The Mosque of Kufa in Iraq
Plan of the Original Mosque of Kufa after Creswell.

23. Back Slide 2Front

24. Other Umayyad architecture
The best known from a group of desert structures (often called qasr) constructed of stone and/or brick, which have been interpreted as princely residences.
The best-known examples include the eighth-century Khirbat al-Mafjar, Qusayr 'Amra ( ), Qasr al-Hayr (727-9, east & west), and Mshatta (744).
Usually square in plan, semi-circular towers buttressing the exterior walls and flanking entrance portals give the qusur a fortified appearance.
The interior spaces were arranged around a central porticoed courtyard. Often decorated with freestanding sculptures, carved stucco reliefs, fresco paintings and mosaics.

25. The great palace
On your way to the arcaded palace ahead, notice the numerous slabs of stone that cover the top of what was the city's drainage and sewage system.  These manholes are convincing evidence of the city's well-planned infrastructure.