In the wake of the conquest of Makkah, in the eighth year after the Hijrah, most of the Arabian Peninsular communities wittingly entered the fold of Islam. Those who declined to do so – covertly or otherwise – peacefully accepted the rule of Islam and the Muslims. It was around this time that the Prophet (pbuh) proclaimed that there is no Hijrah (migration) to Madinah after the take-over of Makkah; there remained only jihad and niyyah (intending good in all actions) afterwards.[1] The Prophet (pbuh) used to encourage people from then on to stay where they were, and to contribute whatever they could in implementing and disseminating the Word of God elsewhere, since “To Allah belongeth all that is in the heavens and on earth…” (al-Baqarah 284), and “To Allah belong the East and the West: whithersoever ye turn, there is Allah’s Face. For Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.” (al-Baqarah 115)

Continue reading “La Hijrah ba’d al-Fath” (No Migration after the Conquest): Implications for the City of Madinah →

It is an undeniable truth that a proper education is a key to the Islamization and revival of Islamic culture and civilization. A comprehensive educational vision and plan, coupled with concrete policies and laws and their avid and wise enforcements, account for the most powerful force that can lead to making the idea of a contemporary Islamic civilization a reality. A clever synthesis of knowledge and authority is the best way for taking the idea of a modern-day Islamic civilization from the world of abstract ideas to the real world of corporeal challenges and realities.

Continue reading An Alliance of Knowledge and Power →

In Islam, believers, worship as a lifestyle, and the notion of the mosque as a community center, are inseparable. They originate from each other, needing one another for their proper functioning and continued existence. The mosque is as old as man on the earth, because the truth (Islam) is also as old. The first man and at the same time prophet, Adam, built the first mosques on the earth. The first mosques built were the al-Masjid al-Haram in Makkah and the al-Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. The interlude separating the two ancient mosques was forty years.

Continue reading Restoring the Mission of the Mosque →

Introduction

The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem built – as commonly perceived[1] – between 65/684 and 72/691 within the precincts of the al-Aqsa Mosque (al-Haram al-Sharif or Noble Sanctuary)[2] is the earliest existing monument of Islamic architecture. Its significance lies in its geographical, historical and religious contexts, as well as in its status as the first genuine representation of the then rising phenomenon of Islamic art and architecture. The structure’s form, details and its choice of constitutive elements manifested that the evolution of the identity of Islamic art has finally after a steady progression approached its final stage.

Continue reading The Significance of the Rock (Sakhrah) inside the al-Aqsa Mosque →

Introducing the Muslim market in Madinah

Since production and trade are two key elements for the development of a city, transformations that the city-state of Madinah underwent show that the markets of Madinah both conceptually and spatially had been affected too following the Hijrah. At first, the Muslims used to avail themselves of the existing markets most of which have been controlled by the Jews. In these markets the blasphemous and perverse Jews perpetrated many errant practices, so the Muslims gradually developed a strong aversion to doing business there. And so a new market controlled by the Muslim community was shortly set up.

Continue reading Madinah Market during the Prophet’s Time (Part 2) →

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Spahic Omer
Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design
International Islamic University Malaysia
E-mail: spahico@yahoo.com
 

It was on account of the remarkable historical importance of the al-Masjid al-Aqsa that it served as the first qiblah (direction of prayer) to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his followers for about 18 months following the migration from Makkah to Madinah. After that, the qiblah was shifted towards the al-Masjid al-Haramin Makkah. Having faced in his prayers the two most ancient, and historically speaking the most significant, mosques on earth, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) thus acknowledged the validity and truthfulness of all the previous prophets and messengers and the original messages that had been revealed to them. In point of fact, moreover, believing in the earlier prophets and their original revelations constitutes one of the pillars of the message or the revelation revealed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Denying any earlier prophet, or any revelation of the original revelations, Islam views as a blasphemous act which rescinds one’s association with Islam and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) rendering him a non-Muslim.

Continue reading The al-Masjid al-Aqsa and the al-Masjid al-Haram as the First and Second Qiblah →

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Spahic Omer
Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design
International Islamic University Malaysia
spahico@yahoo.com

The significance of the Rock (Sakhrah)

Much has been written and said about the Rock (Sakhrah) which lies within the al-Aqsa Mosque proper (al-Haram al-Sharif or Noble Sanctuary),[1]yet scholars throughout history considerably differed – and still do – in their verdict as to what the real status and function of the Rock is. By and large, this phenomenon can be attributed partly to the fact that some aspects of the Rock phenomenon remained shrouded in several and hitherto unresolved mysteries, and partly to the contrasting religious, political, cultural and social inclinations of those who safeguarded, administered, studied, wrote or narrated about the al-Aqsa Mosque. The truth, however, is thatthe Rock bears no special importance whatsoever. It is significant inasmuch as it constitutes a part of the al-Aqsa Mosque, the second mosque on earth set up forty years after the construction of the Ka’bah.[2]In no way can the Rock be held more important and, as such, more revered than the other parts of the al-Aqsa Mosque. Everything that the Holy Qur’an and Prophet (pbuh) have said about the al-Aqsa Mosque applied as much to the Rock as to the rest of the sections of the Mosque.[3]

Continue reading Who Built the Dome of the Rock and When? →

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Spahic Omer
Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design
International Islamic University Malaysia
Email: spahico@yahoo.com

Since from the very beginning the mosque institution was the nucleus of the Muslim life and activities, a code of ethics for establishing and using it had to be created under the guardianship of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and divine revelation, lest some people might start misusing it, intentionally or otherwise, or might start developing a code of moral principles on their own which, as a rule, would have been dictated by the norms and rituals of the jahiliyyah (ignorance) era. However, as the religion of Islam was revealed to the Prophet (pbuh) gradually and in stages, through instructions, responses and answers to various dilemmas and developments confronting the nascent Muslim community, so that the heart of the Prophet (pbuh) and the hearts of his followers could be calmed, strengthened and galvanized, likewise the introducing and fully activating of the phenomenon of the mosque, the ground for the implementation of many a regulation and teaching of Islam, could not be an exception to the rule of gradual revelation and application of Islam. Such was a gradual process too, certainly no less painstakingly undertaken than the other aspects of Islam and its civilizational mission. While subjecting the evolution of the mosque to the golden principles of gradation and educational transformation, the Prophet (pbuh) proved to be very sensitive and responsive to the needs and capacities of the young but fast expanding Muslim community. In so doing, he was not hasty, impatient or autocratic. Rather, he was prudent, compassionate, resourceful and farsighted. He was the greatest teacher, pedagogue, reformer and psychologist. Definitely, the code of conduct for establishing and using mosques which was constructed by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) under the aegis of revelation is universal and timeless, applying to every time and space, as it is the case with the whole corpus of Islamic beliefs, values and principles.

Continue reading A Code of Conduct for Establishing and Using Mosques →

Islam as the Final and Universal Revelation

That Islam is the final and universal revelation from God to mankind constitutes a foundation stone of the conceptual framework for Islamic architecture. The other three cornerstones of the same conceptual or philosophical framework are: tawhid (the idea of God’s Unity or Oneness), man as the vicegerent (khalifah) on earth and his peaceful and accountable relationship with environment, and comprehensive excellence (ihsan or itqan).

Continue reading Islam as the Final and Universal Revelation: Implications for Islamic Architecture →