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A mosque (/mɒsk/ MOSK), also called a masjid (/ˈmæsdʒɪd, ˈmʌs-/ MASS-jid, MUSS-),[note 1] is a place of worship for Muslims.[1] The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Islamic prayers are performed, such as an outdoor courtyard.[2][3]
Originally, mosques were simple places of prayer for the early Muslims, and may have been open spaces rather than elaborate buildings.[4] In the first stage of Islamic architecture (650–750 CE), early mosques comprised open and closed covered spaces enclosed by walls, often with minarets, from which the Islamic call to prayer was issued on a daily basis.[5] It is typical of mosque buildings to have a special ornamental niche (a mihrab) set into the wall in the direction of the city of Mecca (the qibla), which Muslims must face during prayer,[1] as well as a facility for ritual cleansing (wudu).[1][6] The pulpit (minbar), from which public sermons (khutbah) are delivered on the event of Friday prayer, was, in earlier times, characteristic of the central city mosque, but has since become common in smaller mosques.[7][1] To varying degrees, mosque buildings are designed so that there are segregated spaces for men and women.[1] This basic pattern of organization has assumed different forms depending on the region, period, and Islamic denomination.[6]
In addition to being places of worship in Islam, mosques also serve as locations for funeral services and funeral prayers, marriages (nikah), vigils during Ramadan, business agreements, collection and distribution of alms, and homeless shelters.[1][7] To this end, mosques have historically been multi-purpose buildings functioning as community centres, courts of law, and religious schools. In modern times, they have also preserved their role as places of religious instruction and debate.[1][7] Special importance is accorded to, in descending order of importance: al-Masjid al-Haram in the city of Mecca, where Hajj and Umrah are performed; the Prophet's Mosque in the city of Medina, where Muhammad is buried; and al-Aqsa Mosque in the city of Jerusalem, where Muslims believe that Muhammad ascended to heaven to meet God around 621 CE.[1] There's a growing realization among scholars that the present-day perception of mosques doesn't fully align with their original concept. Early Islamic texts and practices highlight mosques as vibrant centers integral to Muslim communities, supporting religious, social, economic, and political affairs.[8]
During and after the early Muslim conquests, mosques were established outside of Arabia in the hundreds; many synagogues, churches, and temples were converted into mosques and thus influenced Islamic architectural styles over the centuries.[7] While most pre-modern mosques were funded by charitable endowments (waqf),[1] the modern-day trend of government regulation of large mosques has been countered by the rise of privately funded mosques, many of which serve as bases for different streams of Islamic revivalism and social activism.[7]
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- ^ a b c d e f g h i John L. Esposito, ed. (2014). "Mosque". The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on December 25, 2017.
- ^ Longhurst, Christopher E; Theology of a Mosque: The Sacred Inspiring Form, Function and Design in Islamic Architecture, Lonaard Journal. Mar 2012, Vol. 2 Issue 8, p3-13. 11p. "Since submission to God is the essence of divine worship, the place of worship is intrinsic to Islam's self-identity. This 'place' is not a building per se but what is evidenced by the etymology of the word 'mosque' which derives from the Arabic 'masjid' meaning 'a place of sujud (prostration).'
- ^ Colledge, R. (1999). The mosque. In: Mastering World Religions. Macmillan Master Series. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14329-0_16 "A mosque is a building where Muslims bow before Allah to show their submission to His will. It is not necessary to have a building to do this. Muhammad said that 'Wherever the hour of prayer overtakes you, you shall perform the prayer. That place is the mosque'. In his early days in Makkah there was no mosque, so he and his friends would pray anywhere."
- ^ Grabar 1969, p. 34: "The main characteristic, then, of this first stage was the creation of a space which served exclusively Muslim purposes and which, in cities that were entirely Muslim, existed on two separate levels of exclusivity. The word masjid is always associated with these spaces, but it does not yet possess any formal structure nor does it have any precise function other than that of excluding non-Muslims."
- ^ Grabar 1969, p. 34-35: "A second stage occurred between 650 and 750. To my knowledge, twenty-seven masjids from this period are archaeologically definable… All mosques had a certain relationship between open and closed covered spaces. The problems posed by this relationship pertain primarily to the history of art, except on one point, which is the apparent tendency to consider the covered parts as the bayt al-salat, i.e. place of prayer, and the rest of the building as an overflow area for prayer. All these buildings were enclosed by walls and did not have an exterior façade. Their orderly form appeared only from the inside where the balance between open and covered spaces served, among other things, to indicate the direction of qibla. Their only outward symbol was the minaret, a feature which appeared early in mosques built in old cities with predominantly non-Muslim populations and only later in primarily Muslim ones."
- ^ a b Nuha N. N. Khoury (2009). "Mosque". In Juan Eduardo Campo (ed.). Encyclopedia of Islam. Infobase Publishing.
- ^ a b c d e Patrick D. Gaffney (2004). "Masjid". In Richard C. Martin (ed.). Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World. MacMillan Reference.
- ^ Utaberta, Nangkula; Asif, Nayeem; Rasdi, Mohd Tajuddin Mohd; Yunos, Mohd Yazid Mohd; Ismail, Nor Atiah; Ismail, Sumarni (2015-04-01). "The Concept of Mosque Based on Islamic Philosophy: A Review Based on Early Islamic Texts and Practices of the Early Generation of the Muslims". Advances in Environmental Biology. 9 (5): 371–375.