Islam and spiritual significance of architecture

[S.O.S]

In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Gracious,

 

Islam and spiritual significance of architecture

 

Islamic architecture is more that art, buildings or any structure that can be touched with the hands, seen with the eyes and felt with the heart. This architecture is also more than the social, historical, religious and economic prints of a civilisation, which eventually gives rise to the image and collective identity of a society. Islamic architecture goes beyond beauty and love, unimaginable to any existing civilisation, a beauty which is even beyond this world.

 

The reason I’m writing about this topic is to draw the attention of the Muslims (specially the youth) to a wide range of criminally neglected aspects of Islam. This will, I believe provide a better understanding of the central message of Islam, and especially counter all the negativity associated with the failings of Muslims worldwide, as evident politically, militarily and economically. Of which, the profound effect of this in the hearts and minds of the Muslims has been instead of understanding Islam as a universal Truth valid in all aspects of human activities at all times, that they think it is about power and as a consequence Islam, in their minds, has become constrained and limited to its materialistic status in this world, losing all spiritual function, meaning and emotion beyond matter.

 

I have also written this article with special eye for the simple minded so called Muslim “modernists†who, due to their inferiority complex, measure Islamic civilisation in its degree of blindly imitating modern western nihilism, agnostic and atheistic existentialism, materialism and their psychologisation of the spiritual world. For the record, the measure of Islamic civilisation, is Islam itself; “since Islam is the pillar and raison d`ètre of the civilisation that flourishes on its land, the degree of decay of that civilisation is to be measured primarily by the degree to which religion itself has weakened.†(Al-Badawi, Mustafa, 2002, Man & The Universe: An Islamic Perspective). To demonstrate my point (the meaning of Islam beyond material) and at the same time make it interesting for everyone to read, I choose architecture, but I could have equally chosen economics, the soul or any other aspect of Islam where spiritual and material collide.

 

 

The relationship between man and material

 

Before we can study what makes an architecture Islamic, even though the Islamic world is vast and spread over different continents, we accept the assumption that all Muslims share one principal unifying concept; the tawxiid which recognises the sovereignty of the Lord of the worlds over everything, and the willingly submitting of all acts in servitude and in humility in accordance with that universal Truth. From that principle, the Muslim is put, by Allah, in a position of trust (amaanah) to carry out the mission on whom he/she is trusted with (i.e. testifying in all your actions, glorifications and obedience as belonging to Allah alone). With trust comes freedom of care over what you are trusted with, but also responsibility and accountability comes with it too.

 

Allah (swt) said in His glorious Qur’aan: “We indeed offer the Trust to the Heavens and the Earth and the Mountains; but they refused to undertake it, being afraid thereof: But man undertook it:- he was indeed unjust and foolish;- (with the result) that Allah has to punish him the Hypocrites, men and women, and the Unbelievers, men and women, and Allah turns in Mercy to the Believers, men and women: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.†(33:72-73).

 

The mountains, the earth, the heavens and other creatures (within) declined the faculty of choice over the will of Allah, which, being Perfect and All-Wise, means that they enjoy far greater success and happiness than when left to decide for themselves with their imperfect knowledge. That is why Allah branded man as “unjust and foolish†because “…it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know.†(2:216).

 

Therefore, your body, children and spouse are trusted with you, just as flora, fauna and the whole environment in general is trusted with you. Also, your money, property and goods are a trust as much as your opportunities, skills and knowledge to enable you to make use of these resources that are trusted with you. Allah (swt), in warning us, said: “O ye that believe! Betray not the trust of Allah and the Messenger, nor misappropriate knowingly things entrusted to you. And know ye that your possessions and your progeny are but a trial: and that it is Allah with whom lies your highest reward.†(8:27-28). This means that nothing is ever really yours, but everything is temporarily trusted with you for the purpose of trial, unless you are too blind to see. “Seest thou not that Allah has made subject to you (man) all that is on the earth…†(22:65).

 

Typically, like all other things temporarily entrusted to you, it will eventually return to its rightful owner, as the following verses make clear. “It is We who will inherit the earth, and all beings thereon; to Us will they all be returned.†(19:40). “…to Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth…†(3:180). “To Him belongs all that is in the heaven and on earth…†(22:64). (please note that the “We†and “Us†in the above verses refer to the royal plural, which is a plural of Majesty and not of numbers). In case anyone is interested to know what is the purpose for being tried with something, temporally entrusted with them, then know the promise of Allah (swt) that “Those who faithfully observe their trusts and their covenants;…These will be the heirs,…who will inherit Paradise:†(23:8-11).

 

Allah (swt) in His Mercy, provided for us the manual and the ingredients, through revelations, made clear by His Messengers and Books, to help us succeed in our mission. It is because of His Devine Guidance which places us, Muslims, in a special position of trust and an extra responsibilities as He (swt) said: “Thus have We made of you an Ummat justly balanced. That ye might be witness over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves;†(2:143). Where again Allah, in turn, is witness over His Messenger which completes this vertical metaphysical relationship. Again just for the record, the opposite is the case with the unbelievers and that is because; “The unbelievers spend their wealth to hinder (men) from the path of Allah…†(8:36).

 

 

What makes an architecture Islamic?

 

In order to understand Islamic architecture it is necessary to overlook certain architectural features and elements subject to physical context. Because the dimension of geography, climate, material, etc. and all other surrounding physical environment, which may include human made factors such as cultural identity, are per se not Islamic, even though created or greatly influenced by the Islamic civilisation, we need to develop a higher and a deeper understanding of space, design and meaning. As the actions of Muslims are (or suppose to be any way) the manifestation of an abstract concept (Islam), their architecture should reflect the same denominator from which all other actions have originated. Therefore we focus first on the concept rather than the manifestation, which, as mentioned are subject to natural and human factors.

 

(I hope we don’t make the same mistake as the hyena made, when he thought, upon seeing “dhiil†that milk was a black object made of leather and tree)

 

“The concept of Unity in multiplicity is the determining factor in integrating Islamic societies. Historically the revelation of Islam as expressed by the prophet Mohammed and the Koran brought together the most diverse cultures and peoples from Spain across to India and beyond. The architecture of the Islamic world throughout history adapted and responded to different cultures and existing traditions of buildings without weakening the spiritual essence which was its source of inspiration.†(Garry, Martin. Building in the Middle East Today - in Search of a Direction).

 

Unfortunately we cannot expect from Mr Garry (as a non-Muslim) to teach us what these “spiritual essence†and “source of inspiration†exactly are, and there are not enough Muslim architects who have seriously attempted to study this field in great depth. However, I believe that architectural semantics is one of the few fields we can rely on the explanations given by Muslim philosophers, of whom we normally should be alert of their credo-religious speculations. As a non-architect and non-philosopher, I have no choice but to accept their perspective as long I don’t come across a better explanation.

 

Professor Seyyed Hussein Nasr explains in his “Young Muslim’s Guide to the Modern World†that “One might say that the Islamic perspective is based on the dimension of beauty in life and relates beauty and goodness to the very nature of Allah as asserted in the well known hadith, ‘Allah is beautiful and He loves Beauty’.†He goes on to say; “Islam, of course, borrowed many techniques from various civilisations such as the Persian and Byzentine in such fields as architecture….. But it transformed all the material that it borrowed from various civilisations in the light of the Quranic revelation and created very distinct artistic forms which can be seen in the lands stretching from East to West.â€

 

In Professor Mohammed Arkoun’s words; “God, the angels the cosmos and eschatological expectations are simultaneously both sources and objects of spiritual contemplation, the initiators and ultimate references of the systems of values and beliefs transmitted and reproduced with devotion in each spiritual tradition. All individuals born and trained in such a tradition spontaneously share the inherited ‘values’ and psychological mechanisms of spritualisation, sacralisation, transcendentalisation of the profane, and the modest realities of their own environments. It is crucial to make a clear distinction between spirituality, sacredness and transcendence as substantive values used in theology and classical metaphysics, and spritualisation/sacralisation and transcendentalisation as the products of the agents of social, cultural and historical activities.†(Arkoun, Mohammed, 1995, Spirituality and Architecture – in Architecture Beyond Architecture).

 

These explanations do indicate the importance of the spiritual dimension of architecture, but they are too philosophical and don’t directly answer the practical relationship between the inner spiritual and outer material manifestations. Even if we accept that “in much of Islamic architecture, space is ‘cut out’ from the material forms around it and is defined by the inner surfaces of these forms†at face value (see S. Akkach/S. Hossein Nasr in the Image of the cosmos, order and symbolism in traditional Islamic architecture), we still need to conceptualise in an understandable shape, language and image, the nature of that relationship.

 

If we go back to the common denominator of all facade manifests following human acts, which we said as (supposed to be) having originated from the universal abstract of Islam, then spiritually, what is true for the Islamic character as manifested in the Muslim individual, must also be true for the Islamic architecture as manifested in an object or a building (the fact that it is not the case anymore, not only on a micro-level, such as the Muslim and the house, but on a macro-level as well, such as the Ummah and its governance, is a separate issue which needs our urgent attention).

 

This means that the focus of the Islamic architecture is on the interior space as supposed to the exterior, which is similar to the Muslim character who’s beauty is inside the heart and not his/her appearance. In fact, the correlate is especially true with the pious Muslim women who often form the true heart of the house, in terms of the peace, care and the interior decoration, within her separate and unique taste for style (i.e. the choice of calligraphic patterns, geometric and floral patterns, and the use of natural and artificial fragrances, light, etc.). It is a style well known to non-Muslim western architects, of which they unsurprisingly perhaps, refer to as the “architecture of the veilâ€, because its innermost sanctum (family and private life) is protected and kept secret. Ernst Grube commented “that it is an architecture that must be experienced by being entered and seen from within†which he calls the “hidden architecture†(see Architecture of the Islamic World, 1978, Thames and Hudson).

 

Furthermore seyyed hossein Nasr states that “the whole beauty of the Muslim city is turned inward and not outward. The traditional Muslim houses, whether of the rich or the poor, are not that different from the outside. Therefore, excessive inequality in the public eye is prevented. The beauty of the house is to be found mostly within its walls. It is within the house that the joy and serenity which accompanies the worship of Allah and the enjoyment of His Bounties, especially the felicity connected with family life, are reflected.â€

 

 

What makes architecture beautiful?

 

The understanding of the Western world in particular and the non-Muslim world in general, have been, although admittedly slow, abandoning their centuries old naïve idea that “beauty†was the property of physical object as a primitive attribute of perception, in favour of one which is closer to the Islamic perspective. The prevailing consensus in architectural theory since last century is that “beauty†is an “aesthetic feeling which could be aroused by a perception†(Hesselgren, 1969, The Language of architecture).

 

In other words, beauty in Islamic architecture becomes the measure of the emotions connected with a perception by the use of spiritual meanings. If therefore perception forms the link between emotion and meaning, between material and spiritual, then with knowledge and the skill of the trained mind/eye, we can theoretically by perception of an object alone, call all its associated emotions and meanings. Consequently we can taste the spiritual emotions and the functional meanings of ancient Islamic buildings, which is almost exactly the equivalent of what the original craftsmen and builders felt, in terms of function, meaning and emotion while building these objects, even though thousands of years have separated us (that should be credited to the timeless universal concept of Islam).

 

The best example is the Kacbah, which is built with the greatest love (for Allah), greatest care, greatest emotion, greatest function and the greatest meaning than any other building is ever built on earth. It was built with a heavenly inspiration for the sake of Allah (swt) and not from/for an earthly material desire. Allah informs us when He says; “And remember Abraham and Ismael raised the foundations of the House (with the prayer): ‘our Lord! Accept (this service) from us…†(2:127) and He (swt) “made the House a place of assembly for men and a place of safety…†(2:125). In addition, it was concurred, renovated and purified with great inspiration, care, love, function and meaning by our beloved Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) together with his companions. When the true Muslim builds while remembering his Lord, it becomes an act of worship, even if he/she is to house his family in that building, and if he/she builds a mosque for His (swt)’s sake, Allah will build him/her a house in Paradise. Thus no act of a true humble servant will ever be futile with Allah, therefore no remnant of a worship which pleases/d the Most Merciful can be equal with anything else meant to satisfy the lower bestial nature of the “selfâ€.

 

With that widely accepted architectural criterion of beauty, the Kacbah, with its beautifully simple geometric cubic shape, which over the history has moved so many billions of souls in sights, in thoughts and in dreams, to spiritual heights that nothing can ever be compared with, is the most beautiful architectural masterpiece ever built in the history of mankind. This empty block-shaped space has unified and still unifies the Muslims, comparable to the way north-pool unifies all the magnetic needles. The Kacbah is a symbol of the unity of Allah and not an object of worship itself (and that it hasn’t become as such, and that the spiritual dimension always prevailed over the material is evidence and a miracle at the same time), it also represents a link between this world and the next, and unifies the earth with the heavens.

 

 

My point

 

My first point is, if one strips away all the spiritual, functional and emotional dimensions from the Kacbah, and are left with only a very simplistic material object, much like what we did and are doing with Islam, be it due to ignorance for not intellectually being able to recognise or experience such dimensions, or be it due to these superficial modernists who suffer from spiritual bankruptcy, we shall be left with empty and meaningless rituals. Then our hearts will only be capable of seeing material status, and to enhance it, we mutilate, innovate and imitate blindly, following our desires. Islam is a structure like architecture, where the content cannot be divorced from the skeletal framework, and the spiritual significance of its inner dimensions always remain the vital ingredient in order to achieve proportional balance of function, meaning and emotion to guarantee success and happiness in this life and hereafter.

 

Before anyone interprets that what I’m saying in materialistic sense, and accuses me of opposing to copy our capitalist master’s cold and concrete skyscraper building style, with a function and meaning alien to Islamic values of modesty and servitude, and as they lack any form of spiritual dimension, only represent soulless space which has become a symbol of exploitation and oppression. No, in fact what I’m saying is that Muslims should adopt skills and engineering techniques to face the challenges of population densities in urban areas in a manner which is true to the Islamic spirit and weltanschauung , however naturally, culturally or in whatever “zeitgeist†is manifested upon. We don’t need to compete for the tallest building in the world as some Muslims are doing, clearly wasting valuable resources of material, manpower and money, for no purposive way as the confession of Twxiid demands of us. It may be a self-fulfilling prophesy to catalyse the signs of The Hour, as our Prophet described to us, and that is what I oppose.

 

My second point is that we Muslims have become blinded by our pursuit of material wealth, forgetting the real purpose of life in the process. In reality I wouldn’t have cared if the problem was limited to the few extremely wealthy who are a minority in the Muslim world. But the problem is that the “have-nots†are strangely enough more blinded by the worldly glitter than we otherwise would expect to, and that is one of the symptoms associated with ignorance, religious weakening and spiritual bankruptcy of the Muslims. The best example I can think of is the story of Qaaruun as mentioned in the Qr’aan. Allah (awt) says:

 

“So he went forth among his people in the (pride of his worldly) glitter. Said those whose aim is the life of this world: ‘Oh! That we had the like of Qaaruun has got! For he is truly a lord of mighty good fortune!’ But those who had been granted (true) knowledge said: ‘Alas for you! The reward of Allah (in the hereafter) is best for those who believe and work righteousness: but this none shall attain, save those who steadfastly persevere (in good).’

 

“Then We caused the earth to swallow up him and his house; and he had not (the least little) party to help him against Allah, nor Could he defend himself. And those who had envied his position the day before began to say on the morrow: ‘Ah! It is indeed Allah who enlarges the provision or restricts it, to any of his servants He pleases! Had it not been that Allah was generous to us, He could have caused the earth to swallow us up! Ah! Those who reject Allah will assuredly never prosper.’†See (28:79-82).

 

The above story has so many incredible moral lessons and if we think about it, we may learn great deal about ourselves and the situation of the world today. I’m looking to forward to your comments, negative or positive, and any corrections made to my mistakes.

 

Your brother in Islam,

Shams-ud-Din

[Muhammad]

Brother Shams-ud-Din,

 

that was an eye opening article, Jazakallah Khair.

 

I've been recently reading and fascinated by the Great Mosque of Tlemcen, the Almurabitun era. specially their white horse arches.

 

 

simply magnificent, breathtaking!

 

 

[S.O.S]

Dear Brother Muhammad,

 

Indeed that mosque is very beautiful and other well known architectural master pieces of the Islamic world, including the blue mosque, the Alhambra palace, the great Ummayad mosque, the Tajmahal, etc, all of which represent a truly beautiful artwork. This is a beauty of divine aspiration which started with the buildings of mosques, because the love and hope of mercy from the One with the Most Beautiful names and attributes necessitates an artistic expression which elevates the relationship between the prayer, the prayer-space and the One prayed to. Later on, the artistic architecture was expanded to include public places and royal palaces, but there is no doubt about the spiritual origination of Islamic architecture as a transcending expression.

 

The same is true for the calligraphic texts, even though Arabic writing predates the Islamic civilization, calligraphy only came into existence when the written text became sacred, which also necessitated a new relationship between the servant and his Lord, whose very words were, to spiritualise, beatify and magnify in a transcending expression.

 

From that point of view we have a complex interconnectedness of projected beauty in the Islamic world and the sacred nature of its structure. Otherwise, using philosophical context of architectural beauty, why would the most beautiful places in the world be corresponding with the most sacred places of Islam. This kind of beauty demands knowledge and understanding in order to fully appreciate, and therefore, unfortunately not everyone experiences it the same way. It would be no surprise to know that the Kacbah for example, was most beautiful in the eyes of our Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and less and less beautiful the more and more you’re removed from his understanding and appreciation.

 

Micheal Wolf’s book “One Thousand Years of a Pilgrimage to Mecca†demonstrates this fact beautifully. In that book the author collected many accounts of travellers who visited Makkah for one reason or another, among them Shiicaa, Suufii, Hypocrites, slaves, royals, reverts and renegades. In their accounts it becomes clear that not everyone experiences the sight of the Kacbah the same way, which only becomes clear if you read these accounts keeping in mind their different back grounds.

 

Nevertheless, we know about children who live in “miyyiâ€, and upon seeing pictures of the Kacbah with people doing dawwaaf around it, started crying and wetting the ground beneath their feet with tears. I have my own personal explanations for it, but I rather refrain from sharing it with others now.

 

P.S. I’m glad you liked the article, I didn’t think anyone would even take the time to read it completely.

[Khayr]

Salams,

 

This is a good topic and one of the authors

 

mentioned, Seyyed Hossein Nasr has written some

 

books on Islamic Art. I suggest you read them and

 

check for him on google or Amazon.com under books.

 

When time permits inshallah, I will contribute

 

with a more detailed response.

 

Furthermore seyyed hossein Nasr states that “the whole beauty of the Muslim city is turned inward and not outward. The traditional Muslim houses, whether of the rich or the poor, are not that different from the outside. Therefore, excessive inequality in the public eye is prevented. The beauty of the house is to be found mostly within its walls. It is within the house that the joy and serenity which accompanies the worship of Allah and the enjoyment of His Bounties, especially the felicity connected with family life, are reflected.â€

 

If I am not mistake,

 

the Muslim Home should be an Extension OF THe MASJID.

 

Meaning that its decore should reflect the Muslim

 

Soul, the Islamic Personalities that reside in

 

that home. You can't have an abode that resembles that of a non-muslim and still seriously consider yourself MUSLIM-100%-YOU WOULD BE SUFFERING FROM

IDENTITY CRISISSSS!

 

Fi Amanillah

[Muhammad]

I was surfing the net and came accross this,

Tour the Islamic Garden

 

 

 

 

The World Service visits Arundel, in the South East of England, where we talk to John Brookes, an authority on gardens of the Islamic world.

 

Geometry and water are two prominent features in Islamic gardens, both have symbolic meaning.

 

The symbol of the garden, in general, is a powerful one in the Koran. The story of creation unfolded in a garden and God is considered to be the first gardener.

 

We also visit an Islamic garden in the heart of London. It's a rooftop courtyard garden, part of the Ismaili Centre. We are shown around by Professor Azeem Nanji, Director of the Institute of Ismaili Studies.

 

Discover the spiritual significance of the garden's geometrical design and the importance of the courtyard - which is viewed as a dividing line between the outer and inner worlds.

 

In the Islamic world gardens are seen as a place of peace, an escape from the noise outside and the scorching heat of the desert. Perhaps the best place on Earth to feel close to God.

 

This idea could be widened to include the western world where people increasingly need to escape from the noise of the urban desert, into the peace and tranquillity of a spiritually uplifting garden.

[S.O.S]

Brother Muhammad, thanks for the link.

It is very intresting to note that, not only the resent wave of interest in Islamic gardens, but even in the victorian and the georgian erra, there was always a demand for Islamic gardens among the upper class and aristocracy. It was made seem like a big news when recently Prince Charles did an Islamic style makeover with his garden, but it was nothing new. We prefare them to seek/find the inner peace and tranquility of Islam as a FAITH, instead of as a GARDEN though!

[Khayr]

Salamz,

 

Mutakalim brother, you can help with this one,

Suhrawardi has written something about the

'Islamic Garden', do you happen have information on it.

 

Fi Amanillah

[Yeniceri]

Furthermore seyyed hossein Nasr states that “the whole beauty of the Muslim city is turned inward and not outward. The traditional Muslim houses, whether of the rich or the poor, are not that different from the outside. Therefore, excessive inequality in the public eye is prevented.

The beauty of the house is to be found mostly within its walls

. It is within the house that the joy and serenity which accompanies the worship of Allah and the enjoyment of His Bounties, especially the felicity connected with family life, are reflected.â€

[/b]

That's a very true and meaningful quote. In a nutshell, this ideal challenges the norm of non-Muslim architectural design across the globe, and, at the same time, attests to the true intention of Islamic architectural design. It is an ideal that separates the architectural doctrine of Muslims from that of the non-Muslims, thereby setting the Muslim doctrine in a league entirely its own. A fancy, million-dollar house reinforces the notion of social segregation due to economic standards - and that's not what Islam is about. Islam is about equality and fairness, in matters as diverse as social justice and even architecture. An extravagant house benefits the owner(s); but that same house will undoubtedly attract the jealousy and envy of neighbors and passers-by. Does one really need that?

 

We don’t need to compete for the tallest building in the world as some Muslims are doing, clearly wasting valuable resources of material, manpower and money, for no purposive way as the confession of Twxiid demands of us.

The Muslim Ummah is in a sad state of affairs, religiously, socially, economically and politically. Yet, some wealthy Muslims, the relative minority, are busy competing for the world's tallest building or what not. Meanwhile, our Muslim brethren are starving and dying across the globe, in different countries on different continents. Ideally, the Muslim Ummah is supposed to function as a single entity (comparable to the human body) whereby if a part of the Ummah (the body) is reeling in pain, the whole Ummah is supposed to feel that pain and work together to find a lasting remedy. Are we doing that?

 

As a side note and this might help to illustrate one of the author's points, I read an article published by a UK-based paper, The Guardian, following the death of King Fahd and its effect in Spain. Honestly, I was stunned by a revelation I read in that article:

 

"... No wonder, then, that the people of the town grieved the death of King Fahd, declaring three days of official mourning - three more than in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia itself...Yesterday, as the coastal resort got back to some semblance of normality, the locals were left wondering whether Fahd's successor, King Abdullah, would still be needing the family's holiday home - the Nahda complex, which boasts a copy of the White House and several other palaces."

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/spain/article/0,2763,1543730,00.html

 

My question, after reading that article, was (and still is): What prompted the late Saudi leader to build an edifice that is the replica of the White House?

 

The late leader was a very wealthy man who could've contracted some of the world's best architects to construct him a building of any kind. Yet, out of all buildings in the world and despite his ability to use imagination, he built a replica of the White House. Did this man believe in America and its ideals so much as to even emulate its base of power?

 

Jazaaka'Laah Kheyr for posting such an enlightening article. I hope it generates more fruitful discussion.