Darussalam Masjid Architecture

hello guys this me farooq ahmed starting with new blog about Darussalam Majid Architecture ,So let get started ....

Al-Aqsa Mosque (Arabic: المسجد الاقصى‎ Al-Masjid al-‘Aqṣā, the Farthest Mosque"), also known as Al-Aqsa and Bayt al-Maqdis, is the third holiest site in Islam and is located in the Old City of Jerusalem. Whilst the entire site on which the silver-domed mosque sits, along with the Dome of the Rock, seventeen gates, and four minarets, was itself historically known as the Al-Aqsa Mosque, today a narrower definition prevails,[note 1]and the wider compound is usually referred to as al-Haram ash-Sharif ("the Noble Sanctuary"),[3] or the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism. Muslims believe that Muhammad was transported from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to al-Aqsa during the Night Journey. Islamic tradition holds that Muhammad led prayers towards this site until the seventeenth month after the emigration, when God directed him to turn towards the Kaaba.

According to Wikipedia "The mosque was originally a small prayer house built by Umar the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, but was rebuilt and expanded by the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik and finished by his son al-Walid in 705 CE. The mosque was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 746 and rebuilt by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur in 754. His successor al-Mahdirebuilt it again in 780. Another earthquake destroyed most of al-Aqsa in 1033, but two years later the Fatimid caliph Ali az-Zahir built another mosque which has stood to the present day.During the periodic renovations undertaken, the various ruling dynasties of the Islamic Caliphate constructed additions to the mosque and its precincts, such as its dome, facade, its minbar, minarets and the interior structure. When the Crusaderscaptured Jerusalem in 1099, they used the mosque as a palace and the Dome of the Rock as a church, but its function as a mosque was restored after its recapture by Saladin in 1187. More renovations, repairs and additions were undertaken in the later centuries by the Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ottomans, the Supreme Muslim Council, and Jordan. Today, the Old City is under Israeli control, but the mosque remains under the administration of the Jordanian/Palestinian-led Islamic Waqf."

Architecture

The mosque is situated at the Southern end of the Haram ash-Sharif

The rectangular al-Aqsa Mosque and its precincts are 144,000 square meters (1,550,000 sq ft), although the mosque itself is about 35,000 square meters (380,000 sq ft) and could hold up to 5,000 worshipers.[41] It is 83 m (272 ft) long, 56 m (184 ft) wide.[41] Unlike the Dome of the Rock, which reflects classical Byzantine architecture, the Al-Aqsa Mosque is characteristic of early Islamic architecture.[42]

Dome

It has been suggested that Al-Qibli Chapel be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since November 2015.

The silver-colored dome consists of lead sheeting

Nothing remains of the original dome built by Abd al-Malik. The present-day dome was built by az-Zahir and consists of wood plated with lead enamelwork.[13] In 1969, the dome was reconstructed in concrete and covered with anodized aluminum, instead of the original ribbed lead enamel work sheeting. In 1983, the aluminum outer covering was replaced with lead to match the original design by az-Zahir.[43]

Al-Aqsa's dome is one of the few domes to be built in front of the mihrab during the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, the others being the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus (715) and the Great Mosque of Sousse (850).[44] The interior of the dome is painted with 14th-century-era decorations. During the 1969 burning, the paintings were assumed to be irreparably lost, but were completely reconstructed using the trateggio technique, a method that uses fine vertical lines to distinguish reconstructed areas from original ones.[43]

Facade and porch

The facade of the mosque. It was constructed by the Fatimids, then expanded by the Crusaders, the Ayyubids and the Mamluks

The facade of the mosque was built in 1065 CE on the instructions of the Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir Billah. It was crowned with a balustrade consisting of arcades and small columns. The Crusaders damaged the facade, but it was restored and renovated by the Ayyubids. One addition was the covering of the facade with tiles.[16] The second-hand material of the facade's arches includes sculpted, ornamental material taken from Crusader structures in Jerusalem.[45] The facade consists of fourteen stone arches,[4][dubious – discuss] most of which are of a Romanesque style. The outer arches added by the Mamluks follow the same general design. The entrance to the mosque is through the facade's central arch.[46]

The porch is located at the top of[dubious – discuss] the facade. The central bays of the porch were built by the Knights Templarduring the First Crusade,[dubious – discuss] but Saladin's nephew al-Mu'azzam Isa ordered the construction of the porch itself in 1217.[16][dubious – discuss]

Interior

The al-Aqsa Mosque has seven aisles of hypostyle naves with several additional small halls to the west and east of the southern section of the building.[17] There are 121 stained glass windows in the mosque from the Abbasid and Fatimid eras. About a fourth of them were restored in 1924.[26]

Interior view of the mosque showing the central naves and columns

The mosque's interior is supported by 45 columns, 33 of which are white marble and 12 of stone.[41] The column rows of the central aisles are heavy and stunted. The remaining four rows are better proportioned. The capitals of the columns are of four different kinds: those in the central aisle are heavy and primitively designed, while those under the dome are of the Corinthian order,[41] and made from Italian white marble. The capitals in the eastern aisle are of a heavy basket-shaped design and those east and west of the dome are also basket-shaped, but smaller and better proportioned. The columns and piers are connected by an architectural rave, which consists of beams of roughly squared timber enclosed in a wooden casing.[41]

A great portion of the mosque is covered with whitewash, but the drum of the dome and the walls immediately beneath it are decorated with mosaics and marble. Some paintings by an Italian artist were introduced when repairs were undertaken at the mosque after an earthquake ravaged the mosque in 1927.[41] The ceiling of the mosque was painted with funding by King Farouk of Egypt.[46]

The minbar ("pulpit") of the mosque was built by a craftsman named Akhtarini from Aleppo on the orders of the Zengid sultan Nur ad-Din. It was intended to be a gift for the mosque when Nur ad-Din would capture Jerusalem from the Crusaders and took six years to build (1168–74). Nur ad-Din died and the Crusaders still controlled Jerusalem, but in 1187, Saladin captured the city and the minbar was installed. The structure was made of ivory and carefully crafted wood. Arabic calligraphy, geometrical and floral designs were inscribed in the woodwork.[47] After its destruction by Rohan in 1969, it was replaced by a much simpler minbar. In January 2007, Adnan al-Husayni—head of the Islamic waqf in charge of al-Aqsa—stated that a new minbar would be installed;[48]it was installed in February 2007.[49] The design of the new minbar was drawn by Jamil Badran based on an exact replica of the Saladin Minbar and was finished by Badran within a period of five years.[47] The minbar itself was built in Jordan over a period of four years and the craftsmen used "ancient woodworking methods, joining the pieces with pegs instead of nails, but employed computer images to design the pulpit [minbar]."[48]

Ablution fountain

The mosque's "al-Kas" ablution fountain

The mosque's main ablution fountain, known as al-Kas ("the Cup"), is located north of the mosque between it and the Dome of the Rock. It is used by worshipers to perform wudu, a ritual washing of the hands, arms, legs, feet, and face before entry into the mosque. It was first built in 709 by the Umayyads, but in 1327–28 Governor Tankiz enlarged it to accommodate more worshipers. Although originally supplied with water from Solomon's Pools near Bethlehem, it currently receives water from pipes connected to Jerusalem's water supply.[50] In the 20th-century, al-Kas was provided taps and stone seating.[51]

The Fountain of Qasim Pasha, built by the Ottomans in 1526 and located north of the mosque on the platform of the Dome of the Rock, was used by worshipers for ablution and for drinking until the 1940s. Today, it stands as a monumental structure.[52]

Religious significance in Islam

In Islam, the term "al-Aqsa Mosque" refers to the entire Noble Sanctuary. The mosque is believed to be the second house of prayer constructed after the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. Post-Rashidun-era Islamic scholars traditionally identified the mosque as the site referred to in the sura (Quranic chapter) al-Isra ("the Night Journey"). This specific verse in the Quran cemented the significant religious importance of al-Aqsa in Islam.[53] The specific passage reads "Praise be to Him who made His servant journey in the night from the sacred sanctuary to the remotest sanctuary." Muslims traditionally identify the "sacred sanctuary" as the Masjid al-Haram and the "remotest sanctuary" as the al-Aqsa Mosque, even though initially, Rashidun and Umayyad-era scholars were in disagreement about the location of the "remotest sanctuary" with some[who?] arguing it was actually located near Mecca.[citation needed] Eventually scholarly consensus determined that its location was indeed in Jerusalem.[54][clarification needed]

Abu Dhar narrated: I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Which mosque was first built on the surface of the earth?" He said, "Al-Masjid-ul-Haram (in Mecca)." I said, "Which was built next?" He replied "The mosque of Al-Aqsa (in Jerusalem)." I said, "What was the period of construction between the two?" He said, "Forty years." He added, "Wherever (you may be, and) the prayer time becomes due, perform the prayer there, for the best thing is to do so (i.e. to offer the prayers in time)."

“

”

Sahih al-Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 55, Hadith Number 585[55][56]

Isra and Mi'raj

According to the Quran and Islamic traditions, al-Aqsa Mosque is the place from which Muhammad went on a night journey (al-isra) during which he rode on Buraq, who took him from Mecca to al-Aqsa.[57] Muhammad tethered Buraq to the Western Wall and prayed at al-Aqsa Mosque and after he finished his prayers, the angel Jibril (Gabriel) traveled with him to heaven, where he met several other prophets and led them in prayer.[58][59][60]

First qibla

Interior view of the mosque showing the mihrab, indicating the qibla

The historical significance of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Islam is further emphasized by the fact that Muslims turned towards al-Aqsa when they prayed for a period of sixteen or seventeen months after migration to Medina in 624; it thus became the qibla ("direction") that Muslims faced for prayer.[61] Muhammad later prayed towards the Kaaba in Mecca after receiving a revelation during a prayer session [Quran 2:142–151][62] in the Masjid al-Qiblatayn.[63][64] The qibla was relocated to the Kaaba where Muslims have been directed to pray ever since.[65]

The altering of the qibla was precisely the reason the Rashidun caliph Umar, despite identifying the mosque which Muhammad used to ascend to Heaven upon his arrival at the Noble Sanctuary in 638, neither prayed facing it nor built any structure upon it. This was because the significance of that particular spot on the Noble Sanctuary was superseded in Islamic jurisprudence by the Kaaba in Mecca after the change of the qibla towards that site.[66]

According to early Quranic interpreters and what is generally accepted as Islamic tradition, in 638 CE Umar, upon entering a conquered Jerusalem, consulted with Ka'ab al-Ahbar—a Jewish convert to Islam who came with him from Medina—as to where the best spot would be to build a mosque. Al-Ahbar suggested to him that it should be behind the Rock "... so that all of Jerusalem would be before you." Umar replied, "You correspond to Judaism!" Immediately after this conversation, Umar began to clean up the site—which was filled with trash and debris—with his cloak, and other Muslim followers imitated him until the site was clean. Umar then prayed at the spot where it was believed that Muhammad had prayed before his night journey, reciting the Quranic sura Sad.[66] Thus, according to this tradition, Umar thereby reconsecrated the site as a mosque.[67]

Because of the holiness of Noble Sanctuary itself—being a place where David and Solomon had prayed—Umar constructed a small prayer house in the southern corner of its platform, taking care to avoid allowing the Rock to come between the mosque and the direction of Kaaba so that Muslims would face only Mecca when they prayed.[66]

Religious status

Main articles: Holiest sites in Sunni Islam and Holiest sites in Shia Islam

Jerusalem is recognized as a sacred site in Islam. Though the Quran does not mention Jerusalem by name, it has been understood by Islamic scholars since the earliest times that many passages in the Quran refer to Jerusalem.[68] Jerusalem is also mentioned many times in the hadith. Some academics attribute the holiness of Jerusalem to the rise and expansion of a certain type of literary genre, known as al-Fadhail or history of cities. The Fadhail of Jerusalem inspired Muslims, especially during the Umayyad period, to embellish the sanctity of the city beyond its status in the holy texts.[69] Others point to the political motives of the Umayyad dynasty which led to the sanctification of Jerusalem in Islam.[70]

Later medieval scripts, as well as modern-day political tracts, tend to classify al-Aqsa Mosque as the third holiest site in Islam.[71] For example, Sahih al-Bukhari quotes Abu Darda as saying: "the Prophet of God Muhammad said a prayer in the Sacred Mosque (in Mecca) is worth 100,000 prayers; a prayer in my mosque (in Medina) is worth 1,000 prayers; and a prayer in al-Aqsa Mosque is worth 500 prayers more than in any other mosque".[72] In addition, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation refers to the al-Aqsa Mosque as the third holiest site in Islam (and calls for Arab sovereignty over it).[73]