Architecture in Islamic Civilization

Thursday, 17 June 2010

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Written by Dr. Ragheb Elsergany

Introduction
One of the aspects of greatness and perfection of Islamic civilization is that it did not ignore the aesthetic factor as an important value in mans life. It dealt with the concept of beauty on the ground that feeling of and inclination to beauty is an innate disposition in the bottom of sound human souls, which like beauty and get fascinated by everything that is beautiful and stay aloof from everything that is ugly. Undoubtedly, aesthetic creativity is a basic dimension in human civilization. Any civilization lacking in the element of beauty and methodologies or manners of expressing beauty fails to respond to the natural human feelings and satisfy psychological desires, which always long for everything that is beautiful. In these articles, we review part of beauty aspects in Islamic civilization those aspects that shaped the general frame for that civilization, imbuing it with perfection and glory, as well as with a human nature.

Islamic Arts
Arts in general are considered as a basic aspect of the society-dominating culture. In particular, Islamic art is one of the purest and most accurate forms narrating the story of Islamic civilization and mirroring the human civilization. Islamic art is one of the greatest arts produced by world civilizations in the old and modern ages. However, it did not receive the research and study it really deserves. A lot of those who had written about the Islamic art, their writings have not actually been based on the intellectual and cultural criteria of the Islamic arts, but rather on Western criteria. Several artistic forms carried an Islamic style and set the Islamic civilization above others. Those forms include architecture, arabesque and Arabic calligraphy.

Islamic Architecture
Producing Islamic architecture has a special identity and style, which eyes never deny because of its beautiful designing, unique architectural elements and ornamentations, Muslim engineers have been architectural professionals. They set the designs and minute details as well as the solid models required for implementation, side by side with initial measurements. Doubtlessly, this required them to get deeper into sciences of engineering, math and mechanics in which Muslims took the lead as we have illustrated in previous articles.

Muslims Influences on Islamic Architecture Techniques

Below is a presentation of some Islamic architecture techniques to put our thumbs on their importance and get acquainted with Muslims influences to their innovation and development.[1] (1) Domes Muslims were excellent builders of huge domes and succeeded in conducting their complex calculations, which are based on shells analysis methods. Such complex and sophisticated structures such as Qubat Asakhra (Dome of the Rock), in Jerusalem, and the domes of mosques in Astana, Cairo and Andalusia are from A to Z based on complex math. Domes turn mosques into pieces of beauty. Sultan Ahmed mosque in Istanbul tells the story of beauty that makes one realize the greatness of the Islamic civilization. Domes, plus other productions, mark the evolution of Islamic civilization in field of architecture. Domes have thoroughly developed and- throughout their development course- took several geometrical shapes. Examples include the dome of the Al-Masjid Al-Jami (the Congregational Mosque) in Qairawan, az-Zaytounah mosque in Tunisia and Al-Masjid Al-Jami in Cordoba. The influences of such evolution were later noticeable in European architecture in the 11th and 12th centuries.[2] (2) Columns Columns are important part of Islamic art, with their pointed chapiters and knots and wooden bonds. Exactly from that innovation appeared a branch of architecture exclusively for structural knots. The horseshoe-shaped arcs became a distinguishing sign for Islamic architecture. Actually, there had been arcs before that, but Muslims changed their shape. (3) Muqarnasat They are stalactite vaults. They are one of the major features of Islamic architecture. There are two types of stalactite vaults: Internal and external: The former is usually built in prayer niches and ceilings and the latter in minarets' naves, palaces' doors and balconies. (4) Mashrabiyat They are one of the most outstanding elements of Islamic architecture. Mashrabiyat singular is mashrabiya are also called shanashil or by windows. They are a type of projecting oriel window enclosed with carved wood latticework located on the second

storey of a building or higher, often lined with stained glass. Mashrabiyat are either perforated or ornamented. They are called moon mashrabiyat if they are round-shaped, and sun mashrabiyat is they are not round-shaped or even shutter. They are made of wood cut to work as curtains for the windows of the building. One of their benefits is mollifying the light sharpness coming from outside. They also provide a good place for women to watch the street without being seen by people outside. This has become a basic feature in Islamic houses.[3] (5) Architectural Acoustics Muslims employed the applications of acoustics believed to be originated and established by Muslims in developing the acoustic engineering technique and using it in what is now called the architectural acoustics. They knew that sound reflects on concave surfaces and gathers in one focus just like light, which reflects on surfaces of concave mirrors. Muslim engineers used the focusing of sound technique in purposes of construction and building, particularly in large congregational mosques. The objective was to transmit and make the orator's voice stronger during lessons on Fridays and feasts. Examples of Islamic architectural acoustics can be seen in: The old Esfahan Mosque, al-Adiliya Mosque in Aleppo and some old mosques in Baghdad. The ceiling and walls of the mosque used to be concave surfaces distributed excellently in the corners of the mosque in order to ensure that the speaker's voice will reach every corner inside the mosque. Those Islamic achievements, still can be seen, are the best evidence of the leadership of Islamic civilization in the architectural engineering acoustics technique, even before the well-known scientist Wallace C. Sabine[4] almost in 1900 started studying the reasons of poor sound characteristics of lecture halls at US Harvard University, and before his studying of the behavior of sound characteristics of halls and music rooms. In order to discover the significance of Muslims development of architectural acoustics field, suffice it to say that the focusing of sound, whose application-associated benefits have later been highlighted, is used in the modern civilization as a basic element of architectural acoustics engineering. Theaters and large celebration halls are currently getting concave walls at the background in order to repeat the sound and make it louder and clearer. (6) Arches Historical references and studies say the pneumatic arch was the first pattern of arches to appear in Muslims architectural engineering. Pneumatic arches can be seen in the al-Masjid al-Amawi in Damascus, Syria. Later on, pneumatic arches have been built on a larger scale and became a distinctive element of Islamic architecture, particularly in the Arab Maghreb and Andalusia countries. Pneumatic arches have spread across Europe and could be seen in their churches and monasteries.

Muslims also developed the three-opening arches, which developed mainly from a pure engineering idea based on arithmetic division. This was later discovered by researchers in light of a drawing on a wall in the debris of az-Zahraa city, Andalusia. The three-opening arches became part of the structure of churches in Spain, France and Italy. Lobated arches are another architectural pattern. They are arches with their internal edges cut in a chain-shaped set of semicircles or similar to a necklace with semi-lobes. Although this lobated arch has probably come from the shape of the edge of an oyster, it took a pure Islamic geometrical shape and became one of Muslims architectural innovations, appearing first in the Islamic monuments in the early second Hijri century. The complete features of lobated arches are clear in the structure of the dome of al-Masjid al-Jami in Qairawan in the year (221 AH- 836 AD). Lobated arches maintained their engineering shape during the course of their evolution despite the emergence of many other patterns. In later centuries, the lobated arches interlaced and more lobes have been added in next structures. In addition to these kinds of arches, various other patterns of arches emerged in Islamic architecture: Pointed arches, solid arches and divergent arches. Pointed, solid and divergent arches were carried out in Mashreq and Maghreb countries. Examples of pointed, divergent and solid arches can be seen in European architecture. The divergent arch pattern, for instance, moved to English architecture and had largely applied in the 6th Century under the name Tudor arch. Islamic architecture knew divergent arches nearly five centuries earlier in mosques of alJiyushi, al-Aqmar, and al-Azhar in Cairo.[5] (7) Dams and Barrages The beautiful features of Islamic architecture had also appeared in barrages, dams and canals with unique designing and execution techniques. They give water passing through canals and in rivers an additional beautiful dimension. This simply means Islamic architecture and its geometrical and aesthetic patterns were natural reflections of ages of boom and advance in Islamic civilization. (8) Walls Islamic architecture was based on the applications of mechanics. This was obvious in the structure of very high mosques and minarets, as well as barrages and huge dams such as anNahrawan Dam, al-Rastan Dam and the Euphrates Dam, and Majra el-Uyoon Wall in Cairo during Salahuddin's era, which was carrying water from the mouth of the bay to the castle built over al-Muqattam Mountain. There was animal-revolving waterwheel lifting water 10 meters up to let it flows in the canal over the wall with the communicating vessels method.

(9) Fortresses Arabic fortresses were among the top architectural additions borrowed by the West from Muslim

architects, according to Sigrid Hunke. The West knew only the circular pattern of fortress design. With Muslims' conquest of Andalusia and later Cecelia, they got in close contact with the West during the Crusades and since then fortress construction patterns changed to the Arabic style characterized by its square design for the most part. Arabs built watchtowers and towers for defense purposes at the corners of their fortresses.[6] Architecture uniqueness always reflects the uniqueness of the civilization where they were originated. This is a historical rule, according to Ibn Khaldun, who says: "The State and kingdom are as important for construction as the image for the matter, which is the shape preserving its existence. They are inseparable and this is the rule of wisdom. A State without construction is unimaginable. Construction without a State is impossible. Misbalance of either of them means the misbalance of the other. The non-existence of either of them affects the non-existence of the other."[7]