Journal of Researches in Islamic Architecture

Mosque is one of the most important Muslims' buildings and one of the best expressions of Islamic community (Ummah). In spite of considerable architectural history of the mosque in Islam and Iran, it seems that there are significant questions about the ideal mosque in Islam. For example "open space" (or courtyard), regarding its undeniable importance according to Islamic tradition (Sirrah & Sunnah) and architectural history of the mosque, has being weakened. The open space in mosque which not only improves the quality of architecture but also worshiping within has a special significance. Neglecting this importance has led to gradually reducing or even eliminating the open space in the mosques. In this regard, a combined style was choose to examine the originality of open space, using historical interpretation and content analysis methods about the main references of Islam (the Quran, Hadith and life of Prophet (PBUH)). Therefore, the original mosques of centers of Islamic territory from the beginning of Islam to the sixteenth century and also mosques without open space were reviewed. Then Masjid an-Nabawi considering the approach of the Prophet (PBUH) about its architecture and Masjid al-haram were added to the analysis.

Despite of common categorizing of mosques based on closed spaces, the masjid An-Nabawi which had been built by supervising of the last Prophet (PBUH) hadn’t any closed space. Considering the hard climatic requirements, available roof construction technics and user requests (based on historical texts), prophet's decision to not making a hard roof is a major reason of priority of open space in mosque. Masjid al-haram as an ancient religious Islamic site and one of the most symbolic aspects of Islam has always been in open space and even hadn’t had roof itself during thousands years.

 There are also many prayers and Islamic rites which should be - or is better to - done under sky, especially not personal ones like Hajj, Fitr Salah, Qorban Salah. This could be remarked as a presentation of public aspect of worship in Islam in contrary of the isolation in some other religions (e.g. Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism). It is more impressive by attention to mosque's major function: daily congregational prayer (Salaat Al-Jamaah). Also there is some Islamic advises about not making roofed mosque. The important point about these sentences is removing any obligation about building mosques with or without roof which could cause many difficulties. But it doesn’t mean there is a neutral viewpoint. Advises is showing the priority of open space to closed spaces.

Regarding the pattern of masjid An-Nabawi, open space is always noticeable part of architectural history of mosque, especially in major mosques of main centers of Islamic territory during more than fourteen hundreds years. It could be more significant by attention to their various climatic, cultural, architectural, historical, technical differences in a vast geography and long time period. It could be led us to re-categorize mosques not only based on closed space but also caring open space changes. There are also many evidences showing mosque yards as a place for saying prayer and worship.

The most opposite point of the importance of open space in mosques are some mosques without open space. These mosques which are totally closed space might be referenced as contravention to open space based mosques. In analyzing these samples two points must be considered: first is the flexibility of Islamic sentences especially in form design and Islamic accommodation with local properties. Second is capacity of these mosques to be referenced via masjid An-Nabawi. However by studding about these samples we could categorizing them in three: first are very little mosques which usually are consist of one or two rooms and direct access from outdoor in which preparing open space isn’t possible. These are neighborhood chapels that could be developing into mosques in future. Second are large mosques that are transformed from churches or other religion's temples e.g. Hagia Sophia & Al-Aghsa. These types usually conserve their structural and architectural specifications but there are examples which open space had been attached to them e.g. Yazd-Khast and Jame-Neireez. Third are special ones which had been built for specific purposes or particular condition such as Sheikh-Lotf-Allah mosque. These ones couldn’t be referenced as major movement in mosque design.

By analyzing these evidences, it is obvious that open space shouldn’t be neglected or reduced to a division junction and light-supplying space. It is a heritage and beyond; one of the major parts of mosque. Imagining the closed space as main space of worships in mosque can cause many problems such as costly construction, time-consuming build programs, circulation and space access difficulties, ventilation and light-gaining challenges and isolation effects on users.

As result, the collected evidences show not only open space in the mosque is a section or basic part of mosque, but also open space has originality in the mosque design and the worship within is a forgotten aspect of this fundamental part.

The Holy Quran and hadiths as the most important Islamic religious texts have significant capacities in various fields of human knowledge which have been often neglected. Among the issues raised in this religious texts are some of architectural problems. One of these problems is quality of bedroom design. In this article, this problem will be probed by citing verses and hadiths to deduct bedroom design principles. These principles will be presented in four main areas, including location, geometry, light and color.
Search in religious texts is done by using two main sources. To search in the verses, the holy Quran has been used to gather verses which are related to the problem of this article especially verses related to the introduction of night and its features and to explore hadiths, “Jame-al-ahadith” software has been used which contains hundreds of narrative books. After searching the key words related to the bedroom design, those verses and hadiths that allow inference architectural results were analyzed using qualitative content method and finally, the results of this analysis are explained in the presented table in conclusion section of the article.
The most important verses discussed in this article are the verses related to night, because it seems that the bedroom (as sleeping location) and night (as sleeping time), have common features. Some of these verses are as follows: «He splits the sky into dawn. He has ordained the night for rest and the sun, and the moon for reckoning. Such is the ordinance of the Almighty, the Knowing» (Sura 6/ Verse 96); «He it is who has made the night for your rest and the day to see. Surely, in this there are signs for people who listen» (Sura 10/ Verse 67); «Have they not seen how We have made the night for them to rest in and the day to see? Surely, there are signs in this for the nation who believe» (Sura 27/ Verse 86); «It is He who has appointed the night a mantle for you and sleep for a rest. The day He has appointed for rising» (Sura 25/ Verse 47).
In addition to above verses, some other verses like these verses are related with topics such as location, color and light of bedroom: «Believers, let those your right hand owns and those who have not come of age ask permission of you three times before the dawn prayer, when you put aside your garments, in the heat of noon, and after the night prayer. These are the three occasions of privacy. There is no fault in you or them, apart from these, that they go about you, you are of each other. As such Allah makes plain to you His verses, Allah is the Knower, the Wise. And when children reach the age of puberty, let them ask permission as those before them asked permission. As such Allah makes clear to you His verses. Allah is the Knower, the Wise»(Sura 24/ Verses 58-59); «When you depart from them and from what they worship, other than Allah, seek refuge in the Cave. Allah will extend His Mercy to you and will furnish you with a gentle issue of your affair. You might have seen the rising sun incline towards the right of their Cave, and, as it set go past them on the left, while they stayed within an open space in the Cave. That was one of the signs of Allah. He whom Allah guides is rightly guided; but he whom He leads astray you shall not find for him a guardian to guide him» (Sura 18/ Verses 16-17); «›Call on your Lord, ‹ they said, ‹to make known to us what her color shall be.’ ‹Your Lord says: The cow is yellow, a rich yellow pleasing to the onlookers» (Sura 2/ Verses 69).
In this article, by analyzing the above verses, bedroom design principles are deduced (For position, geometry, color and light of bedroom). Implementation of this article results not only helps to better performance of bedrooms, but also is a step forward towards the achievement to original Islamic architecture.