Reference Lists

(1) http://islamqa.info/en/70467

(2) http://www.szgmc.ae/en/

(3) http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/madhya-pradesh-and-chhattisgarh/bhopal/travel-tips-and-articles/76173

(4) http://www.visit-terengganu.net/masjid-kristal/

(5) http://islamqa.info/en/3748

(6) http://english.alarabiya.net/en/special-reports/hajj-2013/2013/10/03/History-of-the-developments-of-the-grand-mosque-.html

(7) http://www.boredpanda.com/nasir-al-molk-pink-mosque-shiraz-iran/

(8) http://ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr/en

(9) http://lestariheritage.net/aceh/webpages/sites01.html

(10) http://www.emrearolat.com/gallery/sancaklar-mosque/

(11) http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/istanbul-blue-mosque

(12) http://islamic-arts.org/2012/great-mosque-of-xian/

(13) http://english.turismodecordoba.org/mezquitadecordoba.cfm

(14) http://muslim-academy.com/3-famous-mosques-in-france/

(15) http://www.dezeen.com/2015/04/06/sancaklar-mosque-emre-arolat-architects-istanbul-concrete-stone-terraced-landscaping/ http://www.onislam.net/english/news/europe/465739-worlds-first-underground-mosque.html

(16) https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-islam/islamic-art-early/a/the-great-mosque-of-cordoba

(17) http://www.tripadvisor.com.my/ShowUserReviews-g298551-d2649200-r224494479-Quba_Mosque-Medina_Al_Madinah_Province.html
(18) http://www.blog.avenueislam.com/2012/07/masjid-al-quba/
(19) https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-islam/islamic-art-late-period/a/the-blue-mosque-sultan-ahmet-camii
(20) http://www.istanbultrails.com/2008/05/the-blue-mosque-one-of-the-most-famous-misunderstandings/
(21) http://www.turkeyforyou.com/turkey_blue_mosque_history
(22) http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/05/25/muslims-demand-turkey-convert-hagia-sophia-into-mosque/
(23) http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/04/17/turkey-could-convert-hagia-sophia-into-mosque-in-revenge-for-popes-comments-on-armenian-genocide/
(24) http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=20
(25) http://janalinesworldjourney.com/2013/10/11/the-great-mosque-of-xian-is-completely-chinese-in-style/
(26) https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-islam/beginners-guide-islamic/a/common-types-of-mosque-architecture
(27) http://islamqa.info/id/3748
(28) http://www.kabarmakkah.com/2014/10/sejarah-kabah-dan-mekkah.html
(29) http://islamic-arts.org/2012/great-mosque-of-paris/
(30) http://www.rumahallah.com/2012/11/sejarah-dan-pembangunan-masjidil-haram.html
(31) http://people.opposingviews.com/muslims-built-first-mosque-france-8752.html

Baiturrahman Grand Mosque

Assalamualaikum.

On my last entry, I will touch on the mosque that still stands after the boxing day of the tsunami. The mosque that I meant was Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

The 130 year old grand mosque is a magnificent site. It was there when a hundreds of people sought refuge during the 2014 Tsunami that flattened the largest part of the scenery of the city. Actually many Acehnese at first rejected to pray at this mosque for the reason that the Dutch built it. But today it is pride of Banda Aceh.

The mosque was designed by an Italian architect in a north Indian Moghul style; distinguished by grand domes and minarets. The mosque has 32 pillars and covers and an area of more than 1500 square meters.

It is a symbol of religious life, courageousness and nationalism of Aceh citizen.

Thank you so much for reading.

For more information about this mosque, please visit http://www.indonesia.travel/en/destination/44/the-grand-mosque-of-baiturrahman

Sancaklar Mosque

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

Today, I will carve up about the underground mosque which is Sancaklar Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. It was first underground mosque that has been constructed in Turkey’s Buyukcekmece district at the year of 2012 and has won the first place in the World Architecture Fest Competition for religious places. 

The aim of built this mosque is to avoid the shortage of mosques in the area. The mosque located on 1200 square meters under the ground is enlightened by lead lanes and sunshine to cast a spiritual environment. It offers a place for more than 650 worshippers. As being the world’s first underground mosque, the Sancaklar Mosque was designed without a minaret or a curved. Turkish firm Emre Arolat architects used a combination of light grey stone and reinforced concrete to construct this mosque.  

That’s all until now. See you in the next entry. Bye. Assalamualaikum.

For more details about Sancaklar Mosque, you may visit this website http://www.archdaily.com/516205/sancaklar-mosque-emre-arolat-architects  and

http://www.dezeen.com/2015/04/06/sancaklar-mosque-emre-arolat-architects-istanbul-concrete-stone-terraced-landscaping/

The Great Mosque of Paris

Assalamualaikum. See you once again.

In this entry, I will share about the largest mosque in France and the third largest in Europe which is the Great Mosque de Paris (Grande Mosquee De Paris).

It located in the Fifth Arrondissement, right in the heart of Paris. The Great Mosque of Paris was the very first mosque to be built in France and it was initially constructed in honor of the French Arab community that fought in the World War 1. The mosque was founded in 1922 to honor the North African countries that had lent a hand France during World War 1. A main reconstruction was finished in 1992.

With its pure white walls and the green-blue roofs and tiles on portions of the building like the minaret, the Great Mosque of Paris is an attractive spectacle to take a look at.

Thank you so much for spending your valuable time to read my blog.

For more info about the Great Mosque of Paris, you can visit http://muslim-academy.com/3-famous-mosques-in-france/

Cordoba Mosque

Assalamualaikum and good morning everybody!

For this entry, I will share about one mosque that been the World Heritage Site since 1984. It is the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba in Spain. It is arguably the most significant monument in the whole western Muslim world and one of the most amazing buildings in the world in its own right.

This great mosque is made up of two separate areas, the courtyard where the minaret stands and the prayer hall. The inside area is made up of a forest of columns with a harmonious color scheme of red and white arches. The five different areas of the mosque match to each of the five additional rooms carried out.

The Mosque of Cordoba was the figure of Umayyad power and also the center of the city’s intellectual life. Sufficient enough to hold until 40,000 people, the mosque served as both the city’s main prayer space and also the university. In the glorious day, this mosque was the embodiment of the cultural achievements of the Arabic medieval Muslim Iberia, al-Andalus.

The Cordoba Mosque brings to mind a supposedly harmonious past, when Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together in peace. 

That’s all. Thank you. Happy reading guys!

For more information about the Mosque of Cordoba, please visit https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-islam/islamic-art-early/a/the-great-mosque-of-cordoba

Al Azhar Mosque

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

In my next entry, I will touch on one of the most crucial mosque in Egypt which is Al-Azhar Mosque.

The mosque of Al-Azhar was founded by Jawhar al-Siqilly, the Fatimid conqueror of Egypt in 970 as the congregational mosque for the new city of al-Qahira. It located in El Hussein Square in the center of an area teaming with the most beautiful Islamic monuments from the 10^th century and established in 972 (361 H).

Architecturally, the mosque is a palimpsest of all styles and influences that have passed through Egypt with a large part of it having been renovated by Abdarrahman Khesheda. Al Azhar mosque has five minarets with small balconies, intricately carved columns and has six entrances. Inside the mosque is a large courtyard that is 112 feet which is surrounded with porticos supported by over three hundred marble columns of ancient origin.

For more information about Al-Azhar mosque, you may visit http://ismaili.net/mirrors/242_azhar/azhar.htm

Al –Azhar today is the most celebrated of all Cairo’s medieval mosques, more because of its historic and religious importance than its aesthetic value.

That’s all for this entry. Stay tuned for next entry. Bye. 

Xi'an Mosque

Assalamualaikum and hello.

Today I would like to enlighten on one of the famous mosque in China which is The Great Mosque of Xi’an. It is the oldest, largest and most important Islamic worship in China. It was founded in 742 during the Tang Dynasty.

The area for this mosque is over 12,000 square meters and it was divided into four courtyards, 250 meters long and 47 meters wide with a well arranged layout.  It is a combination of traditional Chinese architecture and Islamic art. In Chinese style, there are a series of spectator areas, with the four courtyards of the mosque. However, the wall is decorated with Islamic art.

This mosque is the only mosque in the China that is open to visitors. However, non-Muslim visitors are not allowed to enter the main prayer hall. The Great Mosque of Xi’an also was added to the UNESCO Islamic Heritage List in 1985.

For more information, you may visit http://islamic-arts.org/2012/great-mosque-of-xian/

Happy reading! See you in the entry. Bye-bye. 

Sultan Ahmet Mosque

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

Today I would like to share about one of the mosque that catch the eye of a lot of people which is Mosque of Sultan Ahmet in Istanbul, Turkey. It is called the Blue Mosque by many visitors because of its interior tiles, it disappoints if you’re looking for lots of blue tiles are mostly in the inaccessible upper galleries. This mosque also one of the finest example of Istanbul’s wonderful imperial Othman mosques.

The Blue Mosque was built from 1603 until 1617 is the masterwork of Othman architect which is Sedefkar Mehmet Aga. The mosque is an example of classical Turkish of architecture and it is only mosque that was originally built with six minarets. The architect decorated the interior fastidiously like a jeweler. The mosque used to be part of a large complex including a covered bazaar, Turkish baths, public kitchens, a hospital, schools, a caravanserai and the mausoleum of Sultan Ahmet. But some of these social and cultural buildings have not survived to our day.

For more information, you may visit http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/istanbul-blue-mosque

Thank you so much for reading !

Hagia Sophia

Assalamualaikum w.b.t and good evening everybody.

Once a Christian church, then turn into imperial mosque and at this moment a museum. Hagia Sofia or known as The Holy Wisdom in Istanbul, Turkey. It is a great architectural beauty and an important monument both for Byzantine and for Othman Empires.

It contains two floors centered on a giant nave that has a huge dome ceiling, along with smaller domes, towering above. It is also considered as the finest example of Byzantine architecture in the whole wide world. The interior is decorated with mosaics and marble pillars and coverings of great artistic value.  When the church was turned into a mosque they removed the alter, the bells, iconoclastic as well as the sacrificial vessels.

Hagia Sophia and its design was an inspiration for other mosques such as Blue Mosque in Istanbul and Sultan Ahmed Mosque. The first Turkish president Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is the one who turned the mosque into a museum in 1935. In the museum today, there are both Islamic and Christian influences and features.

That’s all for this entry. Stay tuned for the next entry guys. Thanks for reading.

Nasir Ol Molk Mosque

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

Nasir Ol Molk front enterance

For this entry, I will share about one of the mosque that I dream to go which is Nasir Ol Molk Mosque. Generally known as the Pink Mosque, it is also called the Mosque of colors, the Rainbow Mosque.  It is a traditional mosque in Shiraz, Iran.

This mosque was built during Qajar era, and is still in use under the protection of the Endowment Foundation of Nasir Ol Molk. It was built from the year of 1876 to 1888 by the order of Mirza Hassan Ali, a Qajar ruler. The designers were Mohammad Hasan e Memar and Mohammad Reza Kashi-Saz e Sirazi. Both of them used extensively stained glass on the façade and other traditional elements such as five concave, which create a breathtaking effect of the inferior like standing in a kaleidoscope.

The prayer hall

Ceiling of one of the arches

Colored glass inside the mosque

That's all for this entry. See you again. Bye.  

At one time the sun hit the stained glass, the entire building is flooded by a vibrant rainbow of colors. The mosque comes to life with the sun rise and colors dance throughout the day like whirling dervishes. It reflects on the ground, walls, the arches and towering spires. It even reflect on the visitors as if a colored ball is hit by the first sun ray and explodes to thousands of butterflies all around. 

The Holy Mosque

Assalamualaikum and hye people.

Without wasting any time, I will straight to a point which is I will share about most historical and most blessing mosques in the world.

The Holy Mosque and Kaaba

The history of the mosque goes back to its founding at the time of Prophet Ibrahim and his son Prophet Ismail. Makkah is the place where the Prophet Muhammad was born and where the revolution began, and from which the light of Islam spread.

The Holy Mosque or also known as Haram al-Sharif mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia is the holiest mosque in the world and the primary destination of the Hajj pilgrimage. The beginnings of the Masjidil Haram were established under Caliph Umar al Khattab. The mosque complex covers an area 356,800 square meters and can accommodate up to 820,000worshippers during the hajj. The Holy Mosque is the only mosque that has no Qibla direction, since Muslims pray facing the Kaaba in the central courtyard.

“Verily, the first House (of worship) appointed for mankind was that at Bakkah (Makkah), full of blessing, and a guidance for al-‘aalameen (mankind and Jins) – Ali Imran 3:96

Thus, no matter where we are, Muslims all around the world face the Kaaba during prayers.

Assalamualaikum. Happy reading!

Crystal Mosque

Assalamualaikum w.b.t. Meets again in my next entry.

Today I will touch on the famous mosques in Malaysia. One of the most mosques in Malaysia is Crystal Mosque, Terengganu.  

This mosque is one of the mosques that located at tourism area Islamic Heritage Park at Island of Wan Man, Terengganu. It was built between the years 2006 to 2008 and was officially opened on 8 February 2008.  The first smart mosque was built of glass, steel and crystal, hence the name.  It has an area about 2146 square meters. This mosque has a capacity to accommodate more than 1500 worshipers at one time. The total cost for this mosque is $80.

Apart from being a place for tourists who believes in Islam, this mosque is also an attraction to many parties because of the unique building’s structure. Its shiny and modern look reflects off the water and the mosque is over and over again illuminated from the inside, which makes its glass domes shine. The entire mosque also connected with wireless internet and full IT facilities, apparently a point of pride for architects. 

That's all for now. See you again next time. Happy reading guys !

Dhai Seedhi Ki

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.  See you once again.

"the mosque was perched on the top of an overgrown stone turret, which formed a corner of an old ruined fortress wall. the hospital, it turns out, was built inside the grounds of the 18th century Fatehgarh Fort, so that soldiers deployed as guards could perform their daily prayers. and, according to an old city tourism sign standing outside the locked gates, this was the first mosque built in Bhopal, a city that now boasts than 400."

The main entrance of Dhai Seedhi Ki Mosque  

Did you ever imagine about the mosque that only takes two and half steps and the interior dimensions of 16 meters square? Yes. It exists in this world.

In this entry, I will enlighten on the smallest mosque in the world which is Dhai Seedhi Ki Mosque in India. This mosque sits atop a watchtower, at one of the city’s peak points it offers a commanding sight of a city built in turbulent times. Originally a makeshift mosque for the prayer of the guard, the mosque of 2 and half steps was built during the construction of Fatehgarh fort begun by Dost Mohammad Khan.

As for me, the Dhai Seedhi Ki mosque was built for defenders of Fatehgarh fort, which is a reminder, that spiritual yearning that needs to be answered even when defending our kingdom.

That’s all for this entry. Thanks for spending your time reading my blog!

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Assalamualaikum and hye. Let's continue our journey to the next unique mosque around the globe. 

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

One of the largest mosques in the world that I would like to touch on is Sheikh Zayed mosque in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This mosque is enlisted as the top ten largest mosques in the world and the biggest mosque also the key for worship in UAE.

Sheikh Zayed mosque was initiated by the late president of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who wanted to set up a formation which unites the cultural diversity of Islamic world, the historical and contemporary values of architecture and art. The size of Sheikh Zayed mosque is 22,000 square meters, which covering more than 12 hectares of area and has the capacity of 40,000 people to pray at once in this mosque. 

Inside the Mosque

Front entrance of The Sheikh Zayed Mosque

So I guess that's all for this entry. Thank you for reading this. Happy reading! 

First mosque in Islamic history

Assalamualaikum w.b.t
I would like to continue my second entry with hadith from by Ibn Majah.
The Prophet Muhammad “He who purifies himself at his home and comes to Masjid Quba and offers two rakats therein, will be awarded the reward of an Umrah (lesser pilgrimage).” – Sunan Ibn Majah
Have you ever heard that if you perform two rakats of prayer at the first mosque built in Islamic history the rewards will be the same of an Umrah?
From that hadith, we can wrap up that anyone who perform two rakats of prayers at Quba’ mosque, he/she will gets an equal reward from Allah as of an Umrah.

Quba' Mosque

Quba' Mosque at night

Slightly an olden time of about this mosque is it was blessed with the fact that it was the Prophet Muhammad who put the foundation stone of this mosque. This mosque is located near the city of Madinah in Saudi Arabia. Quba’ is the place on the border of Madinah where Prophet Muhammad and Abu Bakar arrived and first stayed after emigrating from Makkah. Prophet Muhammad spent almost 14 days in this mosque during the Hijra praying Qasr (a short prayer) while waiting for Ali to arrive in Madinah after latter stayed behind in Mecca to carry out a couple of tasks delegated to him by the Prophet.
Quba’ mosque will always be celebrated as the first mosque built in the history of Islam. That’s all for this entry. Thanks for spending your time to read this entry. 

Introduction to DNMC blog

Assalamualaikum w.b.t. Hello everyone.

I am Nor Hanan Bt Isa from DEC 5E. I am writing this blog in order to complete one of the DNMC subject. The assignments that been hand over to me from my lecturer, Miss Fara Ai’ni Jamal. Here, I would like to give a million thanks to the most devoted lecturer for her guidance to me and all my friends for this assignment.

I feel so grateful to be given an opportunity to write this blog as I can share information that everyone out there might know but they were not aware of it. Moreover, I think that writing on a blog can be a different medium in the learning process and it also can be an arena for students to share their opinions with millions of people around the globe. In addition, the reasons why I am writing on topic of Mosque around the world are because of these objectives:

1.  Share with people about the Islamic heritage

2.  Share with the world about the design of mosque

3.  To deepen the feeling of Islam                         

4. To increase the confidence to learn about Islam

That all for now, I wish all the best for all of my friends and wish me luck for this blog assignment. See you again in my next entry. Thanks. Assalamualaikum.