{"id":137354,"date":"2020-02-15T02:32:56","date_gmt":"2020-02-15T02:32:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=137354"},"modified":"2020-02-15T02:32:58","modified_gmt":"2020-02-15T02:32:58","slug":"al-shafii-mosque-as-the-ancient-mosque-of-jeddah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=137354","title":{"rendered":"Al-Shafii mosque as the ancient mosque of Jeddah"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Spahic Omer<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al-Shafii mosque is the oldest\nmosque in Jeddah. Hence, it is called \u0153the ancient mosque\u009d. It is also one of\nthe biggest, most important and most beautiful mosques. It is the only genuine\nexample of the hypostyle mosque in the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some believe that its establishment\ndates as far back as to the reign of Caliph \u02dcUmar b. al-Khattab, an assertion\nthat \u02dcAbd\nal-Quddus al-Ansari seriously questions and rejects. Not only this mosque, but\nalso any other mosque in Jeddah could not have been built by Caliph \u02dcUmar,\nbecause Jeddah as a city rose to prominence only after him when the third\nCaliph \u02dcUthman b. \u02dcAffan converted it into the port of Makkah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mosque is located in Harah al-Mazlum <\/em>(al-Mazlum<\/em> quarter) along one of the two main East-West commercial axes, Suq al-Jumuah<\/em>, on which the main southern entrance of the mosque opens. Adjacent to the mosque from the west there are goldsmiths and old silverware makers. From the east, there is textile and clothing market, known historically as the Bedouin market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The southern side of the mosque with its main entrance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It has been documented that the mosque was originally built by King al-Muzaffar Sulayman of Yemen in 1250. He was from the Ayyub dynasty in Yemen who followed the Shafii school of jurisprudence (law), and on this basis the mosque was named as such. Needless to say that by analogy with many other ancient mosques in Islamic civilisation, another smaller and simpler mosque might have existed at the same location before King al-Muzaffar Sulayman. It might yet have carried the same name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mosque was then rebuilt\ncompletely, except the minaret, in 1539 by an Indian merchant named Khawaja\nMuhammad Ali, who transported the finest timber and carved wooden columns from\nYemen for the purpose. The mosque has just been renovated during the rule of\nthe late Saudi King Abdullah. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mosques ground level is\nsignificantly below the street level on account of its ancientry. While\neverything around it continued to develop and change over ages, the mosque\nremained faithful to its original conception, design and plan.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mosque is built mainly of coral\nstone (Manqabi<\/em>) and wood. It consists of a hypostyle hall supported by\ncolumns and an inner courtyard paved with white marble slabs. The courtyard is\nsurrounded on four sides by arcades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the front qiblah<\/em> side there is a main prayer hall. It has two rows of wooden columns whose bases are of coral stone as well. The columns form three arcades that run parallel to the qiblah<\/em>. The third row of columns, which are plastered and most probably made of coral stone too, signifies a separation point between the hall and the courtyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The qiblah side with the mihrab<\/em> and minbar<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The columns support the flat wooden\nroof with the intermediary of semi-circular arches. For extra support and\ndurability, the columns are interconnected on all sides with a network of wooden\nbeams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The roof over the mihrab<\/em> bay\nis slightly raised and is covered with a gable roof. Its raised section is\nperforated with windows that let additional natural light shine through. There\nare twelve such windows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, above the middle bay of\nthe second arcade, just behind the mihrab<\/em> bay, a medium-size wooden dome\nis erected. In volume it corresponds with the raised wooden gable roof over the\nmihrab<\/em> bay. It rests upon an octagonal drum that is perforated with\nsixteen windows, two windows for every side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The purpose of this dome is similar\nto the raised gable roof over the mihrab<\/em> area. It is intended to boost\nthe environmental performance of the mosque, in terms of lighting and\nventilation. The location of the dome is such that it occupies the central\nposition in the main prayer hall. Its setting as well as outline were\npremeditated. They were meant to suggest its centrality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inner courtyard is flanked by two arcades, or cloisters, one on each side. There the wooden roof is supported by tall wooden columns, three columns for each arcade, six in total. The roof rests directly on the columns without the intermediary of arches. For additional strength, the columns are connected with each other and with the neighbouring walls by means of wooden beams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of these wooden columns there\nare flat wooden corbels, or brackets, that provide additional support for the\nroof. They extend to four directions, creating what resembles crosses. Those\ndevices have four arms of equal length, one of them extending freely outside\ninto the courtyard space. It does not support any roof or superstructure. It\nlooks rather unusual as such.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The devices are completely and\nelaborately decorated. Their woodcarving is of the highest quality. The same\ncould be neither conceived nor executed locally per se<\/em>. It represents a\nforeign influence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On closer inspection, the intricate\nand stylish wooden devices, together with the wooden columns they cap, bear a\nresemblance to the beautifully hand-carved wooden columns that feature similar\nintricate detailing and which can be found especially in Kerala, India. An\nexample is the wooden columns topped with similar decorative and functional\ndevices that can be found in Thazhathangady Juma Masjid in Kerala, India, near\nthe town of Kottayam. It is one of the oldest mosques in India and is more than\n1000 years old. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This evidences the remnants of the\nIndian influence that al-Shafii mosque was displaying ever since Khawaja\nMuhammad Ali had rebuilt it. Initially, such influence and its media were more\nabundant and more conspicuous, so much so that formerly much of the mosque\nmight have had \u0153a distinctive Indian character\u009d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rear section of the mosque has two full and two partial arcades. Its piers, rather than columns, are plastered and made in all probability of coral stone. Some of its spaces are organised differently and are designated for different functions. For instance, one part of it is assigned for an office. Another part, veiled with drapes, is designated for women to pray, especially in Ramadan. However, during the Friday Jumuah<\/em> prayer, the same space is used by men. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latter part of this section is\nslightly raised above the standard level of the mosque. That could be owing to\nthe different mosque functions in that area, or owing to a slope towards that\nside which the plan and design of the mosque needed to overcome. Still part of\nthis rear segment, there is a residential building. It is part of an endowment\nthat belongs to the mosque.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mosque is crenelated. Its walls\nare more than one meter thick. The walls are regularly recessed in order to\nreduce their weight. Windows are fitted into those often arched recesses that\nextend almost up to the ceiling. Other windowless recesses function either as\nmultipurpose shelves or are mere ornamental niches. The coral stone walls have\nintermittent bonding wood courses of teak (gandal<\/em> as courses, and taklilah<\/em>\nas a process). They provide extra strength and vibrancy to the walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mihrab<\/em> is a semi-circular\nniche covered with an arched hood. Even though protruding somewhat from the\nexternal wall, it still performs a structural function as the rest of recesses.\nNext to it stands a minbar<\/em> (pulpit) which, too, is a recess. One goes up\nto the platform of the minbar<\/em> climbing a flight of stairs that wind\naround a column inside the recess. The column at once separates and supports\nthe recess, dividing it into two arched sections. The parapet that encloses the\nplatform is made of wooden balusters. They tone in well with the rest of the\nmosques wooden components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hood of the mihrab<\/em> and\nthe areas above it are richly decorated using combinations of different\ncalligraphic styles, geometric patterns and floral designs. The area and its\ndecorative styles and themes form a convoluted and fragmented arabesque. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is interesting to note that as a\nborder between the mihrab<\/em>s niche and its hood, there is a horizontal\nband of calligraphy that depicts a hadith<\/em> of the Prophet (pbuh) where he\nis reported to have said: \u0153Certainly, people will desist from neglecting\nperforming prayers in congregation, or else I will surely burn their houses\u009d\n(Sunan Ibn Majah). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, the inscription is both\nfunctional and artistic, but it apparently inclines more to the former than to\nthe latter. There is no other mosque that features this particular hadith<\/em>\neither for the purpose of mere decoration or to remind people about the\nimportance of congregational prayers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, on top of the mihrab<\/em>\nframe, there is a fine-art calligraphic inscription that features the text of\nthe Muslim most fundamental article of faith: \u0153There is no god but Allah and\nMuhammad is Allahs Messenger\u009d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text is inscribed firstly\nnaturally frontwards, and then in reverse, forming in this manner an image. The\nimage is rendered in such a way that it represents a mosque with six minarets.\nFour minarets have three balconies each, and two minarets two balconies each. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This proves one of the Ottoman\ninfluences in the mosque, for it was the Ottomans who were known for writing\ncalligraphy inversely as part of their artistic penchant. The depicted mosque\nwith six pencil-shaped minarets could mean only one thing: the Sultan Ahmet\nmosque, or the Blue mosque, in Istanbul. It may also proudly connote the\nmonumental and imperial mosque architecture of the Ottomans in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the calligraphic inscriptions\nabove the mihrab<\/em> reveals some details about the mosques history associated\nwith the Ottomans; as does another calligraphic inscription above one of the\nmosques main doorways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although many people regard the mihrab<\/em>\nframes decoration as unique and beautiful, further scrutiny confirms that it\nappears otherwise. Obviously, the decoration scheme is not original. It does\nnot match the total background and the soothing atmosphere of the mosque. There\nis a considerable degree of incongruity between the two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the mosque is completely natural, serene, plain and spontaneous, with its naturalness and simplicity being its most conspicuous adornment, the decoration in question, on the other hand, seems to be the opposite: uncommon, unforeseen, startling, invading and clearly imposed. It is entirely Ottoman. It was one of the ways of the Ottomans to affect such an important mosque with the tinges of their administrative presence and authority, and of course of their architectural and artistic proclivities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The interior of the main prayer hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The mosque has four entrances, plus\na small entrance for women at the back. The doors are made of wood. The door of\nthe main entrance on the southern side is massive and includes for decoration\npurposes some elaborate geometric and floral designs. This entrance is so grand\nthat it stands for an iwan<\/em> with a formal gateway called pishtaq<\/em>.\nOther entrances are much simpler portals. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adjoining the mosque on this\nsouthern side especially, there always were shops that constituted part of an\nendowment for the mosque and were part of the mosques self-sufficiency drive.\nHowever, those shops were removed in the course of the latest Saudi restoration\nexercise. Today, there are only a handful of shops attached to the mosque\ntowards the western end of the southern side that operate for the same purpose.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mosque has one minaret at its\nsouth-western corner. It is a massive and thick structure displaying proudly\ncoral stone as its building material. It has two balconies, or galleries, with\nwooden parapets. They are supported by plain muqarnas<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the bottom, the minarets shaft\nis square. It then turns octagonal up to the cap and the head. The balconies\nand their muqarnas<\/em> are also octagonal. After the first balcony, the\nshaft slightly gets narrower. The second balcony represents the end of the\nshaft, which is then topped by an elongated cap or head. Unlike the mosque\nitself, in quite a few different ways the minaret became a standard setter for\nmany future minarets in Jeddah. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minaret is relatively tall, but not taller than most of the adjacent residential buildings. They are of virtually equal height. That is so because of the friendly and harmonious coexistence between the architectural expressions and functions of houses and mosques in the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, the issue of privacy\nand how minarets are not supposed to invite or facilitate the prospect of\ninvading peoples privacy in their houses, played a role. Towards the same end\nof privacy protection, most minarets had two balconies. Using them, in the\nmain, needed to be flexible and non-invading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minarets and how they are used must be an advantage, in lieu of becoming a disadvantage. Lets recall that at times and under certain circumstances in the history of Islamic civilisation some scholars went so far as to propose that only blind persons should climb minarets and call for prayers. Only that way endangering peoples privacy will not be risked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equally extraordinary was calling\nfor and even destroying minarets that posed a \u0153serious danger\u009d for privacy, as\nthe Umayyad Caliph Sulayman b. \u02dcAbd al-Malik did to one of the four newly\nintroduced minarets to the architecture of the Prophets mosque in Madinah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mosques ablution area and\ntoilets are completely separated from the mosque proper. They are on the\nnorthern side. The mosque also caters to the needs of the disabled persons and\nsuch as use wheelchairs. Their adequate facilities are provided at one of the\nnorthern entrances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, the mosque had a huge\nwater reservoir. Its construction dated back to King al-Muzaffar Sulayman\nhimself. It was in operation well into the last century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of the latest renovation of\nthe mosque, the main prayer hall and the rear section have been separated by a\nglass wall. They are now independent enclosures. They are ventilated and cooled\nby a mechanical air conditioning system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This, however, does an injustice to\nthe mosque. That is, firstly, because in doing so the mosque is being\nfragmented and some of its underlining concepts and functions distorted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, as an organic hypostyle mosque with a vast central courtyard, a dome, a raised section of the roof, and a complex system of windows and other apertures, the mosque constantly functioned as a perfect mechanism for lighting, cooling and ventilation. It was designed to get the most out of what the natural world has to offer. As an epitome of sustainability, it was to capitalise on the advantages, and repel the disadvantages, of its surrounding ecosystem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, by tampering with the\nmosques intrinsic disposition, value and physical configuration, people\ndemonstrated their insensitivity towards the meaning and worth of tradition and\ntraditional ways of doing things. They also showed that they still lack what it\ntakes to forge a peaceful and harmonious relationship between tradition and\nmodernity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, overly stereotyping and even stigmatising tradition; failing to shrewdly connect either with tradition or modernity, and failing to see how the two can amalgamate and form a holistic model; having recourse to and imposing sheer mechanisation and artificial solutions on whatever does not fit the modern-day tastes and moulds; etc. \u201c none of these are the steps in the right direction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(This article is an excerpt from the authors current research book project titled \u0153The relationship between tradition and modernity in Islamic architecture: the case of Jeddah<\/em>\u009d) ***<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Spahic Omer Al-Shafii mosque is the oldest mosque in Jeddah. Hence, it is called \u0153the ancient mosque\u009d. It is also one of the biggest,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":137358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,9,66,14],"tags":[],"nelio_content":{"isAutoShareEnabled":true,"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"followers":[12,134,5],"suggestedReferences":[],"efiUrl":"","efiAlt":"","highlights":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[]},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/huhu-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137354"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=137354"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":137379,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137354\/revisions\/137379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/137358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=137354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=137354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=137354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}