Islamic (Muslim) architecture Art History. Advantages of mosques and their construction Sheikh Zayed Mosque in the Guinness Book of Records

The closest a slave is to his Lord is when he is in prostration (sajda) " A mosque, or more correctly “masjid”, translated from Arabic is a place where prostrations are performed (sajda). In other words, it is a place where people are given the opportunity to achieve the highest position possible in this world - closeness to their Lord.

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “ Allah's most beloved places in cities are mosques, and the most hated places in them are markets. ».

The mosque has had great significance in the life of Muslims throughout Islamic history. It was both a place of worship, a source of strengthening faith, and a training center. During the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his companions, the most important decisions were made in the mosque, Sharia decisions were also made there, and troops were sent from there to protect Islam from enemies, and guests and delegations were also received there.

The importance and role of the mosque is also evidenced by the fact that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) arrived in Medina, the first thing he did was choose a place to build a mosque. From history we know that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) released his camel at the command of Allah, and the place where the camel stopped was chosen to build the mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in Medina.

A sign of the revival of Islam in any area is the position that a mosque occupies for its inhabitants. If there is no mosque in this area at all, then there is nothing to talk about. But it also happens that there is a mosque and it is even quite large and beautiful, but it stands like a museum, which most residents only occasionally admire. The mosque must be alive, and the task of every Muslim is to revive the mosque in the area where he lives.

The Almighty says in the Quran (meaning): “ The mosques of Allah are revived by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day... ».

From the verse we can conclude that the revival of mosques is a sign of a person's faith. After all, the Almighty Himself testifies to this in the Holy Book.

What does reviving a mosque mean?

First of all, revitalizing a mosque is visiting it to worship and acquire knowledge.

The hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) says: “ If you see a person who constantly goes to the mosque, then testify that he is a believer ».

Another hadith reports that Allah Almighty Himself says (meaning): “ I am going to send disaster on the inhabitants of the earth, and when I see those who revive the mosques and those who love for My sake and repent in the pre-dawn time, I will avert the disaster from them ».

Also, the revitalization of mosques is assistance in its maintenance, be it assistance in cleaning, repairs, or in paying for heat and electricity. The hadith says: “The mosque is the abode of every God-fearing person.” From this hadith we can conclude that our attitude towards mosques is evidence of piety. Is there a person among us who does not think about the convenience and coziness in his home?! What kind of piety can we talk about if we do not worry about mosques in the same way as about our homes?

Another way to revitalize mosques is to help with construction.

An authentic hadith, which is transmitted in both collections, says: “ Whoever builds a mosque for the sake of Allah, Allah will build the same in Paradise " The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told us that even an inch of land in Paradise is better than this entire world. What can we say about the area in Paradise, equal to the area of ​​​​an entire mosque! But Allah, in His mercy, increases the reward for our deeds many times over. Then the construction of mosques is not the best investment for our funds if we are believers?! Today, in many places where Muslims live, there is a need to build or expand a mosque, and at the same time, Muslims in the same area have houses larger than many mosques. How far we are today from the path of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who, upon entering Medina, first of all began to build a mosque, and not mansions, as, unfortunately, many of us.

Probably, some, having heard this sermon, will think with regret that they will not see the reward promised in this hadith, since they will never have funds sufficient to build an entire mosque. But the Almighty, praise be to Him, has given us the opportunity to earn a place in the best of all worlds even if we take only the feasible part in the construction of the mosque. The hadith says: " For anyone who builds a mosque the size of a partridge's nest or even smaller than that, the Almighty will build a house in Paradise ».

Is there anyone among us who would not be able to donate at least an amount sufficient to purchase a few bricks for the construction of a mosque? After all, this may be enough to deserve, by the grace of Allah, a home in Paradise! Or, if our legs and arms are intact, can’t we donate one day of our lives to provide all possible assistance during construction?!

Life on earth goes by very quickly. Before we have time to look back, we will find ourselves on the edge of the grave, and after that - Judgment Day. And, as reported in the hadith, on this day Allah will announce: “ Where are My neighbors? Where are my neighbors?! ", and then the angels will say: " O our Lord! Who should be Your neighbors? "And Allah will say: " Where are those who revived the mosques? »

How happy will be those who are destined to answer this call of Allah! Hurry, O Muslims, to earn the right to be called neighbors of Allah while we have this opportunity!

In the Saudi province of al-Jawf, on the ruins of the ancient city of Dumat al-Jandal, there is a mosque called the “Mosque of Umar”. Many consider Umar bin al-Khattab to be the initiator of the construction of the mosque, but this point of view has not been proven; it is unknown who built the mosque.

Dumat al-Jandal was at the crossroads of the trade routes of Mesopotamia, Arabia and Syria. It is believed that it was erected in the period from 634 to 644, however, archaeologists are inclined to think that the mosque was built even earlier and was at first a church.

Scientists associate the name of this mosque with the reign of Caliph Umar bin Abdul-Aziz or with the Bani Umar tribe, who lived in Dumat al-Jandal.

The northern wall of the mosque overlooks the Marid fortress. On three other sides the building is surrounded by the ruins of the urban part of the city. Like all ancient city mosques, the building consists of two parts - a courtyard and the main prayer hall. The mosque's minaret is located in the southwest corner of the prayer hall. The entrance to the hall is located near the minaret.

In the prayer hall there are 3 rows of stone pillars that supported the roof made of palm tree trunks. The mihrab, minbar and the lower part of the wall are covered with white paint. When viewed from the outside, one can see that the mihrab and minbar protrude slightly from the wall. And from the outer northern sides you can see a staircase leading to the roof.

The minaret is rectangular in shape and tapers towards the top. You could climb to the top of the minaret via a spiral staircase, which, unfortunately, did not survive. The minaret is 4-storey, with window openings on each floor. The height of the minaret is 13 meters.

“Bring a good word to people if you have knowledge, experience and the Almighty has endowed you with wisdom”

Holy Hadith

The idea of ​​construction belonged to my husband and me. We had lived in Kazan for a long time, and when visiting, when we gathered with relatives and fellow countrymen, we often talked about how it would be nice to build a mosque in the village of Singilyakh. After all, both my husband Minsaf and I are from the same village; in the village cemetery there are grandmothers and great-grandmothers from his and my side.

We arrived in the village in May 1990 and stayed with distant relatives. These are the spouses Gabdulahad Efende and Zhariya Khanum. We talked with the villagers. They expressed their desire to take on construction with the whole world if at the initial stage there is help from the mufti.

Son Talgat, as promised, helped in many ways: with money, iron, and in purchasing a crescent moon with balls. The frame for the minaret was made from corners at the factory, good people helped, Muslims and not only them. There, in the workshops, boards for the roof, ceiling, and cladding of the minaret were prepared. My husband Minsafa covered the minaret with planks, covered the minaret and dome with white iron and galvanized iron. He participated in all the work, from digging the ground for the foundation to finishing. Fellow villagers, relatives, my daughter’s husband Ilyas, and his friend Nariman helped a lot.

Two thousand dollars were contributed by Talgat's friend, Umar al-Sijini, the former chief auditor of Saudi Arabian banks.

Construction was carried out according to the design sent by the Hazrat Mufti. Mosques have already been built according to this project. Fellow villagers went and looked at the finished building, they liked it.

We bought the carpet for the mosque premises together - my husband, my daughter and the hazrat mufti helped.

They brought the covering on the eve of the opening and all night Hazrat Mufti, my husband, Gabduliyahad, and my brother Rinat Galeev covered the floors.

I remember how we went to the regional center of Laishevo to get a building permit. We opened an account for construction. Thank you to our fellow villager Akhmetvaliev Khadiulla for your help. He lives in Kazan, chairman of the Azimov Mosque, with extensive experience in mosque repair and restoration. Twenty” had existed in the village for a long time; all that remained was to legally formalize the mutavalliat. They started construction and appointed Gabdulyakhad Efende as chairman and treasurer. Thank you very much to the villagers, everyone carried sadaka to the mosque as much as they could.

Our village is ancient. One day the missionaries tried to baptize everyone en masse. Everyone disagreed, people were forced into the lake. Some were not afraid - they dived deep and swam out on the other side of the lake. Those who disobeyed were caught and beaten with rods on the execution site. Among them was my husband’s great-great-grandfather, Gabdrakhman Babai.

There are often news reports that new mosques are opening in different parts of Russia. And each of them has its own story, which often remains behind the scenes. We decided to talk about one such unusual story with the initiator and inspirer of the construction of a mosque in the small town of Sovetsky, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug Fanziya Timeryanovna Karmanova(Nigmatzyanova). A Muslim woman who built a mosque with her own hands on the distant land of Siberia, in the taiga region.

Few people know about this mosque. It looks quite modest: there are no lush decorations, no intricate patterns on the facade, no unusual design. However, there is one fact that makes this mosque unique compared to any other in the country. It was built by an elderly woman (she was 60 when she started construction, and is currently 67 years old). It took her six long years to complete her plan. This unusual woman, who through her deeds changed the prevailing opinion about Muslim women, thanks to her perseverance, hard work, determination and, as they say, true “masculine character,” is highly respected among local residents. I wonder if there is still such a woman in Russia?

– Fanzia Timeryanovna, tell us a little about yourself. It is interesting to know the life story of the only woman in Russia who built a mosque.

– I was born after the war, in 1947, in Bashkortostan, in the Tatar village of Kuzbaevo, Buraevsky district. My dad was a participant in the Second World War, he traveled all over the world behind the wheel and was a driver. And after he returned from the front, he also worked as a driver, married his mother, and we had three children. My dad died tragically in a traffic accident. At the age of 30, my mother was widowed, left alone with small children in her arms, and raised us on her own. Grandmothers helped her. The grandmothers were religious women, practicing Muslims: they read the Koran, performed five daily prayers, and never missed a prayer. As a child, I was raised in the spirit of Islam, in the spirit of love and submission to Allah. Then communist ideology alienated people from God. And I, like many at that time, was far from Islam. And only at the age of 40 she returned to her roots, to true religion. Life as an orphan probably instilled in me perseverance and determination; I graduated from a construction college, became a construction technician by profession, and worked in my specialty.

– How did you end up in the Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug?

– Sovetsky – city and regional center (8 regional villages) – multinational. It was formed in 1963 of the last century. In the 60–70s, people of different nationalities, including Tatars and Bashkirs, came to the Sovetsky region from all over Russia to raise the country's timber industry. I have been living in Sovetskoe for more than 35 years. I came here with my husband, as the spouse was assigned to work.

– How did the idea to build a mosque come about?

– The city and Sovetsky district are 50 years old. During this time there was neither a mosque nor a religious organization here. When we first moved here, I had a hard time finding someone who could read the verses of the Koran in the new house. Looking at me, both other Tatars and Bashkirs began to do this, then they revived the tradition of holding joint iftars, going to each other’s majlises, inviting older people to read the Holy Quran. The people who arrived in the 60s and 70s had grown old, many were already over 80 years old, and they were in great need of spiritual communication. Already in 1990–2000, there was talk among the Muslim population about the need to build a mosque as the most revered and sacred place for every Muslim. But there were no people willing to build it. In 2005, my grandparents turned to me with a request that I organize the construction of a mosque with the following words: “We are already old, before we die, we should go to the mosque to pray, and no one will build it for us except you, all hope is in you.” .

– Why did they put this difficult work on you, on fragile women’s shoulders?

“Perhaps there was no more active person in the city than me, even among men.” They probably saw that I was very active, persistent, and efficient, and therefore they trusted me. The Supreme Mufti of Russia Talgat Tadzhuddin gave his blessing to the construction of the mosque.

– Now the most interesting thing is the story of how the construction of the mosque proceeded.

“I agreed and started doing the documentation. First of all, in 2006, I created a public organization, registered it, and wrote “Construction of a mosque” in its charter. It was necessary to register the land for a mosque. There were no problems with this; a plot of land was allocated. The administration agreed to the meeting, although there was not a single Muslim among the officials at that time. They treated us with understanding and respect. I am very grateful to them for this. Initially, GAZPROM provided charitable assistance, transferring 800 thousand rubles, and Severavtodor gave 300 thousand. One million 200 thousand was given to LUKOIL at the end of construction (this money was spent on facing the mosque with white brick). Nobody allocated any more large sums. You could say that I assembled the mosque literally bit by bit. I wrote to the authorities, asking for construction materials and money. I went to all major construction organizations and asked for building materials. One company, where the director was a Russian, allocated foundation blocks and carried out the work of installing the foundation. Another, also Russian, provided slabs for the ceiling and they covered it with their own efforts. The basement part of the mosque was ready. The mosque project was developed according to my sketch. It took six years to build the mosque. She only worked in the summer. During all this time, in order to organize work at the construction site (find workers, bring materials, etc.) there was no one next to me. I was a foreman, a foreman, a supplier, sometimes an auxiliary worker, and a driver. I drive the car myself. I even carried some construction materials myself in my car (when I finished my driver’s course, I was 55 years old) and my car and driver’s license were very useful.

– How did people react to the fact that a woman was building a mosque?

– There are many Muslims living here: Tatars, Bashkirs, Avars, Azerbaijanis, Kazakhs, Tajiks, Uzbeks and other Muslims. But there were no people among them who wanted to build a mosque. There were just observers. What will be next? It was very difficult, there were ill-wishers, envious people and gossipers around me. She shed a lot of tears. But Allah helped me not to give up and reach the end. I always turned to Allah Almighty and prayed a lot. I always felt His presence in difficult moments. I always say: “I am infinitely grateful to Allah Almighty, He blessed me and gave me such a destiny. And he helped me walk this wonderful path. Only Allah alone supported me and gave me strength. Only with His help did this happen. I can’t speak without tears... This is a miracle! In the 21st century, a small, frail woman, already in old age, built a mosque.

– What interesting moments related to the construction of the mosque do you remember most?

– A lot of amazing things happened to me during these years. For example, I remember how the Tajiks, very religious guys, true Muslims, helped me. They often come in teams to work in Sovetsky. When the foundation was installed, the floors were ready, the walls had to be erected. There was no money to pay for the work. And it was at this moment that a team of 16 Tajiks came to help at the mosque; they had the intention of building the walls for free. It was in the holy month of Ramadan. They worked and came to the mosque on their only day off. Brick walls were erected. But many of them observed fasting.

I remember one more incident. At the very beginning, when there was still empty space for the construction of a mosque, one Russian guy brought boards. Paid money for transportation. He unloaded the building materials and said: “Which place is good, and what will you build?” And I answer: “We will build a mosque.” Then he took out the money that she had paid him and gave it back with the words: “And this is from me for the mosque.” I was confused, I said: “Are you a Tatar or what?” And he answers: “No, I’m Russian. What difference does it make which temple you help? Church, mosque - there is no difference. This is God's temple." When the building took on the shape of a mosque, people began to help more actively. They helped whenever possible, regardless of their nationality and religion. The mosque was given the name “Nur”; it is small, one-story, 17 by 15 meters. Amenities and ablution rooms have yet to be built. We still hope that there will be kind people who can help. I am confident that with the help of Allah the construction will be completely completed. During the construction of the mosque, all the canons of Islam were observed. The mosque looks towards Mecca, where the Muslim shrine, the Kaaba, is located. The Kaaba serves as a landmark to which Muslims around the world turn their faces during prayer. The large hall is divided into two parts by a screen: men's and women's with separate entrances. The President of the Republic of Tatarstan also contributed to the construction of the mosque in Sovetsky. I turned to Rustam Minnikhanov with a request to help us acquire the canonical symbols of Islam - two crescents, which should rise on the dome and minaret of the mosque. Their production and shipment from Kazan were organized by the World Congress of Tatars, with which our public organization actively cooperates.

– Is the mosque already open?

- Yes, praise be to Allah. The grand opening took place last year. A lot of people come here. The most important thing is that we now have a place to pray. In the mosque, five times a day prayer, naming and marriage ceremonies (nikah) are performed during the day. The national-cultural Tatar-Bashkir center “Nur” operates at the mosque. We are engaged in preserving our traditions and holding various events for the Muslim community. Now our imam is a young guy from Dagestan, Ramadan. We were all worried that he wouldn’t stay here long, it was a remote place after all. But when he arrived, he said: “Wherever they send me, there I will work for the sake of Allah.” This amazed me. I am glad that my work was not in vain, that Allah sent us such a decent, sincere, God-fearing imam. There are a lot of Dagestanis in our city, Avars. I am very pleased and grateful to them. Lessons are taught on the study of the Koran and Arabic writing. The mosque is always under supervision, so I am calm. I am no longer young, I want to completely devote myself to Allah, I have two granddaughters and I will try to raise them in the spirit of Islam, teach them the basics of religion, their native Tatar language. After all, thanks to my grandmothers, I learned all this and fell in love with Islam with all my heart. Previously, when they interviewed me, they often said that there was a certain wariness in society about the spread of Islam, the formation of diasporas, and the opening of mosques. And it’s clear why: sometimes extremists hide under this. My answer was: “We don’t have anything like that and I hope there won’t be one. Our Muslims live in peace and harmony with all nationalities; there are mixed marriages. They've known each other for years. They are calm, responsive, and friendly. True religion should unite us, strengthen peace, and not sow discord among us.

– What is your dream?

“I am eternally grateful to everyone who helped me in this holy cause with building materials and money. May Allah Almighty protect and bless everyone! I dream of visiting Islamic countries where there are beautiful mosques and saying namaz there. Most of all I dream of performing the Hajj, visiting the blessed Mecca and Medina. I’m not young anymore, will I have time?

Several times during the interview Fanzia Timeryanovna repeated: “ All this is from Allah, it was He who helped me build the mosque, and He prepared such a fate for me and helped me walk this wonderful path. I am eternally grateful to Allah Almighty" The woman hospitably invited us to visit and promised to give us a tour of the mosque. And, probably, for the first time in my life I sincerely wanted to go to this taiga region to meet this amazing woman.

One of the most honorable acts of Muslims is the construction of mosques. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said about the value of this good deed: “ Blessed is the one who builds a mosque and reads the Quran in it, standing or sitting. Such a person is incomparable to those who only watch the work, afraid of getting dust on their clothes."(Imam al-Bukhari). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said: “ For anyone who builds a mosque, even the size of a partridge's nest, the Almighty will build a house in Paradise ».

We ask Allah to grant Paradise and build a palace in Paradise for this woman and everyone who has helped her in any way and will continue to help her! Amine!

Interviewed Maryam Tukhaeva

http://www.islam.ru/

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Question: Asalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu. I wanted to ask if you could help me with something? Muslims of Millerovo, we want to build a mosque in the city, because there is no mosque in the next 200 km. Can you give us some advice on where to start? We will collect money for the mosque, but most likely it will not be enough.

Answer: Hello! It is important to note that the construction of a mosque is not an end in itself for the Muslim community, otherwise our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, would have directed all the forces and means to create one, however, from history we know that at first, with the help of training his companions, the Prophet created a viable community Muslims

For quite a long time, Muslims used to perform prayers, first in a private home, and then in the territory limited by the houses of the Prophet and his companions.

Then, when free funds appeared, Muslims began to build stationary facilities used for worship. In this way, we advise modern Muslims in our country to do the same, namely: to begin to form a capable community, for which it will subsequently be possible to build the necessary building.

You can read about how and where to start in the article About the poor community, put in a word or “everyone can give something”...

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