Introduction

The birth of Islam is marked by the first revelation conveyed to the Prophet Muhammad by God (in Arabic, Allah), which occurred in the seventh century near the city of Mecca on the Arabian Peninsula. Islam emerged in a polytheistic environment; although there were notable Jewish and Christian communities, most people living on the Arabian Peninsula believed in multiple gods. In contrast, the fundamental tenet of Islam was monotheism—the belief in one God alone. What began as a religious movement soon took on a political dimension and Islam spread quickly throughout the Middle and Near East. The fall of the Sasanian empire in Persia and Byzantium's weakening control of its eastern territories in the seventh century provided fertile ground for this expansion, and within a hundred years of the Prophet's death the new leaders of the Islamic community (umma), the caliphs, controlled lands reaching from Spain to present-day Pakistan. The spread of the faith stimulated new architecture and the production of other arts in territories with rich and well-established cultural and artistic traditions. Mosques were built for growing Muslim communities and religious texts about Islamic belief and practice were written and decorated. Works that functioned in or responded to Islamic religious life continued to be produced over the centuries in every region in which Islam is practiced. This unit examines such works and provides an introduction to the beliefs and early history of Islam.

The Prophet Muhammad and the Origins of Islam

The rise of Islam is intrinsically linked with the Prophet Muhammad, believed by Muslims to be the last in a long line of prophets that includes Moses and Jesus. Because Muhammad was the chosen recipient and messenger of the word of God through the divine revelations, Muslims from all walks of life strive to follow his example. After the holy Qur'an, the sayings of the Prophet (hadith) and descriptions of his way of life (sunna) are the most important Muslim texts.
Early Life
Muhammad was born into the most powerful tribe in Mecca, the Quraish, around 570 A.D. The power of the Quraish derived from their role as successful merchants. Several trade routes intersected at Mecca, allowing the Quraish to control trade along the west coast of Arabia, north to Syria, and south to Yemen.
Mecca was home to two widely venerated polytheistic cults whose gods were thought to protect its lucrative trade. After working for several years as a merchant, Muhammad was hired by Khadija, a wealthy widow, to ensure the safe passage of her caravans to Syria. They eventually married.
Divine Revelations
When he was roughly forty, Muhammad began having visions and hearing voices. Searching for clarity, he would sometimes meditate at Mount Hira, near Mecca. On one of these occasions, the Archangel Gabriel (Jibra'il in Arabic) appeared to him and instructed him to recite "in the name of [your] lord." This was the first of many revelations that became the basis of the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam. These early revelations pointed to the existence of a single God, contradicting the polytheistic beliefs of the pre-Islamic Arabian Peninsula.
Initially overwhelmed by the significance of what was being revealed to him, Muhammad found unflinching support in his wife and slowly began to attract followers. His strong monotheistic message angered many of the Meccan merchants. They were afraid that trade, which they believed was protected by the pagan gods, would suffer. From that point forward, Muhammad was ostracized in Mecca. For a time, the influence and status of his wife and his uncle, Abu Talib, the chief of the clan, protected Muhammad from persecution. After they died, however, Muhammad's situation in Mecca became dire.
The Hijra
Emigration became the only hope for Muhammad and his followers' survival. In 622, they headed to Medina, another oasis town, where they were promised freedom to practice their religion. The move from Mecca to Medina is known as the hijra—the flight—and marks year 1 of the Islamic, or hijri, calendar.
Spreading the Message of Islam
In Medina, Muhammad continued to receive divine revelations and built an ever-expanding community around the new faith. The conflict with the Quraish continued, but after several years of violent clashes, Mecca surrendered. Muhammad and his followers soon returned and took over the city, destroying all its pagan idols and spreading their belief in one God.
The Night Journey and Ascension of the Prophet
Accounts of the ascension (mi'raj ) of Muhammad have captured the imaginations of writers and painters for centuries. One night, while the Prophet was sleeping, the Archangel Gabriel came and led him on a journey. Mounted on the heavenly steed Buraq, Muhammad traveled from the Ka'ba in Mecca to the "Farthest Mosque," which Muslims believe to be the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. There he prayed with other prophets such as Moses, Abraham, and Jesus, and ascended to the skies, where he was led by Gabriel through Paradise and Hell, and finally came face to face with God. He then returned to earth to continue spreading the message of Islam. According to Islamic belief, Muhammad was the only person to see Heaven and Hell while still alive.
After the Prophet's Death: Emergence of Shi'i and Sunni Sects of Islam
When Muhammad died in 632, he had not named a successor. One faction, the Shi'a, believed that only individuals with direct lineage to the Prophet could guide the Muslim community righteously. They thought that 'Ali, Muhammad's closest surviving blood male relative, should be their next leader (caliph). The other faction, the Sunnis, believed that the Prophet's successor should be determined by consensus and successively elected three of his most trusted companions, commonly referred to as the Rightly Guided Caliphs (Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman), as leaders of the Muslim community; 'Ali succeeded them as the fourth caliph.
Today the Islamic community remains divided into Sunni and Shi'i branches. Sunnis revere all four caliphs, while Shi'is regard 'Ali as the first spiritual leader. The rift between these two factions has resulted in differences in worship as well as political and religious views. Sunnis are in the majority and occupy most of the Muslim world, while Shi'i populations are concentrated in Iran and Iraq, with sizeable numbers in Bahrain, Lebanon, Kuwait, Turkey, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
Depictions of the Prophet Muhammad
Featured in this unit are several depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. These portrayals, while somewhat rare, are not unheard of as there were (and still are) many different attitudes toward depicting the Prophet, and humans in general, in the Islamic world. These attitudes varied dramatically from region to region and throughout history; the societies that produced the works discussed here are among those that allowed the depiction of the Prophet. Commissioned by Muslims for Muslims, these images appear in biographies of the Prophet and his family, world and local histories, and accounts of Muhammad's celestial journey (mi'raj), as well as in literary texts. In each context, they serve a distinct purpose. They illustrate a narrative in biographies and histories, while in literary texts they serve as visual analogues to written praises of the Prophet. An image of the Prophet Muhammad at the beginning of a book endows the volume with the highest form of blessing and sanctity. Thus, illustration of him was a common practice, particularly in the eastern regions of the Islamic world (see also Frequently Asked Questions).

The Five Pillars of Islam

The Five Pillars are the core beliefs and practices of Islam:

Profession of Faith (shahada). The belief that "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God" is central to Islam. This phrase, written in Arabic, is often prominently featured in architecture and a range of objects, including the Qur'an, Islam's holy book of divine revelations. One becomes a Muslim by reciting this phrase with conviction.
Prayer (salat). Muslims pray facing Mecca five times a day: at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and after dark. Prayer includes a recitation of the opening chapter (sura) of the Qur'an, and is sometimes performed on a small rug or mat used expressly for this purpose (see image 24). Muslims can pray individually at any location (fig. 1) or together in a mosque, where a leader in prayer (imam) guides the congregation. Men gather in the mosque for the noonday prayer on Friday; women are welcome but not obliged to participate. After the prayer, a sermon focuses on a passage from the Qur'an, followed by prayers by the imam and a discussion of a particular religious topic.
Alms (zakat). In accordance with Islamic law, Muslims donate a fixed portion of their income to community members in need. Many rulers and wealthy Muslims build mosques, drinking fountains, hospitals, schools, and other institutions both as a religious duty and to secure the blessings associated with charity.
Fasting (sawm). During the daylight hours of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, all healthy adult Muslims are required to abstain from food and drink. Through this temporary deprivation, they renew their awareness of and gratitude for everything God has provided in their lives—including the Qur'an, which was first revealed during this month. During Ramadan they share the hunger and thirst of the needy as a reminder of the religious duty to help those less fortunate.

Fig. 1. Portrait of Prince Muhammad Buland Akhtar, known as Achhe Sahib, at Prayer: Folio from an album, 17th century; painter: Hujraj; India; ink and opaque watercolor on paper; 13 1/16 x 9 in. (33.2 x 22.9 cm); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1925 (25.138.2)

This illustration shows a Mughal prince praying on a mat that features an arch recalling the shape of a prayer niche (mihrab), symbolic of the gateway to Paradise. The prince is barefoot as a gesture of humility before God. The simplicity of his surroundings is an indication of piety; the emphasis here is on the prince's spiritual nature rather than the opulence of his costume or surroundings (which is the case in many royal Mughal portraits; see The Mughal Court and the Art of Observation).
Pilgrimage (hajj). Every Muslim whose health and finances permit it must make at least one visit to the holy city of Mecca, in present-day Saudi Arabia. The Ka'ba, a cubical structure covered in black embroidered hangings, is at the center of the Haram Mosque in Mecca (fig. 2). Muslims believe that it is the house Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) built for God, and face in its direction (qibla) when they pray. Since the time of the Prophet Muhammad, believers from all over the world have gathered around the Ka'ba in Mecca on the eighth and twelfth days of the final month of the Islamic calendar.

Fig. 2. Folio from the Futuh al-Haramain (Description of the Holy Cities), mid-16th century; by Muhi al-Din Lari; Turkey; ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper; 8 3/8 x 5 3/4 in. (21.3 x 13.3 cm); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1932 (32.131)

This book illustration provides a schematic view of the innermost enclosure of the Haram Mosque in Mecca. It includes six minarets, the names of the gates, and even shows mosque lamps hanging in the arcades around the Ka'ba at the center of the composition. The book is a pilgrimage manual, which describes the holy cities of Mecca and Medina and the rituals that pilgrims are required to perform at each location. The most important of these rituals include walking around the Ka'ba seven times, running between the hills of Safa and Marwa to commemorate the story of Ishmael (Isma'il in Arabic) and his mother, and symbolically stoning the devil in the area of Mina.

The Qur'an

Muslims believe that the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, was revealed to Muhammad over a period of twenty-three years, starting with the initial revelation at Mount Hira. After the Prophet's death, his successors compiled these divine revelations in a manuscript.
The Qur'an contains prayers, moral guidance, historical narrative, and promises of Paradise. It opens with a short prayer called the Fatiha, the most widely recited passage, and is divided into 114 chapters (suras) organized in descending length. For binding and reading purposes, manuscripts of the Qur'an are often divided into thirty equal parts, called juz'.
Every chapter of the Qur'an (except one) begins with the bismillah, the collective name for the invocation "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful." Muslims often repeat this phrase at the start of an event or task—before giving a speech, beginning a meal, or even boarding a bus. The calligraphic bismillah is frequently written on both religious and secular objects. (See also Arabic Script and the Art of Calligraphy.)
The Qur'an places Muhammad at the end of a long line of prophets that began with Abraham. Although narrative is not central to the Qur'an, it includes the stories of Noah, Moses, and Jesus. It recognizes Jews and Christians as "People of the Book"; as a result, Muslims accept many of the teachings of the Jewish Torah and Christian Bible. Many of the great Islamic empires (like those in Spain, Iran, India, and Turkey) were tolerant of religious minorities.

The Written Word in Islam

Muslims believe that the Qur'an contains the literal words of God, which were spoken in Arabic. Their written form is considered the purest expression of God's intent. Muslims throughout the world share a linguistic bond based on the desire to read the Qur'an in its original language.
Because of the exalted position of the Qur'an in Muslim societies, historically special attention was paid to the production, illumination, decoration, and display of Qur'an manuscripts. Due to its association with the written word of God, calligraphy is considered by Muslims to be the highest art form. Luxuriously embellished Qur'an manuscripts are often placed on specially designed bookstands (rahla) and prominently featured in mosques and religious schools (madrasas). (See image 5.)

The Mosque

The English word "mosque" denotes a Muslim house of worship. The word evolved from the Arabic term masjid, which means "place of prostration." During prayer, Muslims briefly kneel and touch their foreheads to the ground as a sign of submission (literally, Islam) to the will of God.
The Origin of the Mosque
The Prophet Muhammad's original house in Medina (in present-day Saudi Arabia) is thought to be the first mosque and probably served as a model for early mosque architecture. It was a mud-brick structure with living quarters on one side of an enclosed rectangular courtyard. Since Muhammad's followers would gather at his home for prayer, the side of the courtyard facing the qibla, or the direction of prayer, included a porch covered by palm branches, which offered shelter from the hot desert sun. Most early mosques, as well as the majority of later mosques in Arab lands, follow this general layout (see fig. 4).
Essential Architectural Elements of a Mosque
The essential architectural elements include:

The qibla is the direction Muslims face when praying toward the Ka'ba in Mecca. The qibla wall is the wall in a mosque that faces Mecca.
The mihrab is a niche in the qibla wall indicating the direction of Mecca; because of its importance, it is usually the most ornate part of a mosque, highly decorated and often embellished with inscriptions from the Qur'an (see image 4).
The minbar is a pulpit in the form of a staircase on which the prayer leader (imam) stands when delivering a sermon after Friday prayer. The pulpit is usually situated to the right of the mihrab and is often made of elaborately carved wood or stone (fig. 3).
A minaret is a tall tower attached or adjacent to a mosque. It is designed so the call to prayer, issued from mosques five times a day, can be heard loud and clear throughout a town or city. Alternatively, the call may be made from the roof or entrance, and is now often projected with the aid of microphones and speakers. The minaret is also a visual symbol of the presence of Islam. (See the six minarets of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, fig. 6.).
Most mosque courtyards (sahn) contain a public fountain, where believers can perform ablutions, the ritual washing of the hands, feet, and face required before prayer. In the arid lands of Arabia, water is revered as a gift from God, and fountains also have symbolic meaning, alluding to the four rivers of Paradise mentioned in the Qur'an.

Fig. 3. Minbar in the Great Mosque of Divrigi, Divrigi, Turkey, 1228–29
The Role of the Mosque
Mosques reflect the size and needs of individual Muslim communities, as their members all worship together on Fridays. Historically mosques have been at the center of education and intellectual life.
Inscriptions from the Qur'an adorn the interiors and exteriors of mosques, establishing a strong link between scripture and the place of prayer. Mosque decoration almost never includes human or animal forms, which are seen as potentially idolatrous. Instead, geometric, floral, vegetal, and calligraphic designs adorn mosques, symbolically recalling the promise of Paradise.
Mosques around the World
Mosques throughout the Islamic world use diverse building materials and reflect different regional traditions and styles. Despite variations in size and design, the special place mosques hold in Muslim communities remains universal.