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Write Up Tittle: The Research Study of Architectural Spiritual Theories of Islamic Architecture and Their Relation to Human Inner Perception. ____________________________________________________________________________

The existence of consciousness and subconscious in terms of mind, self, soul and spirit, and their ultimate function, are still a myth to human. Regardless how advance of the development in science and technology today, we can hardly find a tangible prove to explain the actual form of spirit itself. We can only understand the surface of soul and spirit through the debris of knowledge passed down from earlier generation in form of storytelling, books, arts, carving or writings. It is undoubted that soul and spirit are the most important parts of the human that governs the automatic functions of the body, to understand and to differentiate good from evil. (Dr. Hassan Ali El-Najjar, 2007). “Spirit” is originate from the Arabic word of roo'h (‫) روح‬, according to Dr. Hassan Ali ElNajjar. The source and existence of soul and spirit in human can be traced from two books that are considered as the oldest book in the world: The Qu’ran (Koran) and The Bibble. Koran 17, 85 states that, “" They will ask you concerning the Spirit. Say to them, the Spirit (ruh) is from the Command of my Lord and of knowledge you have been vouchsafed but little." In the phrase, it is clearly shown that spirit is come from God, as the ultimate source of life. Also, Muhsin S. Mahdi states in his writings that: “the structure of the soul, and the activities of its various parts or powers and their relationship and hierarchy are of interest to any artist whose art consists of creating a work that pleases or conveys a message or arouses a certain feeling in the human beings who look at it or work or worship it.” (Mahdi, Muhsin S, 1980). In Mahdi writings, he has mentioned that the soul and spirit is within human and they are capable of perceive external intangible message and evoke an unspoken feeling in human. The process of human perceive “the understanding” or “the message” from external environment is the process of “feeling into” – “ Empathy” (Einfuhlung). The word “empathy” is originate from the German word of “Einfuhlung”, meaning that the ability to understand and share feeling with another entities. Works of art and architecture are the most effective medium of expression, communicate messages and creating an empathy within the viewers, the soul and spirit are enchanted. According to a German romantic art philosopher, “einfuhlung” is a process where the viewer becomes united with the artworks or the creator of that art at spiritual level. (Koss 2006:139). The famous architect, Le Corbusier also had mentioned the similar thought. In one of his quote “You employ stone, wood and concrete, and with these materials you build houses and palaces. That is construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly you touch my heart, you do me good, I am happy and I say: "This is beautiful." That is Architecture. Art enters in”. “You touched my heart” is a metaphor of the reconciliation of the viewer and the creator at spiritual level. The methodology of this research study is through site visit questionnaires. Ten questions based on literature reviews has been applied on the questionnaires and the answers are collected and further analyzed. In this research study, the mosque that has been selected is the Mosque Al- Hasanah which located at Bangi, Selangor.

Mosque Al- Hasanah Bangi is a mosque that has the stunning green dome and a minerat. At night, the light from the mosque is the addition of aesthetic value to site context. Along the years, the mosque is populated by the followers especially families due to its abundance of social activities.

Figure 1.0 Image of Mosque Al- Hasanah Bangi. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/adib/7109353185/

Islamic Architecture Designs are based on Islamic philosophies, teachings and beliefs.

Among all, the most important theory in Islamic Architecture is one of the seven unifying principles – Tawhid. Tawhid (‫ )ت وح يد‬is the concept of monotheism in Islam. The concept magnify “the oneness” of God, that (Allah) is One (Al-ʾAḥad) and Single (Al-Wāḥid). It also has the meaning of unity, oneness or the whole. Often, this concept is shown through the typology of Islamic Architecture, for example the floor plan of Taj Mahal.

Figure 2.0 Floor plan of Taj Mahal. Retrieved from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Taj_floorplan.svg/500px-Taj_floorplan.svg.png

The core of the Taj Mahal from floorplan shows the unity of the other four surrounding chambers by the void in the middle. At this void, a user can experience the feeling of “at the center of space” that created by the order of spaces. And this “at center of space”, is the message of oneness that the architect intended to remember and at the same time evokes the same memory in the user.

Form and volumn combine to produce a "God-centeredness" by drawing the eyes, if not the spirit, upward (Longhurst.C.E. 2012). Hence, at spiritual level, through experience of the space, the architect and the user reach a level of “feeling into” each other. The user perceive what the architect perceive, with a slightly different interpretation, but, the meaning are similar. Often, the dome, central void and qubba are the architectural elements that used to describe the oneness, unity of God in Islamic Architecture. Dome and qubba has significant spiritual symbolism in Islamic Architecture. Regarding dome, George Steiner stated in "great emptiness" that the "great void" (adam) "make visible the invisible world". Also, dome in Islamic Architecture is also called “Dome of the sky”, a symbolism to the divine immensity, God as AlMutakabbir (The Highest, The Greatest) (Longhurst.C.E, 2012). In other hand, qubba symbolize the connection of human spirit to the source, the connection of earthly and spiritual realms. From the visitation of Mosque AlHasanah Bangi, I have found that the unity and oneness of God is expressed through the dome of the mosque at similar approach. The hierarchy of the dome shows the highest point of the mosque which represent the superiority of God. Also the singularity of the minaret found at the mosque also remind the oneness of God.

Figure 3.0 Image of Mosque Al- Hasanah Bangi. Taken by Yong Yih Tyng.

Figure 4.0 Image of Mosque Al- Hasanah Bangi. Taken by Yong Yih Tyng.

The second spiritual architectural theory that can be found in Islamic Architecture is the notion of Prostration. Prostration is the external action that reflects the submissive inner realm of the worshiper to God. The meaning of prostration is derived from the word “Sujud” or "Sajdah", which come from the root verb sajada, meaning, to lower oneself in front of God. “Say: “Whether ye believe in it or not, it is true that those who were given knowledge beforehand, when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces in humble prostration, “And they say: “Glory to our Lord! Truly has the promise of our Lord been fulfilled!” They fall down on their faces in tears, and it increases their (earnest) humility” (Qu’ran 17: 107-109). Hence, in Islamic spiritual concept, prostration is the symbolism of devotion of the worshippers to God. Due to its importance, a wide central space

in the mosque is designed for the worshipper to perform prostration. One could experience the feeling of lowering self and the connection to God spiritually during prostration in mosque together with other worshippers. The feeling of one within millions at Mecca during prostration has the most impact to one spiritual growth. The person experience great humility and the superior of God. During the visit at Mosque Al- Hasanah Bangi, the similar interior can be seen in the architecture itself. With the placement of mihrab, the followers feel it is more focus during prostration.

Figure 5.0 Image of Mosque Al- Hasanah Bangi. Taken by Yong Yih Tyng.

Figure 6.0 Image of Mosque Al- Hasanah Bangi. Taken by Yong Yih Tyng.

Figure 7.0 Image of Mosque Al- Hasanah Bangi. Taken by Yong Yih Tyng.

Figure 8.0. Mecca. Image retrieved from https://sacredsites.com/images/middle_east/saudi_arabia/mecca_great_mosque_600.jpg

The less obvious experience of prostration is the visual appreciation through the form. This is because usually the scale of Islamic Architecture is large and one could really understand the whole form is by looking at the aerial view of the architecture, which, in this case is not feasible. Most of the Islamic architectures are designed with the concept of prostration, in a way that to humble down and blend into the surrounding. However, some might be different based on the local culture and tradition which influence by the principle of Urf. The architecture that shows the example of prostration is the National Mosque at KL. The form of the mosque has all the points on the sides pointing down in a metaphor of bowing.

Figure 9.0. National Mosque of Kuala Lumpur. Image retrieved from http://coachnvanrental.com.my/state-of-malaysia/masjidnegara-(national-mosque)-kl_1.jpg

Light and Darkness is also one of the features in spiritual theory of Islamic architecture.

Unlike in Japanese architecture which emphasis of the darkness as portray of mysteries and emptiness (void), in Islamic architecture, the light and darkness represent spiritual dimension: the good and the evil. The light is said to be come from God and symbolize the good while evil is symbolized by the darkness. Mahdi, Muhsin S. (1980) wrote in “Architecture as Symbol and SelfIdentity”, stated that “Light as the physical manifestation of intellectual or super intellectual light, and the different parts of creation an orderly mixture of light and darkness, an analogy of being and not being, that terminates in God as pure or unmixed light.” In some of the writings, also mentioned about light, that it is from God:

“Allah is the light of Heavens and the Earth. The likeness of His light is as if there were a niche and in the niche is a lamp and in the lamp is a glass and the glass as it were a shining star, from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil is well nigh luminous though fire has scarcely touched it. Light upon light. Allah guides the one He wants to His light. And Allah strikes metaphors for mankind, and Allah is the Knower of all things. (This lamp is found) in houses which Allah has allowed to be exalted so that His Name shall be remembered therein. Therein He is glorified in the morning and in the evening.”

An-Nur (24):35-36.

Sun, moon and stars are the celestial bodies that become the main source of light response in Islamic architecture. By using screens in the Islamic Architecture, the light is being invited into the interior of the mosque, as a metaphor of human inviting God into the inner soul. At night, the moon and stars are reflected on the pool of water usually found in Islamic Architecture, as a remembrance of God exists and protects even in darkness. The user experience God as omnipresent in Islamic Architecture. At Mosque Al- Hasanah Bangi, the light is penetrate through the colorful windows reminding the followers of hope. At night the beautiful lights accentual and manifest the beautiful of God through the expressive beauty of the mosque.

Figure 10.0 Image of Mosque Al- Hasanah Bangi. Taken by Yong Yih Tyng.

Figure 11.0 Image of Mosque Al- Hasanah Bangi. Taken by Yong Yih Tyng.

Figure 12.0 Image of Mosque Al- Hasanah Bangi. Taken by Yong Yih Tyng.

Figure 13.0 Image of Mosque Al- Hasanah Bangi. Taken by Yong Yih Tyng.

Figure 14.0 Image of Mosque Al- Hasanah Bangi. Taken by Yong Yih Tyng.

Other than that, sound and silence is also another spiritual theory in Islamic Architecture.

In Islamic philosophy, sound and silence are both sounds which resonance at different frequency.

One is the known sound and the other is the unknown sound. Sound is important because it is a medium of passing message from one medium to another. Also, a melody of combination of sounds is also a form of memory. The memory shared together with the first person created by God, Adam, when all human are one part of him. Haqqani. G.S.M.N.A.A in his writing, “Sound and Silence in Islamic Spirituality�, he wrote that, there is a subtle voice within every human and that is the voice of the soul. This voice of soul prefer to immerse itself into silence and only manifest itself in silence. This voice of soul is the sound that is in harmony with the surrounding.

Le Corbusier states that, “" Harmonious proportions arouse, deep within us and beyond our sense, a resonance, a sort of sounding board which begins to vibrate. An indefinable trace of the Absolute which lies in the depth of our being. This sounding board which vibrates in us is our criterion of harmony. This is indeed the axis on which man is organized in perfect accord with nature and probably with the universe". Hence, in most of the Islamic Architecture, one could easily found that it is designed at simplicity, visually silence and also silence in terms of noise. When a person is surrounded by the total silent, thoughts and reflections will surfaced. That, is the voice of the soul that is seeking the silence that it prefers most. Similar environment of silence can be found at most of the sacred architecture, for example temple or church. The design concept is the same, to help the voice of soul to find its own place. To be calm, safe and at stability. At Mosque AlHasanah Bangi, the followers mentioned that the surrounding is quiet and peaceful. It is a very good environment for them to pray and connect to God.

Figure 15.0 Image of Mosque Al- Hasanah Bangi. Taken by Yong Yih Tyng.

In conclusion, there are many other spiritual theories in Islamic Architecture. However, one can easily analyses that, there is always an existence of the main core in Islamic Architecture, which is the Al Mighty God. In Islamic Architecture, it strives that not to celebrate any of the creation of God but God Himself. He is the source of spiritual life and inspiration.

Yong Yih Tyng 031764 Islamic Architecture Project 2