This document contains a literature review on Islamic architecture conducted by a student named Nurul Jannah Masturah Jailani. It includes references from several sources that discuss key concepts in Islamic architecture like tawhid (the oneness of God) and how it influences architectural design. Tawhid aims to direct the viewer towards contemplating God's unity and transcendence. It gives Islamic architecture its identity and creates harmony between buildings and their users. The document also examines how elements like domes and ornamentation in mosques can symbolize theological principles and help worshippers feel spiritually connected to God.

1. Islamic
Architecture
[ARC
2343]
Project
2:
Literature
Review
Name:
Nurul
Jannah
Masturah
Jailani
Student
ID:
0310210
Tutor:
Pn.
NorhayaI
Ramli

2. APA
References
Title
Keywords
Defini6on
Content
Omer,
S.
A
Conceptual
Framework
for
Islamic
Architecture
(PhD).
InternaIonal
Islamic
University
Malaya.
Conceptual
Framework
of
Islamic
Architecture
Tawhidic,
Islamic
architecture,
concept,
implicaIons,
Tawhid
means
asserIng
the
unity
or
oneness
of
Allah.
Tawhid
is
the
Islamic
concept
of
monotheism.
The
word
tawhid
is
derived
from
the
words
wahid
and
ahad
that
mean
“one”,
“unique”
and
“peerless”.
• .
• The
implicaIons
of
tawhid
for
Islamic
architecture
are
rather
ideological.
Isma’il
al-­‐
Faruqi
said
that
the
influence
the
concept
of
tawhid
exerts
on
Islamic
civilizaIon
is
such
that
it
gives
the
laer
its
idenIty
impressing
it
by
its
own
mould.
• The
idea
of
tawhid
gives
Islamic
architecture
its
conspicuous
idenIty.
It
also
creates
in
Muslims
an
unprecedented
tawhidic
outlook
on
building
acIviIes
so
that
there
exists
the
highest
level
of
compaIbility
between
buildings
and
their
users.
Tawhid
ensures
that
Islamic
architecture
and
Muslims
forge
a
producIve
and
peaceful
alliance.
• The
character
of
Islamic
architecture
is
such
that
it
tries
its
best
to
disguise
its
mundane
naturalisIc
factors
and
features
that
may
hinder
a
beholder’s
focus
poinIng
in
turn
to
a
higher
order
of
expression
and
meaning.
The
beholder’s
aenIon
is
directed
towards
the
desired
end
by
various
ingenious
arIsIc
and
structural
ways
and
methods
that
are
meant
to
yield
an
intuiIon
of
the
real
essence
of
the
Transcendent
and
its
divine
infinity
and
perfecIon.

3. APA
References
Title
Keywords
Defini6on
Content
al
Faruqi,
L.
(1981).
God
in
Visual
Aesthe;c
Expression:
A
Compara;ve
Study
in
Transcendence
Symboliza;on.
Temple
University
Philadelphia.
God
in
Visual
AestheIc
Expression
Arts,
architecture,
Islamic,
tawhid,
explicit,
implicit
content
The
monotheisIc
doctrine
revealed
by
Allah
to
the
Prophet
Muhammad
is
know
as
tawhid
(i.e.,
“the
act
or
acIon
of
making
one”).
Tawhid
denies
the
figural
representaIon
of
God
in
Islamic
Arts
and
Architecture.
• Since
God
for
the
Muslim
is
an
uerly
and
unfailingly
trascendent
and
abstract
deity,
no
being
or
object
in
nature
is
proper
representaIve
or
descripIve
symbol
for
Him.
In
consequence,
Muslim
art
has
never
depicted
Allah
in
anthropomorphic
or
zoomorphic
form,
in
fact,
fosters
a
distaste
for
the
associaIon
of
the
Divine
with
any
figure
from
nature.
• The
Islamic
doctrine
of
tawhid
did
not
only
deny
the
figural
representaIon
of
God.
This
tended
to
draw
the
aenIon
of
the
viewer
away
from
this
world
in
order
to
contemplate
and
derive
an
intuiIon
of
the
completely-­‐
other-­‐than-­‐this-­‐world
UlImate
Reality.
• In
Islamic
arts
and
architecture,
nothing
is
given
the
status
of
holiness;
no
idols
and
objects
of
worship.
Nothing
in
nature,
not
even
the
infinite
paern,
can
be
equated
with
Transcendence
by
the
person
possessed
by
the
doctrine
of
tawhid.
Thus,
it
allows
Muslims
to
be
true
to
the
belief
that
God
is
completely
abstract,
transcendent
and
infinite
Being.

4. APA
References
Title
Keywords
Defini6on
Content
Yildiz,
S.
(2011).
What
Does
Make
a
City
Islamic?.
Interna;onal
Journal
Of
Business
And
Social
Science,
2(8).
What
does
make
a
City
Islamic?
Islamic
city,
tawhid,
Muslim
community,
principles,
characterisIcs
At
the
heart
of
Muslim
society,
lies
the
faith
of
tawhid
(oneness)
and
this
is
the
main
principle
on
which
Islamic
city
is
based,
just
like
Muslim
society.
This
common
idenIty
formed
by
Muslim
society
–
whether
it
is
called
“Islamic
community”,
“Islamic
ummah”
or
“Islamic
culture”
–
is
the
decisive
and
fundamental
characterisIc
of
Islamic
ciIes.
• This
common
idenIty
formed
by
Muslim
society
–
whether
it
is
called
“Islamic
community”,
“Islamic
ummah”
or
“Islamic
culture”
–
is
the
decisive
and
fundamental
characterisIc
of
Islamic
ciIes.13
Besides,
the
tawhid
concepIon
is
found
in
every
aribute
–
such
as
physical,
poliIcal,
economical,
social
and
cultural
traits
–
of
Islamic
city
both
transcendently
and
immanently.
Therefore,
the
aforemenIoned
characterisIc
of
Muslim
society
provides
that
Islamic
city
consItutes
an
enIty
with
all
its
aspects,
and
that
these
ciIes
form
a
common
type.
• In
Islamic
thought,
the
world
is
completely
temporary/evanescent
and
unstable.
Nevertheless,
beyond
all
the
temporary
forms
and
images
of
the
world
–
or
of
the
city
–
there
is
a
spirit
always
permanent.
This
is
the
Tawhid
concepIon
that
emphasizes
both
a
numerical
oneness
and
the
unity
of
mulItude.
According
to
Islamic
thought,
the
universe
is
accepted
as
one
of
three
verses
(the
book,
the
man,
the
universe)
by
Allah.

5. APA
References
Title
Keywords
Defini6on
Content
Kovacevic,
E.
(2014).
Islamic
architecture
and
its
conflicts
with
contemporary
Islamic
architecture.
InternaIonal
University
of
Sarajevo.
Islamic
architecture
and
its
conflicts
with
contemporary
Islamic
architecture
Islamic
architecture,
principles,
unified,
The
noIon
of
Tawhid
in
architecture
is
the
formless
essence
between
the
nature
of
space,
forms,
order,
and
orients
and
the
place
where
man
connects
with
the
presence
of
divine
unity.
One
of
the
most
important
example
is
holy
Ka’bah.
Ka’bah
is
representaIve
of
being
unified
among
the
believers.
Each
year
in
the
specific
period
Muslim
people
go
there
to
accomplish
one
of
the
essenIal
religious
obligaIon.
It
is
called
‘’hadj’’.
Regardless
being
wealthy,
wise,
more
religious
or
less
religious,
the
only
condiIon
is
enough
financial
status
to
fulfill
all
cost
of
trip
and
basic
life
needs
during
this
worship.
Every
year
all
these
people
force
themselves
to
gather
there
for
only
one
goal
is
that
compleIng
their
sacred
obligaIon
and
the
Ka’bah
is
the
only
one
place
where
Muslim
people
can
accomplish
their
sacred
obligaIon.
That
acIon
can
be
good
example
to
illustrate
first
principle
of
Islamic
architecture.

6. APA
References
Title
Keywords
Defini6on
Content
Longhurst,
C.
(2012).
Theology
of
a
Mosque:
The
Sacred
Inspiring
Form,
FuncIon
and
Design
in
Islamic
Architectur.
Lonaard
Magazine,
(8).
Tawhid,
mosque,
theology,
principles,
divine
Islam
teaches
that
God
is
one
(aḥad)
and
that
His
divine
oneness
is
self-­‐
evident
based
on
His
infinity
and
omnipresence.
Masājid
seek
to
capture
this
by
projecIng
the
principles
of
Tawḥīd
—God’s
Oneness,
aḥadiyya
—his
divine
Unity,
and
waḥdat
al-­‐wujūd
—the
unity
of
all
creaIon,
into
their
architectural
designs
and
decoraIon.
• Tawḥīd
exhibits
how
an
indispensable
relaIonship
exists
between
the
external
world
of
forms
and
the
interior
world
of
divine
realiIes.
The
physical
contextualisaIon
of
this
concept
sheds
light
on
the
visible
and
invisible
nature
of
Islam’s
architectural
and
aestheIc
ideals—
God
as
Aẓ
-­‐Ẓāhir—
The
Manifest,
The
Evident,
and
Al-­‐Bāṭin
—The
Hidden,
The
Unmanifest.
• Ayatullah
Khamenei
explains
that
the
masjid
translates
tawḥīd
into
“the
objecIvity
of
creaIon,
a
planned
and
computed
order
in
the
world
[…]
a
sort
of
dynamism
in
funcIon
and
purpose.”
• Khamenei
explains:
“To
describe
the
sense
of
space
or
building
typology
that
tawhid
imparts,
would
be
to
observe
the
course
of
nature
and
translate
it
into
a
materiality
occupying
space
for
the
purpose
of
giving
praise
to
God.”
• A
strong
sense
of
idenIty
and
consistency
tends
towards
auniversally
recognisable
aestheIc
signature
on
masājid
.
This
signature
is
rooted
in
Islamictheology
and
the
Muslim
sense
of
community.Imbued
with
the
principles
of
tawḥid
and
waḥdat
al-­‐wujūd
mosque
decoraIon
underscores
God’sdivine
aributes.

7. Islamic
Architecture
Project
2
–
Ques6ons
1. Which
part
of
the
mosque
can
you
feel
the
atmosphere
of
Tawhid?
-­‐
In
my
opinion,
the
place
where
the
Imam
leads
the
congregaIonal
prayers.
The
Imam
unites
the
Muslims
in
the
mosque.
2.
Why
is
it
important
to
adopt
the
concept
of
Tahwid
in
the
mosque?
-­‐
To
ensure
the
oneness
of
Allah,
in
every
aspect
of
a
mosque.
And
to
strengthen
the
silaturrahim
bond
between
Muslim
worshippers.
3.
Does
the
aestheIc
design
of
the
mosque
give
off
a
Tawhidic
presence?
-­‐
It’
a
very
beauIful
mosque.
It
makes
us
come
to
pray,
and
invite
our
families
and
friends
to
come
to
pray
here.
4.
What
kind
of
acIviIes
held
by
the
mosque
to
create
the
feeling
of
Tawhid?
-­‐
They
hold
Arabic
classes,
events,
weddings
etc.
All
kinds
of
acIviIes
to
teach
Muslims
on
the
religion,
bringing
everyone
together.
5.
Does
the
Tawhidic
atmosphere
of
the
mosque
contributes
to
the
spiritual
connecIon
between
worshippers
and
God?
-­‐
It
helps
us
being
immersed
during
prayers,
where
everyone
gathers
together.
6.
Does
further
understanding
of
Tawhid
will
help
you
being
immersed
during
prayers?
-­‐
Yes,
it
does.
7.
Which
part
of
the
design
of
the
mosque
that
you
like
most?
-­‐
I
personally
like
the
dome
of
the
mosque
most.
It
is
very
beauIful
and
big,
making
me
feel
rather
small.
8.
Does
any
of
the
ornamentaIon
of
the
mosque
give
you
an
uncomfortable
feeling?
Why?
-­‐
I
don’t
think
so.
I
think
every
part
of
the
mosque
is
very
beauIful
and
pleasing
to
the
eye.
9.
In
your
opinion,
does
the
mosque
itself
a
representaIon
of
Tawhid?
If
not,
which
mosque?
-­‐
Yes
it
does.
With
it’s
grand
look,
it
calls
out
to
every
Muslims
and
even
non-­‐Muslims
to
visit
this
mosque.
10.
If
you
were
to
take
part
in
the
re-­‐designing
the
mosque,
what
would
you
input
in
order
to
create
a
beer
spiritual
feeling
to
the
mosque?
-­‐
Maybe
add
more
trees
around
the
mosque?
To
give
more
privacy
from
the
busy
roads
beside
the
mosque
compound.