Mihrab
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A mihrab (in Persian مهراب or محراب, in Arabic ألمحراب pl. محاريب), sometimes spelled "mehrab" or "mehraab", is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla, i.e. the direction of Kaaba that Muslims should face when praying. The wall is called the qibla wall. The mihrab gives the impression of a door or a passage to Mecca. They vary in size but are usually ornately decorated. Mihrabs first appeared in the reign of the Umayyad khalif al-Walid I (705–715).
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[edit] Etymology
The etymology of the term is believed to come from the Persian word مهراب mihrab which was used in pre-Islamic Persia to designate the niches in the Mithraistic houses of worship. Mihr in Persian means Mithra and mihrab means Mithraeum. Others, such as the late Ayatolla Khomeini, have suggested that the root might be from Arabic حرب, "to fight" or "lead to war". As a noun it might be derived from "war", حرب and حربة , "lance". محراب is defined as a battlefield, in the sense jihād an-nafs (i.e. the fight against your own soul). Some say that it is also a word from Ethiopian or Hebrew חרבה, hurbah (ruin) with a vague connection to the purchase to buildings. Both the latter guesses have less historical bearing. Mihrabs can be made of wood, but is normally made out of masonry, and dignified with pillars. Mihrabs are often highly ornamented.
[edit] Usage of Al-Mihrab in the Qur'an
In the Qur'anic context, the term Al-Mihrab is often used in conjunction with a remembrance of an event in life of prior (effectively Jewish) servants of God. In these cases, the term indicates the "Holy of Holies" of the 1st and 2nd Temples in Jerusalem.
Examples are the relating of the story of Mary as a child in the "Al-Mihrab" where Zachariah was a Temple Priest (Q 3.37). Another instance is the apparition of the Angel foretelling the birth of John/Yahya to Zacharia (Q 19.1-19) which is also told in the Gospels as occurring "in the Holy of Holies". Based on other texts (The "Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew" and The Gospel of Christ according to Luke(Luke 1.11)), we can confirm that these 2 instances both refer to the "Holy of Holies" of the Jerusalem's (2nd) Temple.
The final such usage is in reference to David and "disputants who climbed into Al-Mihrab" (Q 38.21). Given that king David did not build the Temple (king Solomon did), but rather use temporary structures in its stead, we note that this may be referring to the "Holy of Holies" of the temporary structure, which would also explain how the "disputants" managed to "climb in it".
This Qur'anic consideration of Al-Mihrab provides the amplification of the true meaning of "mihrab" — regardless of its suspected "etymological roots"— in Islamic faith and architecture, when we note the progression of "One central temple" to the distributed Mosques in communities.
The mihrab then is a "fragment of Holy of Holies" — the place where, in the Temple Angels and Spirit descended on the Praying servants (i.e. priests). This "fragment" or "analogue" is then reproduced in all the places where men and women go to worship The One God.
In effect, the mihrab serves the same "spatial-spiritual point" of "meeting" between the "community of God" and "the Spirit" as the "Holy of Holies" served for the Temple in Jerusalem.
But from an Islamic point of view, the mihrab is simply an indication of the direction of the Holy city of Makkah. Unlike Judaism and other religions, Islam doesn't see God as an entity requiring a place like a "Holy of Holies" to 'live' among people. According to Islamic teaching Allah is the one who is "present everywhere" & "every time". He does not require rooms, temples, mosques, churches or synagogues to reside in. The fact that the Kabbah is referred to as God's House in Islam is just symbolic. But this Holy symbol helps all Muslims to unite in prayer all over the globe by facing towards one position.
[edit] Exceptions
In exceptional cases, the mihrab does not follow the qibla direction. One example is the Mezquita of Córdoba, Spain in Al Andalus that points South instead of Southeast. Among the proposed explanations, there is the localization of the ancient Roman cardo street besides the old temple the Mezquita was built upon.
 Mihrab in Friday Mosque, Yazd |
 Mihrab in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul |
