1. Architecture as Tawhid

The 7 principles.......


1. Architecture as Tawhid (devotion & faith)

Architecture as Tawhid (devotion & faith), believing in the unity and Uniquity of Allah. Every Muslim should have faith in the shahada:  “There is no god but The God/Allah and Mohammad is his Messenger /
Prophet”
The main architecture of Allah, is the Ka'aba, found in Makkah and said to be the point where all muslims face for the prayers.
architecture as Tawhid signifies the essence of humanity, unified, border less community, transcend race, rank, wealth. Everyone are equal as  a human being, this can be seen through the performance of Hajj.
Tawhid also mentions the notion of place, shape, order, orientation this defines the unity of Ka'aba.

Architecture as Tawhid can be subdivided:

a. shahada
b. notion of Tawhid: Learnings of Islam
c. Catalyst - Building Community: Mosque: creates a society, used for various purposes such as education, court, gathering spot and the prayers
d. urban planning- proper guidance according the the fiqh law which includes size of street, boundaries, division of commercial and residential.

What is Islamic architecture?

Architecture, is the designing of a space or area
Islamic architecture suits the above context but includes more details and consideration while designing a space. Islamic architecture deals with the intention of pleasing God, Allah.
The architecture should fulfill these aspects:
- expression of faith
- having the vision of achieving Heaven
- The acknowledgement of Allah
- suit the purpose of a shelter, shelter for sun, wind, rain
- religious conviction
- helps to realize the pillars of Islam
- the beauty of the space, suiting ones economy

There are 7 main principles in Islamic architecture:

 - Architecture as Tawhid: Unity & Uniquity
of Allah)
 - Architecture of Ihtiram: Respect
 - Architecture with Ikhlas: Sincerity
 - Architecture as Pursuit of ‘Ilm:
Knowledge
 - Architecture for Iqtisad: Balance
 - Architecture of Haya’: Modesty
 - Architecture as Dikr: Remembrance

i will there on elaborate each of these above principles

Islam

Before going on to Islamic architecture, we should know the meaning of Islam.

Islam on its own means wholeness, safeness and peace. This word has numerous significance which relates to 'a way of living'. In religious context, it means "voluntary submission to God". The objective of a muslim is to obey God/ Allah. He has been placed on this earth to obey the command of Allah and the Worship of Allah itself. All the intentions, deeds, action that a muslim is doing should be pleasing Allah. 

Islam is said to be the first religion, the one that Adam and eve had. Muslim believes in all the prophets from Adam to the last prophet Muhammad SAW who brought along the Qu'raan and Hadith.

Prophet Muhammad SAW born in 570 AD In Mekkah from the Qureish family. From birth itself he had different titles, Al- Amin, He was highly respected throughout his tribe for his kind heart and truthfulness. He left in this world the Qu'raan, Hadith and Sunnah. Qu'raan is the sayings of Allah to human kind which was revealed to the Prophet during his meditation period brought by the Angels. Hadith is the things said by the Prophet Muhammad SAW throughout his life time on Earth and Sunnah is his Actions. As in Islam, Muslim considers the Prophet SAW to be their role model, so they try to follow the hadith and sunnah which is considered the perfect way for a living Muslim. 

Islam embodied 5 pillars of faith:

What is Architecture in a broad context?

Architecture en globes People, Intentions, Needs and Society to form a specific intended design for a purpose

Behind the word Architecture, lies a series of principles:
- religious
- belief
- structural
- cultural
-environmental
- economical
- technological

Behind these principles lies a success in architecture and the intention of building something will suit its context. Neglecting such essentials might lead to a wrong design.

Each job has a set of principles. If we taken the life of an Engineer for example, to solve a certain calculation, he needs to follow the right instruction and guidelines to obtain the wanted result. This shows the importance of steps, regulation, principles and guidelines. 

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ