aar1230characteribe

8/2/2019 AAR1230CharacterIBE

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8.9. (Saturday)

10-3.30

Next week on 6.9. class for bothsections. Same time same venue.

AAR 1230

Quran, Sunnah and Built

Environment

Section 1/2

Venue: LT 3

Lecturer: Spahic OmerConsultation Hours: T-TH 3.30-5.00

pm

03-6196 5248

Why this course?

Link / bridge between the body of

Islam and its teachings and different

professions.


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IIUM wants to perceive and implement

Islam as it is, that is, a complete way of

life.

What is the relationship betweenQuran, Sunnah and Built

Environment?

Main Reference: The Prophet

Muhammad and Urbanization ofMadinah (90%)

This reference MUST be read /

referred to / owned

90% of topics is based on the books

content

reading inside the class

Marks distribution:


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40% Final exam

10 % attendance and participation

(being positive in class)20 %: Chapter review (Any of the

following chapters: 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6):

The assignment should have two parts:

first: a brief summery of core ideas in a

chapter; second: yourcomments/discussion about different

aspects of the chapter chosen

(Methodology, language, conclusions,

line of discussion, etc.)

ChoseANYof the mentioned chapters.ONLY ONE page; single spacing; TNR

12; Deadline: 6.9.2007

Submission during the class

30 % mid-term exam

English-English Dictionary

Tool


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Framework: a set of answers on

fundamental questions plus sets ofinstructions / guidelines as to how to

behave while on the lifes journey (or

as to how to fulfill the lifes mission).

Sunnah: extension of revelation; words

and meaning, sunnah is wahy only bymeaning words are prophets . negate.

Relationship between Quran, Sunnah

and Built Environment

Quran is a revelation from God to the

last Prophet Muhammad (saws). It is

revelation in both words and meanings.

Thus, it is to remain unchanged

forever, as God guarantees that He will

be in charge of doing this. Quran is


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guidance, light, inspiration, clear sign,

orientation, cure, etc. Man being

ignorant, stranger, weak, arrogant, etc.on earth he needs a guide so that he can

confidently embark on doing what he

has been created for. Otherwise, man

will remain bogged down with such

simple, yet fundamental questions, aswho is he, why was he created, what

awaits him after death, what is he

supposed to do, etc. In other words,

confusion will be the rule of the day, as

it is actually the case every-timerevelation is abandoned.

Sunnah: is the words and actions of the

Prophet Muhammad. It is also

revelation but in meanings (Quran is

revelation by both words and

meanings). Words are from the

Prophet himself. The role of the sunnah


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is to interpret and implement the

Quran. Hence, the Prophets wife

Aishah said that the Prophet was awalking Quran.

Every believer is (should be) a walking

Quran.

What does it mean that the Quran andSunnah are sources of Islamic built

environment (Islamic civilization)?

The role of Quran and sunnah in

determining Islamic built environment is

an implicit one. Explicit texts are rare

but not completely non-existent.

Quran and sunnah never say this is

the way you must build/design

buildings.

Some issues related to building that

Islam spoke of:


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1) Functions of buildings (Islam speaks

about family life to which we give form

(housing)2) Privacy

3) Protection / safety

4) Interaction with environment

5) Interaction with God

6) Interaction with people7) Sustainability

8) Cleanliness etc. etc.

The role of Quran and sunnah can be

summed up in the following points:

1) Quran and sunnah serve as

guidance in peoples perceiving,

creating and using of built

environment.


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2) Quran and sunnah tell how

important built environment is

and what should be its purpose inlife

3) Quran and sunnah give us

orientation as to how to deal with

and use built environment

4) Quran and sunnah present uswith general values and teachings

as to how to deal with different

aspects of built environment

5) Quran and sunnah help people

exercise restraint when it comes tomaking and using built

environment. This means that

built environment will always

remain a means (facility); it will

never become a goal.

6) Quran and sunnah cite some past

experiences from past civilizations

as to the importance of built


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environment, thus presenting us

with many spiritual lessons.

7) In sunnah, through the Prophetsexperience, we witness how the

Islamic vision of built

environment is applied in practice.

The Prophet Muhammad created

the city of Madinah. It is therethat he taught us those lessons in

building, planning, etc.

In summery: Islam gave us a general

framework within which we operateand create built environments that

suite the requirements of our age,

circumstances, climate, geography and

culture. In doing so the dictates of the

general ideological framework

provided by Islam are never violated.

It is because of this that in the Muslim

world there is a vast diversity in


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various aspects of built environment,

yet the essence of all the built

environment expressions is and willalways be the SAME. Islamic built

environment means: UNITY IN

DIVERSITY

The Character of the Islamic Built

Environment (p 31-38)

Definition: IBE is the one whose function, plan

and, to a lesser extent form, embody the principles

of Islam, and are inspired by the spirit and

worldview of Islam.

Built environment is not an end in itself. It

is a means that serves an end.

Therefore, the end is more important than

the means. The means is always adjusted


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to the demands of the end; it is never the

other way round. The means is always

subservient to the end. The means iscreated in such a way that it facilitates the

end.

By creating built environment we give

Islam a chance to live, that is, to be

implemented.

People are those who give life to built

environment. People are those who

make built environment Islamic. The

role of planners, designers or architectsis rather secondary (complementary).

Main characteristics of IBE:1. Islam as inspiration for IBE

2. IBE as the embodiment of Islam3. Function versus form in IBE:

Nobody is against form or artistic aspect of

built environment, but form is always


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second to the overall function of built

environment. Form is important but not

the most important. Our concern aboutform must be in line with the function of

built environment. That is, form is to

support function.

4. Believer versus IBE (the spirit of

both is somewhat same)

Islam + Islamic lifestyle + IBE as a

framework for the Islamic lifestyle

IBE as the third skin, he first being our

natural skin and the second being our

clothing

Consistency / compatibility between our

actions and our built environment that

frames or facilitates our actions

Built environment is a facility that facilitates our

life activities

The key word in IBE is ISLAMIC which is an

adjective describing the noun that comes after it.


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What makes a built environment Islamic is the

function because of which the form is created. It is

the actions that we carry out inside our built

environment. It is the values and teachings whichhave been duly observed and applied inside the

domain of our built environment. It is the spirit of

Islam that pervades the whole process of creating

our built environment: from perceiving and

planning to using it.

Our built environment cannot be Islamic because

of certain physical symbols, or because of certain

elements that are associated with a culture or a

moment in history.

No symbolism in Islam. However, if anything is to

be singled out as a symbol of Islam than it is

GOOD DEEDS (amal salih).

Islamic built environment exists because itencloses / frames the Islamic (our) lifestyle. Not

only this, it also facilitates and further encourages

such a lifestyle.

It follows that there must be a complete

compatibility / matching between the two, i.e., our

Islamic lifestyle and our built environment.

Therefore, creating anything of built environmentis such a serious and responsible act.

An example: creating a good and functional school

is as important as creating a good and progressive

curriculum for the same school.


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Creating a bad and ineffective school (physical

aspect) is as bad as creating a bad and outdated or

unprogressive curriculum.

Why do we make built environment?

CAN WE CALL THE EXISTING BUILT

ENVIRONMENT OF THE MUSLIMS

ISLAMIC (p. 43-48)

(Quran): Of His signs is the creation of heavens

and the earth, and the differences in your

languages and skin colors

diversity is the rule of life

Built environment is created in response to the

demands of a place, a people, a culture, a beliefsystem, etc. Since places, peoples, belief systems

and cultures are different, built environments

must also be different. It is grossly inappropriate

to talk about the globalization of built


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environment, or blind following / importing of

built environment.

The first thing we have to bear in mind is NOgeneralization

Calling anything ISLAMIC today is sensitive.

The listener tends to anticipate much, knowing

how special Islam is. If there is a mismatch

between what we call ISLAMIC and reality

much confusion may follow in the mind of both

Muslims and non-Muslims. This is so because we

do not live Islam today at all levels of our lives.

After all, we cannot call something Islamic if it

does not function really according to the values

and teachings of Islam.

Examples of this (p. 45-47)Example one: in Madinah, the hypocrites built a

mosque near the one in Quba. Their motive was

to divide Muslims and confuse not only Muslims

but also non-Muslims as to the nature of Islam

and Muslims. The structure looked just like any

other mosques of that time. However, God

instructed the Prophet to destroy it. The structurelooked like a mosque but in reality (its total

function) it was not a mosque. It was an

instrument of evil intentions. The morale: if the

mosque was not destroyed and people have called


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it an Islamic building (mosque), once the

structures real character became known to

people, what confusion would it have created?

People might have wondered what actually Islamis.

Second example: When the Prophets mosque was

reconstructed towards the end of the first Hijrah

century, some non-Muslim artisans were

employed to execute the mosques decoration. One

of them, driven by his hatred towards Islam and

Muslims, drew a small pig on one of the mosques

walls. He was caught and duly punished. The

morale: If the man, hypothetically, was not

caught, what would be peoples reaction once the

picture was discovered, especially the reaction of

those people prone to generalize that everything

built in the lands of Muslims is Islamic builtenvironment? The danger here is that people tend

to defend everything, even if a thing is obviously

against the message of Islam. Few people are

ready to admit that they are wrong.

Third example: Some pictures with humans on

them, including topless women, were discovered in

some excavated Umayyad palaces. Due to manypeoples generalization, they had no choice but to

try to justify the discovery saying that Islam is not

against painting, including all types of human

representations. In trying to defend their beliefs,


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these people go as far as to support their

statements and beliefs by some obviously rejected

hadiths. (Again: few people are ready to admit

that they are wrong. Moreover, Islam and itsbeauty and flexibility are often manipulated for

this type of goals.) So these people relied on a

REJECTED hadith of the Prophet who is

reported to have said on entering the Kabah,

after liberating Makkah, that all its pictures be

wiped out except the picture of Mary (Maryam)

with small Isa (Jesus) on her lap, after he put his

hand on the picture trying to protect it. This is a

REJECTED hadith by all scholars of hadith. In a

SOUND (sahih) hadith narrated by Bukhari,

Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ahmad b. Hanbal, and others,

the Prophet ordered that ALL pictures in Kabah

be wiped out. When the pictures were erased, onlythen the Prophet entered the Kabah. Umar b. al-

Khattab was in charge of wiping out ALL the

pictures.

If we have to generalize, however, maybe it is

better to call our BE MUSLIM because the

shortcomings in our BE are but reflection of ourown shortcomings, which nevertheless do not

exclude us from the framework of Islam.


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**********

The meaning of the city or settlement(madinah) in Islam (Chapter one, p. 6-

17)

The city in Islam, apart from what is said about

the city phenomenon, also means a vast space

occupied by a large group of vicegerents who helpone another in executing their khilafah mission .

All the facilities in such a city, as well as

institutions and policies, are introduced so that the

said mission is facilitated.

The key word from which Madinah (the City,

settlement) has been derived literally means: 1)civilization 2) indebtedness 3) obedience

1) Islam is a religion of civilization. Thus, if

Islam is practiced in a city then the goal of

that citys existence is the creation of a

civilization. Civilization: human development;

or the result of mens interaction with nature,

God and other fellow men. Civilization mustcontain all aspects of human existence,

including the spiritual and ethical ones.

When is someone / or a nation civilized?


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Civilization from the Islamic perspective is a

development that ensures a peoples happiness in

dunya and akhirah. If there is Islam, there is then

a civilization; if there is no Islam, there is then nocivilization. If Muslims are to regain their lost

glory and brilliance, the path to doing it is an

obvious one: ISLAM.

2)The Islamic city is a place where a large

group of believers submit to God their

actions, words and thoughts. To them that is

the only way the debt of creation can be

settled. In fact, nothing else is required from

them. The only thing that obsesses them is

whether their relationship with God, their

Creator and Lord, is sound and healthy.

3) The Islamic city is a place where God

constitutes the supreme authority. Godswords alone are the source of all other

worldly forms of authority. God is the

inspiration as well as the end of believers

cravings. Rulers in Islam are thus called al-

rai(caretakers) and people are called

raiyyah (those who are taken care of).

Conclusion: Apart from emphasizing the physicalaspects of the city (settlement) as facilities for

fulfilling the earthly mission of men, the Islamic

idea of the city is very much loaded with spiritual

ingredients. This is so because in Islam there can


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never be a separation between the material and

spiritual realms.

Topic for discussion:List 10 most important facilities / amenities /

services in your dream city.

The first one must be the most important one and

the tenth the least important. There must be a

clear explanation for the items selected and their

order.

What do you think how the mentioned major sins

can be reduced?

Give at least 5 nicely elaborated ways for doing

this.

Islam and environment (Chapter 4)

p. 99, 106-109, 124-136


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(While reading kindly pay attention to the

Quranic verses and the Prophets hadiths)

Before talking about BE we have to

talk about NE because BE is NE-

processed. Secondly, while creating BE

we borrow from NE and then place BE

back into NE. Therefore, BE and NE

must be compatible.

1) Man as the khalifah (vicegerent) on earth (al-

Baqarah 30-39) the prophet khalifah;

khalifah represents prophet; khalifah is man

on earth; khalifah on earth represents God;

Earth and everything thereon are the facilitiesfor his earthly mission. Built environment is

also a facility for the same purpose. Hence,

facilities must be taken care of. Destroying

environment (i.e., facilities) means destroying

ourselves. It is a suicide. Khilafah

(vicegerency) also means that man is in

charge of managing earth and its resources.

Doing so is a trust from God to man. Failing

to properly manage the earth (environment)

means that man did not fulfill the trust


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(amanah). Man is the manager of earth. It is

because of this that of the objectives of Islam

and its shariah is the preservation of wealth

(including the natural wealth) and thewellbeing of future generations, which can be

realized only by preserving the resources of

nature. It is because of this, furthermore, that

the Islamic principle is: No harming and no

reciprocating harm. (Hadith)

We know the importance of trust (amanah) in

Islam. Yet amanah towards nature is perhaps

the most important one.

2) Environment is subjected to mans use.

Everything around us has been subjected to

us, including the objects in the heavens. Gifts.

We are to be thankful for the gifts given.Thus, being grateful and humble are of the

most important values in Islam. On the

contrary, ungratefulness, wasting and

arrogance are of the biggest sins in Islam.

Being grateful for the present of the earth

means to take care of it, that is to use it in a

sustainable manner. (al-Baqarah 21-22;Ibrahim 32-34; al-Jathiyah 13)


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3) Environment worships God . Environment is a

Muslim. Dealing with environment means

dealing with Allahs faithful servants.

Destroying environment means destroying /killing Allahs faithful servants. What should

be the punishment for destroying Allahs

faithful servants? We should look at things

differently, for example: dealing with trees or

flowers means dealing with Gods servants

which never violate Gods instructions.

Dealing with animals means dealing with

Gods faithful servants which never disobey

God, etc. Killing a cat should be seen as

killing a servant of God. Destroying a tree

means destroying a servant of God, etc. (al-

Hajj 18; al-Saff 1)

4) All things have been created in a due

proportion and measure (carefully balanced).

Whole creation is an expression of an intricate

balance. Whenever the balance is disturbed

what happens next? Once the balance is

disturbed, we should expect the worst, such asglobal warming, change in weather patterns

across the earth, etc. Since this is central to

human existence, the living conditions of men


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are severely affected as well. (al-Qamar 49; al-

Rum 41)

5) Environment as a mosque (masjid) (hadith)

The whole universe is a place of worship

(mosque).

6) Environment as an open book full of signs

which the faithful must read. Environment

proves the existence of God, if it is properly

read / dealt with. Environment is a source of

spiritual enhancement. Islamic idea of

meditation / contemplation. Trying to read

nature. (Alu Imran 190-191)

7) Environment is a field of our ibadah

practices. Hence, our treatment of

environment testifies to the depth / weakness

of our faith.

Islam is a religion of ACTION , not a religion of

SYMBOLS or SLOGANS

Religios rituals are aimed above all at refiningour actons outside such rituals.


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Water

Plants

Animals

The mosque as a community

development center (Chapter 2, p. 61-81)

1. The societal roles of the

Prophets mosque

2. Relationship between theseroles and the form of the

Prophets mosque

3. Rules (code) of conduct /

respect for mosques (p. 102)

Islam is a societal religion. It aims at creating both

a virtuous society and civilization. At the center of

Islamic society and civilizations stands the mosque

phenomenon as a community development center.


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The philosophy of the mosque is the philosophy of

society. In the mosque the future of society is

planned and the efforts toward the realization of

societys future are coordinated. In other words,from the mosque everything as regards the life of

society originates and to the mosque everything

returns for validation and approval.

Please bear in mind: 1) Islam as a lifestyle 2) the

life of believers, in its totality, is ibadah

(worship). Hence, the mosque, with its philosophy

and position, is the chief societal institution from

which all other institutions branched off and

whose legitimacy depends on how close their

position and philosophy stay to the mosque.

There should be no inconsistency in what we do in

the mosque and what we do outside it. All our

activities and institutions must exist for the samepurpose and goal. The mosque stands on top of all

these institutions.

Societal functions of the Prophets mosque:

1. Place for collective worship : praying, dhikr,

reading quran, etc. Praying in mosque 27times better. Also, every step made while

going to the mosque means that one reward is

recorded and one sin wiped out. The case of

the tribe Banu Salamah; the verse in Surah


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Ya Sin which was revealed after this incident

with Banu Salamah.

2. Seat of Prophets government : the mosque

served as parliament and its functions werethe functions of any other government, of

course in line with the requirements of the

day. Because of this it was appropriate for the

Prophet to stay nearby, in order to ensure

accountability, transparency and access.

3. Learning center (first school / university in

Islam. Its graduates were the best people on

earth, that is, sahabah): The mosque was

never devoid of halaqah (learning circles).

Some circles were led by the Prophet himself

and some were led by some prominent

sahabah. The life in the mosque was very

dynamic because the people were eager tolearn new things and revelation was ongoing.

4. Welfare center: in the mosque there was a

section for ahl al-suffah who were the poorest

in the community. By staying inside the

mosque, the communitys center, they were

assured that their plight will end soon.

5. Detention and rehabilitation center: placingsome detainees near the mosque complex they

are made to witness what Islam is and what

Islamic community is. This way, there was a


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big chance for them to get the real picture

about things and perhaps change.

6. A place for medical treatment and nursing:

on some occasions a tent or two were insidefor treating some patients, like after the battle

of Khandaq. The names of doctors are also

given, some of whom were women.

7. Place for some recreational activities :

archery, playing certain games and

instruments during festive occasions, etc.

Relationship between these functions and the form

of the mosque

The form of the mosque was responsive to its

functions. At first, when the mosques functions

were few, the form was simple; the mosque was

just an enclosure. Later, however, as the functionsof the mosque were diversified, the form became

more complex as well.

Main physical features of the mosque:

1. At first its size was 30X40 meters but later

50X50 meters, Before death, the Prophet even

wanted to enlarge the mosque once more.

2. At first, there was no any roofed area at theqiblah side but later one was introduced

3. At first, the ground was not paved but later it

was covered with pebbles


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4. At first there was no minbar but later one

was added so as to facilitate communication

between the Prophet and the people

5. Lighting the mosque at first was done byburning up date-palms leaves but later it was

done by using lamps that burned oil

6. Accommodating new functions of the mosque

by allocating space or even by enclosing some

of it space. For example, the existence of a

tent (hospital), rehabilitation purposes, etc.

7. On the opposite of the qiblah side there was a

roofed space (hostel) for ahl al-suffah (the

poorest of Madinah). There were two: for

male and female persons.8. To all this we can add the idea of maintaining the mosque clean and tidy.

There was even a woman whose major responsibility was to look after the

Mosques cleanliness. Towards this end, there are

many hadiths.9. The presence of the dakkah or dikkah (seat or

bench) on which the Prophet would sit during

public assemblies. This also enhanced

communication between the Prophet and the

people.10. Due to this role and position of the mosque, houses clustered around the

mosque. This resulted in the center of Madinah to look like a circle.


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The functions of the Prophets mosque as a community center. The MAdinah society

was developing gradually. With the evolution of mosques functions the mosques

form was evolving. At first both form and function were very simple. The mosque was

expected to be the Muslim communitys center. The form was given to it in order toserve as a framework (facility) for those functions.

Today, physical connectedness between

the functions (institutions) that ones

originated under the roof of the

mosque and between the mosque itselfis not possible. What we talk about is

an ideological connectedness where all

functions (institutions) serve the same

purpose (mission, vision). We talk, also,

of the mosque being positioned in theheart of our cities, towns, villages and

neighborhoods but it is rather

symbolically. All the societal

institutions are to be inspired by the

message (spirit) of the mosque whichis, in fact, the symbol (epitome) of

Islam -; they are to be sustained by the

same; and their legitimacy is to be


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verified always by the philosophy of the

mosque (of Islam).

1. Today placing as many activitiesas possible under the mosques

supervision. Other activities that

cannot be placed under the

mosques supervision, they are to

be separated PHYSICALLY butconnected IDEOLOGICALLY.

That means, they are to be

connected by the unity of values,

mission and goals.

Some of the Prophets Lessons in

Housing

1.The significance of the house

(dwelling) in Islam


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The house is the framework of the family

institution. Without the family there could

be no fulfillment of the divine purpose onearth. If the house is the framework for

the family, and if the house is a ground for

the family to function, then it becomes

clear how important the house and issues

related to it are. The house is a facility

whereby the role and function of thefamily are facilitated. It follows that the

house itself is an institution, which

together with other societal institutions

can bring about either success or disaster

to society. Dwelling in Islam is a family

development center. Dwelling is not only a

place to sleep, eat, rest, etc.

2. While planning and building houses we

are to apply the concept of excellence.

Islam is a religion of excellence. Hadith:

Indeed Allah loves when one of you doessomething to excel in it. This means we

must do things to the best of our ability. If


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not, our actions may not be recognized and

accepted by God.

3. Houses must provide their residencewith a sense of safety and security. They

must be safe and secure. Hadith: No

harming and no reciprocating harm.

Also, providing men with physical, mental,

psychological and spiritual safety and

security is a major goal of Islam.4. Houses must be comfortable and

satisfying to their residence. Prophet asked

God that He forgives him, makes his house

spacious and blesses his sustenance.

Hadith: Of mans happiness in this world

are four: and a spacious house.

5. Houses to be planned and built in such a

way that they promote and facilitate good

relationship with neighbors. (on what

Islam says about neighborly relations see

p. 170-173)6. Taking into consideration geography,

climate and environmental conditions of a

place where houses are planned and built.


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Prophets experience / concerns in this

regard on p. 151-158

7. Avoiding major sins such as wasting,showing off, arrogance, unhealthy

competition while planning and building

houses. These are all big sins in Islam

whose negative effects for ones spiritual

well-being are well known. P. 142-144

8. Houses to have enough facilities / spacesin order that peoples various religious,

recreational, educational and social

activities are facilitated. Places like guest

room, praying (worshipping) place,

reading (studying) area, courtyard, etc.

are encouraged to be well taken care of.

9. Houses MUST protect peoples privacy:

against the outside world and also inside

the privacy of some household members

against the others. (al-Nur 58-59)

10. The house is a means not an end. Theend will be activating a house we get to

function as a family development center,

which together with other societal centers /


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institutions will help us to discharge out

our khilafah (vicegerency) mission. Thus,

investing in / spending on means in orderthat achieving the set goals is assured is

allowed.

The form of Madinah houses p. 182-198

(for reading purposes so that the above-mentioned points become clearer)

2.Integrating Islamic values into the

issues relevant to housing

1. Excellence is what Islam stands for/

mediocrity is un-Islamic, it is a sin. Striving

for excellence in everything we do is

WAJIB.

2. The rights of neighbors (p. 154)

3. Peaceful co-existence with environment /

total surroundings (Hadith: There could


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be neither harming nor reciprocating

harm.)

4. Houses are to be as spacious as possible so

that the implementation of the familysrole / functions is carried out smoothly. The

Prophet (pbuh) prayed to God that He

makes his house more spacious. He also said

that having a spacious house is a sign of

ones happiness in this world.

5. Privacy protection. We are to ensure that

we do not invade other peoples privacy, as

much as we are to ensure that our privacy is

protected. Privacy is a sacred thing in

Islam. As our bodies have awrah likewise

the house has its own awrah (parts that

cannot be revealed/exposed to everybody)

6. Privacy protection among family members(al-Nur 58-59)

7. Entrances, windows and other openings.

Looking at the ways openings are designed

and planned in traditional Islamic houses,

one gets an impression that there is a

gradual transition between the inside, which

is sacred, and the outside, which is publicand for everyone. This attitude produced

some fascinating designs and plans. (Bent

entrances, two-in-one entrances,

mashrabiyyah, raising openings above eye-


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level, different types of doors and windows

screens, etc.)

8. Since the outside faade has minimum

openings, courtyards served as the source oflight and air ventilation. Courtyards also

facilitated peoples recreational activities.

9. The rights of guests. Having a special place

for guests whose presence will not interrupt

the daily activities of the family.

10. When we are in toilets we are neither to

face the qiblah nor to turn our back to it.

11. Bedroom. While sleeping we should sleep on

our right side, and also we are to face the

qiblah.

12. A learning room / space so that the culture

of learning is instilled in young generations

13. A place is to be designated for a musalla /masjid so that our children realize that the

idea of worship is forever part of our lives.

14. Security / Safety

15. Requirements of the disabled persons.

How to integrate Islamic values in builtenvironment?


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First step: Identify all the functions (big and

small) the planned aspect of built environment is

meant to perform.

Second step: Make sure we are fully aware (weourselves or through competent persons /

institutions) of the Islamic position / Islamic values

with regard to all the functions listed under the

step one.

Third step: Make sure we are fully aware (we

ourselves or through competent persons /

institutions) of the surroundings (natural and

social), climate and environment in which the

planned aspect of built environment is to be

planted.

Fourth step: FREEDOM in design / plan. Be

bound only by the findings under the first three

steps. Use the findings under the first three stepsas inspiration, guidance, orientation and

motivation.

Wastefulness

Violate other peoples rights

Qadr


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Faade fasad mischief

Production not to be able to matchdemand

Shortsightedness

Need

Should a country develop so quickly

and rapidly that it must importworking force?

Manufacturing / Consuming

civilization

Does God want to give to othersthrough others? Denying others their

share, no zakat no sadaqah we are

actually withholding other peoples

rizki.

4. Showing off, displaying

arrogance, takabbur


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Quran accuses at least two past

civilizations of this vice / crime: Ad,

the people of the Prophet Hud; andThamud, the people of the Prophet

Salih. 30. Firawn Haman

When a vice / sin is no longer a crime,

that spells out a dangerous situation.

He who has in his heart as much as an

ATOM of pride/arrogance/tendency to

show off will not enter Jannah.

AtomHe did not say: he who is arrogant,

show off or is proud

If man is mortal, totally dependent on

God for everything, is on earth as

shortly as God wills, owns nothing; and

if all people are same and equal, all are

khalifahs on earth with the same

origin, purpose, mission and end; if


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unity, brotherhood and equality are the

cornerstones of Islamic society;

if the real happiness and goal arespiritual matters leading to Jannah,

etc. where is then room for

pride/arrogance/showing off because it

runs against all the virtues and

principles mentioned above. It is,furthermore, a destructive force for

mans total well-being. It is a virus that

eventually ruins him.

Islam started as a strange thing, and it

will return to be like that. How lucky

are the strangers!


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4) Unhealthy competition in

building

When people start competing onunethical ground, they stop at

nothing in order to outdo one

another. Here, everyone and

everything is bound to suffer. The

situation can deteriorate to such anextent that, as the Prophet has said,

of the signs that the Day of Judgment

is near is when people start

competing with one another in

erecting high/monumental buildings.High-rise buildings are a recent

phenomenon. An age, that

competition will go so far that it will

not know an end

People using BE for wrong ends

For reading:


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The mosque (chapter 4)

The house (chapter 6)

For reading purposes ONLY:

The position of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

on mosque decoration (beautification) (Chapter 5,

p. 107-115)

The problem: the Prophet (pbuh) avoided

decoration in mosques. Moreover, he even said a

few hadiths that appear to be against the subject of

mosque decoration. Yet, about 80 years after the

Prophets death, beautifying mosques became a

normal practice in Islamic civilization. The same

trend persists today. How to solve this at a first

glance contradiction???

Islam on erecting buildings over graves(Chapter 7, p. 187-196)


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Maxim: Humans do not appreciatesomething until they lose it

Islam proscribes building tombs and shrinesover graves for whatever reasons, more so if theedifices built are meant to commemorate thedead or serve as places of worship. Even tomark graves with some discernible features inabsence of valid justification is deemed toodetrimental to be admissible.

Architecturally venerating the dead is muchmore strongly proscribed in public burial areasthan in areas belonging to individuals, becausein doing so apart from wasting time anddepleting resources, the availability of spaces for

other graves is trimmed down, and the freemovement of such as come to visit graves canalso be affected.

More than a few reasons for this unyieldingIslamic position could be given, the mostimportant of which, certainly, are the following

issues:1) the close relationship between exalting and

architecturally glorifying graves and rearingthe causes that lead to associating otherdeities with Almighty Allah;


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2) wasting space, resources and efforts;3) promoting the notion of bidah sayyiah

(harmful invention);

4) reducing or even denying the graves andgraveyards their original role, that is toremind people of death;

5) paving the way for superstitions and othermisconceptions about Islam to flourish;

6) paving the way for harming the Islamicnotion of unity and brotherhood, or forpromoting schism;

7) weakening peoples relationship with God.

Topic for discussion:

1. Identify some areas of our built

environment you are unhappy

about. (You can talk about

your hostel, KAED building,

some buildings,neighborhoods, gardens, etc. in

KL or your city, and so on.)


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2. What do you think how the

situation can be improved?

Form groups of 3 people per agroup. Each group is to have

spokesperson (presenter).


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The idea of decoration (zukhruf, zinah)

in the Quran

The reasons for decorating/beautifying objects

as raised by the Quran could be grouped in two

categories:

1) Decoration as an instrument of enhancing

the real qualities of a thing. In this case, athing is already beautiful or, at least,

neutral, and through some decorative

media the same thing is made even more

beautiful.

Example:

Surah al-Saffat 6, al-Hijr 16, Qaf 6, al-Hujurat7, Yunus 24.

This form of beautification is allowed on

condition that the whole exercise remain

tolerable, that is, it does not violate any of the

Islamic principles.

2) Decoration as an instrument of deception.A thing that is targeted by this type of

decoration is either disfigured in its

totality, or its evil aspects are made falsely


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attractive and then its attractiveness is

made exaggerated and promoted.

Example: al-Anam 112, al-Zukhruf 33-35, al-

Anam 137, Alu Imran 14.

This decoration is forbidden and it is mainly

Satans business as clearly shown in the said

verses.

The Prophet on mosque decoration (107-

114)

Based on what has been said earlier, mosque

decoration can be either real (positive) or

deceiving (negative). (Indeed, this is the case

with the whole of built environment, yet the

whole of life phenomenon)

At first, the Prophet did not decorate mosque

he had built. Secondly, he said in some of

his hadiths that decorating mosques is not

very much desired. In some hadiths he even

seemed to have prohibited it.

However, total prohibition of mosque

decoration was never meant to be the case.

The Prophet only wanted to warn his

followers that mosque decoration is a


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sensitive issue so it easily can attract some

undesired elements.

The Prophet wanted to educate Muslims that

mosques are to function as community

centers. Mosques roles are to be carefully

observed. Anything that could stand on the

way of mosques functioning as community

centers the Prophet had warned Muslims

against. Mosque decoration can be one of

such elements if people become so obsessedwith it so that the actual roles of mosques

are made irrelevant. Some people are very

much prone to paying attention to how

mosques look like rather than how they

function. This is disproved because this

scenario indicates that peoples faith hasseriously deteriorated, as shown in a hadith:

Whenever peoples faith deteriorates they

become obsessed with decorating their

mosques. This condition can go so far as to

make Muslims resemble in their actions

Jews and Christians. Thus, the Prophetwarned: (Some of) you will end up

decorating your mosques just like what Jews

and Christians did.


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Mosque decoration is cautioned against also

because it can disturb peoples concentration

in prayers. Thus scholars advice that the

qiblah wall and especially mihrab be left

devoid of any or, at most, minimal

decoration.

Mosque decoration can also lead to

wastefulness which is very much abhorrent

to Islam and its message.

All in all, mosque decoration is not haram,

bit it is not highly recommended either. It is

mubah, at most, that is to say, it is neither

recommended nor disproved of. It all

depends on how, how much and for what

purposes decoration is executed.

The most extreme views against mosque

decoration hold that it is makruh or bidah

because the Prophet did not practice it, nor

did he really recommend.

Mosque decoration started in Islamic

civilization towards the end of the firsthijrah century. Caliph al-Walid b. Abd al-

Malik was the person who contributed most

to the evolution of mosque decoration.


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Affordability, function (purpose) of

decoration, does decoration help or disturb

peoples concentration in worship, etc.

Mosque decoration is to help mosques

become assets to community rather than

liabilities.

Mosque decoration is to help mosques

perform their expected functions

The role of decoration is to be same as orsimilar to the role of mosques

Islamic idea of beauty

Pleasing the eye, pleasing or arousing

the soul. Five senses, plus the sixth one


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Some major sins most often committedin built environment (p. 142-145)

1) WastingWasting means spending beyond needs. Using /

buying / building what is unneeded or

unnecessary. We are to use our wealth freely in

order to meet our needs. What is beyond our

needs must be used for some other needs.

Surah al-Isra 27: Allah calls those who waste as

Satans brothers (associates). A hadith on what

the standards for measuring wasting are: When a

man was taking ablution, using more water than

necessary, the Prophet (pbuh) advised him not to

waste. When the man asked that even while

taking ablution we can waste, the Prophet (pbuh)

said: Yes, even if we take ablution at a flowing

river.

We must remember that being an architect /planner / designer is a very much tricky job

because in doing the job some behavioral

patterns are imposed on users, partly or


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completely. In other words, sometimes users are

forced to behave in certain ways due to the ways

buildings are planned / designed / built.

2) Showing off (Arrogance,

Haughtiness)Sometimes people build, display their

creativity / talent / wealth / status in order to

show off and thus impel others to admirethem, which often leads to jealousy /

slandering / backbiting / fitnah , etc.

Showing off is a very dangerous sin. Hadith:

He who has as little as an atom of a tendency

to show off (arrogance, takabbur) will not

enter Paradise.Quran strongly accuses the People of the

Prophet Hud, Ad, of doing exactly this. They

used to build monumental buildings on high

places and next to main roads in order to show

off their material strength and wealth so that

others could see them and thus admire theirachievements. They did not need such

buildings. They built them in order to amuse

themselves. (al-Shuara 123-140)


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Also, the story of the Prophet Salih and his

people Thamud. The Thamud people used to

carve out their houses inside rocky mountains

in order to stay permanently on earth (as they

falsely hoped). They also did this out of their

arrogance. They all failed to be thankful to

God for His blessings upon them.

3) Unhealthy competitionOnce there are first and second sins the third

one inevitably occurs. And once the third one

occurs people tend to stop at nothing. All other

sins are easily committed. So bad is this sin

for communities that according to one hadith

competition in building and rising buildings is

one of the signs that the Day of Judgment is

near.

4) Sins directly or indirectly related to

un-professionalism, poor attitude,

mediocrity, lack of interest tomaster needed professions, poor

execution of work, corruption,

cheating, dishonesty, etc.


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Madinah Market during the ProphetsTime (Chapter 6: p. 226-239

Here we learn:

1. The importance of work in Islam2. The importance of conducting

business in Islam

3. The role of the market

(trade/economic institutions) in

social development4. The inseparability between

business / trade / work and

spirituality

5. Planning issues

- Muslim inconveniences in Jewish

markets in Madinah. Two incidents(

p. 226.. Upon migration (hijrah)


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Muslims used to avail themselves of

the existing Jewish markets in

Madinah. However, due to thenature of Jewish dealings and their

overall attitude, such markets soon

proved unsuitable for Muslim use.

(p. 226)

- In Madinah prior to hijrah, Jewsplayed a very prominent role in

business.

- Why Jews in Madinah???

- The Muslim market was positioned

on the northwest side of Madinah.- How strategic was it:

- 1. The market was positioned near

the main natural entrance to

Madinah. P. 229-230 This means

that whoever enters Madinah for

whatever reason he will firstly come

into contact with the Muslim

market and to go to Jewish markets


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he will have to go further south.

However, since the Muslim market

was known as a well-supplied,professional and clean market

people would naturally remain

there without proceeding to Jewish

markets whose reputation was not

so clean. This way, the Jewsreceived a serious blow that

diminished their role in Madinah

and its economic life. Having the

market in this position meant a

psychological and strategic long-term victory for Muslims.

2. The spiritual element in the

significance of the markets location.

The market was near yet far from the

Mosque, the community development

center (or it was far yet near to it).

What does it mean? The market must

be far due to the type of activities in it


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and due to the smell, noise, etc.

originated from it; but it cannot be

fully detached from the Mosque.Thus, it was positioned next to the

housing area. Firstly we have the

Mosque, then housing area and then

immediately the market. Through the

housing area symbolically themarket is connected to, inspired and

supervised by the mosque. This

means that the market could be

regularly visited by the people who

patronize the mosque not only forbusiness or shopping but also for the

purpose ofal-amr bi al-maruf wa al-

nahy an al-munkar. The market

cannot be left on its own since it is

very much prone to some unethical

practices if not closely monitored.

P 232 235

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