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Surrounded by the Holy Mosque, al-Masjid al-Haram, stands the cubic Kaaba. Shortly after they arrive in Mecca, pilgrims first walk around the Kaaba seven times and then walk back and forth between two hills, al-Safa and al-Marwa. They carry out a large number of rituals in the following days in both Mecca and its environs. On the 10th day of the month of Dhu al-Hijja, they begin the great feast of Eid al-Adha to commemorate Abraham’s willingness to serve God by sacrificing his son. Ritual sacrifices of sheep and goats are made on this occasion throughout the Islamic world. In conclusion, pilgrims drink or are sprinkled with water from the Zamzam Well in the courtyard of the holy mosque.<br/><br/> This print shows an idealized and schematic picture of the Holy Mosque in the center of Mecca. Prints like this one have been popular decorations in private homes as well as offices and coffee houses during the past century.
The Kaaba (or Qaaba; Arabic: الكعبة‎ al-KaÊ¿bah; English: The Cube) is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam.<br/><br/> The Qur'an states that the Ka'ba was constructed by Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic), and his son Ishmael (Ismail in Arabic), after the latter had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque built around it, the Masjid al-Haram. All Muslims around the world face the Ka'ba during prayers, no matter where they are. This is called facing the Qiblah.
Nakkaş Osman (sometimes called Osman the Miniaturist) was the chief miniaturist for the Ottoman Empire during the latter half of the sixteenth century. The dates of his birth and death are uncertain, but most of his works are dated to the last quarter of the sixteenth century.<br/><br/> The oldest known illustrations of Nakkaş Osman's were made between 1560 and 1570 for a Turkish translation of the Persian manuscript Firdausi's Shahnama.Among the works he illustrated, he is known to have been the chief illustrator of the various official histories written by Sayyid Lokman for Murad III that were produced in this era, including the Zafername (Book of Victories), the Şahname-ı Selim Han (Book of Kings) and the Şehinşahname (Book of King of Kings). He was also one of the illustrators of the Siyer-i Nebi, an epic on the life of Muhammad written around 1388, then illustrated around 1595.<br/><br/> Representations of the Prophet Muhammad are controversial, and generally forbidden in Sunni Islam (especially Hanafiyya, Wahabi, Salafiyya). Shia Islam and some other branches of Sunni Islam (Hanbali, Maliki, Shafi'i) are generally more tolerant of such representational images, but even so the Prophet's features are generally veiled or concealed by flames as a mark of deep respect.
Nezami-ye Ganjavi (1141—1209) is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature, who brought a colloquial and realistic style to the Persian epic. His heritage is widely celebrated and shared in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran and Tajikistan. Nezami is best known for his five long narrative poems, the ‘Panj Ganj’ or ‘Khamsa’ (Persian: Five Jewels), which are written in the Masnavi style (double-rhymed verses).
Surrounded by the Holy Mosque, al-Masjid al-Haram, stands the cubic Kaaba. Shortly after they arrive in Mecca, pilgrims first walk around the Kaaba seven times and then walk back and forth between two hills, al-Safa and al-Marwa. They carry out a large number of rituals in the following days in both Mecca and its environs. On the 10th day of the month of Dhu al-Hijja, they begin the great feast of Eid al-Adha to commemorate Abraham’s willingness to serve God by sacrificing his son. Ritual sacrifices of sheep and goats are made on this occasion throughout the Islamic world. In conclusion, pilgrims drink or are sprinkled with water from the Zamzam Well in the courtyard of the holy mosque.<br/><br/> This print shows an idealized and schematic picture of the Holy Mosque in the center of Mecca. Around the mosque’s courtyard are a number of tall minarets. The heading exhorts the beholder to make the pilgrimage as often as possible. Prints like this one have been popular decorations in private homes as well as offices and coffee houses during the past century.
Birth of the Prophet Muhammad. Miniature illustration on vellum from the book Jami' at-Tawarikh (literally 'Compendium of Chronicles' but often referred to as 'The Universal History or History of the World'), by Rashid al-Din, Tabriz, Persia, 1307 CE, now in the collection of the Edinburgh University Library, Scotland.<br/><br/> Representations of the Prophet Muhammad are controversial, and generally forbidden in Sunni Islam (especially Hanafiyya, Wahabi, Salafiyya). Shia Islam and some other branches of Sunni Islam (Hanbali, Maliki, Shafi'i) are generally more tolerant of such representational images, but even so the Prophet's features are generally veiled or concealed by flames as a mark of deep respect.
The Prophet Muhammad receiving his first revelation from the angel Jibril (Gabriel). Miniature illustration on vellum from the book Jami' at-Tawarikh (literally 'Compendium of Chronicles' but often referred to as 'The Universal History or History of the World'), by Rashid al-Din, Tabriz, Persia, 1307 CE, now in the collection of the Edinburgh University Library, Scotland.<br/><br/> Representations of the Prophet Muhammad are controversial, and generally forbidden in Sunni Islam (especially Hanafiyya, Wahabi, Salafiyya). Shia Islam and some other branches of Sunni Islam (Hanbali, Maliki, Shafi'i) are generally more tolerant of such representational images, but even so the Prophet's features are generally veiled or concealed by flames as a mark of deep respect.
The Prophet Muhammad preaching his final sermon to his earliest converts, on Mount Ararat near Mecca; taken from a medieval-era manuscript of the astronomical treatise 'The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries' by the Persian scholar al-Biruni; currently housed in the collection of Edinburgh University Library, Scotland.<br/><br/> Representations of the Prophet Muhammad are controversial, and generally forbidden in Sunni Islam (especially Hanafiyya, Wahabi, Salafiyya). Shia Islam and some other branches of Sunni Islam (Hanbali, Maliki, Shafi'i) are generally more tolerant of such representational images, but even so the Prophet's features are generally veiled or concealed by flames as a mark of deep respect.
The Prophet Muhammad preaching his final sermon to his earliest converts, on Mount Ararat near Mecca; taken from a medieval-era manuscript of the astronomical treatise 'The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries' by the Persian scholar al-Biruni; currently housed in the collection of the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France.<br/><br/> Representations of the Prophet Muhammad are controversial, and generally forbidden in Sunni Islam (especially Hanafiyya, Wahabi, Salafiyya). Shia Islam and some other branches of Sunni Islam (Hanbali, Maliki, Shafi'i) are generally more tolerant of such representational images, but even so the Prophet's features are generally veiled or concealed by flames as a mark of deep respect.
The Prophet Muhammad preaching his final sermon to his earliest converts, on Mount Ararat near Mecca; taken from a medieval-era manuscript of the astronomical treatise 'The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries' by the Persian scholar al-Biruni; currently housed in the collection of Edinburgh University Library, Scotland.<br/><br/> Representations of the Prophet Muhammad are controversial, and generally forbidden in Sunni Islam (especially Hanafiyya, Wahabi, Salafiyya). Shia Islam and some other branches of Sunni Islam (Hanbali, Maliki, Shafi'i) are generally more tolerant of such representational images, but even so the Prophet's features are generally veiled or concealed by flames as a mark of deep respect.
In 630, the Prophet Muhammad marched on Mecca with a large force, said to number more than ten thousand men.<br/><br/> With minimal casualties, the Muslims took control of the city. The Prophet Muhammad declared an amnesty for past offences, except for ten men and women who had mocked and ridiculed him in songs and verses. Some of these were later pardoned.<br/><br/> Most Meccans converted to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad subsequently destroyed all the statues of Arabian gods in and around the Kaaba.<br/><br/> Representations of the Prophet Muhammad are controversial, and generally forbidden in Sunni Islam (especially Hanafiyya, Wahabi, Salafiyya). Shia Islam and some other branches of Sunni Islam (Hanbali, Maliki, Shafi'i) are generally more tolerant of such representational images, but even so the Prophet's features are generally veiled or concealed by flames as a mark of deep respect.
The Kaaba (or Qaaba; Arabic: الكعبة‎ al-KaÊ¿bah; English: The Cube) is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The Quran states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic), and his son Ishmael (Isma'il in Arabic), after the latter had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque built around it, the Masjid al-Haram. All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are. This is called facing the Qiblah.<br/><br/> One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime if able to do so. Multiple parts of the Hajj require pilgrims to walk seven times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction (as viewed from above). This circumambulation, the Tawaf, is also performed by pilgrims during the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage). However, the most dramatic times are during the Hajj, when about 6 million pilgrims gather to circle the building on the same day.