Shedding Light on the Minaret

Methods & Limitations of Historical Inquiry

Abstract

Though minarets, like domes and mihrabs, are commonly regarded as an essential characteristic of mosque architecture, they were never a feature in Islam’s earliest structures. The first mosque, built by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his followers in 622 AD, was a simple rectangular open-air enclosure with a large, central courtyard (The Met, 2019). This early design, often called the “Arab-plan” or “hypostyle,” featured palm-trunk columns supporting a shaded area within an open-air courtyard; a layout that set the standard for future mosque architecture. Many “essential” elements of mosque architecture emerged later, with the earliest known minarets only beginning to appear during the Umayyad dynasty's rule in Syria in 673 AD (Bloom 1990, 55). Before this, mosques featured no minarets, domes, or mihrabs, calling into question the essentialism often expressed in descriptions of the components necessary for identifying and creating Islamic sacred architecture. The tension between the omnipresence of these architectural elements, which almost universally embellish mosques, and the question of their necessity has inspired many to study and speculate about their origins. Using the minaret as a lens, this essay will briefly explore the methods and limitations of studying its history. Here, I will highlight some of the intellectual frameworks that have influenced these proposals and touch on Jonathan M. Bloom’s critique of K. A. C. Creswell in his 1990 journal entry, "Creswell and the Origins of the Minaret." Bloom is more popularly known to have authored The Minaret, the most expansive study of the minaret’s history to date, which also aimed to serve as a corrective to the “several decades of wild speculation about the origins and meaning of this most distinctive building type” (Bloom 1990, 56). The essay will then analyze T.M.P Duggan’s Review of J. M. Bloom, The Minaret, Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Art, where he examines the centrality of light in the study of the minaret, not merely as a functional object used for wayfinding, but as a

symbol deeply embedded in the Islamic understanding of spiritual guidance. Duggar’s review critiques Bloom’s disregard of light in his understanding of the minaret’s inception and symbolic function. After presenting Duggan’s arguments, the essay will briefly touch on the various case studies he proposes examining the role of light in the function and symbolism of minarets.

Presenting the various scholars involved in curating the history of the minaret and the methods behind their study would give readers a clearer understanding of the complexity inherent in historical inquiry.