Mehrab In Islam

Inside a mosque is a prayer hall which has only the basic items needed for Muslim worship. A common feature of a prayer hall is a mihrab , a decorative niche, in the qibla wall which indicates the direction of Mecca.

The first niche in the Islamic architecture was a curve in the Qibla`s wall in the El Medina`s Mosque .
That is one of Omar Ben Abd el Aziz`s works in the time of El-Waleed (The Omowain Age) , after that the second Mehrab was made in Amr Ibn As Mosque during the increase works made by ``Kora Ben Sherik`` Egypt's ruler in 92-94 H/710-712 AD in the time of caliph waleed Ebn Al-Malek .

Yet the Oldest of these wooden niches was found in El Kairawan`s Mosque in Tunis .

Beside the wooden niches , gypsum ones were found in the Fatmid Age , the Oldest Mihrab of which is in EL Azhar Mosque
( 361 H / 972 AD

The Gypsum niches were not made after (703 H / 1303-1304AD)

Beside the Gypsum niches ,the colored marble was used in the niches panoply. The Oldest Example was found in the Niche of El Saleh Negim el din Aub`s burial Ground
( 647-648 H / 1249-1250 AD) .

El - Mehrab were multiplied in some buildings of Qibla`s wall .

We conclude that the prayer niches multiplicity in the mosque is due to specifying a niche for each prevailing faith, for example the ``Takai El Din Ben Maragel ``headmaster of the Omowaiin Mosque in Damascus made 2 side niches in 728 H / 1328 Ad for the Hanif and the Hanbali prevail .