CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

2.1 Related Literature

According to Kahera, A. et.al (2009) Knowing that

the musalla in a mosque generally requires more space
per person, roughly 2 ft. 6 inches x 4 ft. or 0.80 m x
1.2 m, than the other ancillary areas, these properties
should be applied in the laying out of the musalla with
precision. There are key factors that determine the
area of a mosque, the most fundamental of which is the
spatial capacity of worshippers. To estimate this, a
rule of thumb is used for each individual who occupies
a prayer area of about 10.5 sq. ft. or around 1 sq.m.
The actual recommended area is 80 cm/2 ft. 6 inches
wide in the sitting posture and 120 cm/4 ft. while
prostrate/length. To estimate the gross floor area of a
small mosque 20 per cent is added and 30 40 per cent
for gross areas in larger congregation mosques. While
many building codes for assemblies and places of
worship do not have matching nomenclature specially for
prayer areas in this sense, it may be possible within
these codes to substitute occupancy requirements one
might have derived from the same number of seating
areas or pews, but this is ultimately dependent on
the interpretation of the city regulatory departments
and the particular code officials reviewing the plans.

14
 Women represent 30 40 per cent of the urban
mosque population in most cases. Occasionally this
figure could be as much as 50 per cent. The same
criteria used in mens prayer space calculation should
be adopted. Specific needs for women may include a
nursing/babysitting room, a lounge and separate
ablution facility, and womens prayer area.

Recommended design criteria

By juxtaposing a sensation of order with the

qiblah axis (axis of prayer towards Makkah), which is
controlled by the placement of the mihrab, the plan
will demonstrate a particular clarity; to achieve this
twofold pattern it is preferred that the sanctuary be
rectangular in shape with the longest side oriented
toward qiblah so that the longest possible rows can be
formed.

Consider the climate; if it permits the sanctuary

to have an open court it will serve as a supplementary
prayer area. By the same token the court can be open to
the sky and it will also function as a normal extension
for the sanctuary area and for informal gathering.

The sanctuary should be dedicated to inclusion

rather than exclusion; there are of course any number
of ways this quality can be achieved. Thus the planning
of the sanctuary involves the choreographic
organization of both men and women to serve a wider

15
function and to enhance the ritual ambience in a direct
manner. The architecture of the sanctuary should be
therefore conceived to admit flexibility in use
management of the HVAC system and lighting and multiple
modes of use, i.e. daily use, Friday and weekends, and
also during the month of Ramadan, when prayer activity
is more intense during the night.

The sanctuary should be designed with an esthetic

strategy that is concerned with the effort to induce
the participation of male and female worshippers that
is, to coerce active involvement in the ritual
proceedings.

Ambulatory spaces attached to the sanctuary need

to be particularly configured to enhance the movement
from profane; ambulatory spaces may include
administrative, educational or recreational, and should
be located so that they become accessible for other
types of functions, weddings, funerals, and other types
of religious activities.

The sanctuary only takes meaning when there is a

feeling of spiritual repose and solitude; therefore the
sense of spiritual delight, visual perceptions, and
bodily motion should connect the temporal as well as
the spatial experience in the simple act of worship.

In the eyes of the general public the minaret (and

dome) should display the main external

16
architectural features of the edifice and should
reflect the sanctity of the faith. In this regard the
architect should avoid ostentatious use of forms,
surface treatment, and decorative patterns.

The proposed space distribution criteria for

calculating the size and dimensions of the sanctuary
including the women prayer-place and the other
necessary elements should be carefully studied and
approved by all the congregants.

Purification (ablution) perhaps no act is more

important than the act of prayer itself. Ablution is
the key prerequisite for prayer. The emotive act of
performing ablution is no more and no less the setting
that prepares the worshipper for the experience of a
whole series of ritual movements: standing, bowing, and
prostration, sitting, and reading the sacred text. The
ablution space is therefore a public ritual space as
well. Therefore, the location and configuration of the
ablution area is inextricably linked to its vital role;
it should be planned very carefully. Toilets should not
be placed on the qiblah axis (i.e. facing the direction
of Makkah). In that respect we should note again the
idea of sacred and profane that distinguishes this
space from the sanctuary; the reciprocal relationship
to the entry vestibule and the sanctuary is therefore
complex, so the layout of these modes of space needs to
be carefully planned.

17
 According Mokhtar (2005), in his Design Guidelines
for Ablution Spaces in Mosques and Islamic Praying
Facilities, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, a full
comprehension of the ablution space requirements is
difficult without shedding light on some essential
concepts regarding the nature of Muslims prayers.
These concepts are particularly important when the
designer is involved in defining the area for praying
spaces and relative to it the area for ablution spaces.

Muslims perform five prayers per day. These are at

dawn, midday, late-afternoon, sunset, and nightfall
(Discover Islam, 2004). The times of these prayers are
connected to the movement of the sun and do change
throughout the year. Each of these five prayers has
specified time limits and as such a person may need to
perform a prayer while at work, shopping, traveling, or
doing any other activity. For a devoted Muslim, a
prayer MUST be performed during its specified time
period. This is the reason for providing praying
facilities in public buildings in Islamic countries.

A prayer can be performed in any clean space.

However, praying within a group is highly preferable to
praying alone. Therefore, many seek to pray in the
specified praying area rather than in their own office,
shop, or any isolated area of a facility.

18
 Males and females pray in separate spaces or in
separate zones in the same space. They have segregated
access to the praying spaces and consequently
segregated access to the ablution spaces.

Females will not pray during the menstrual period

which results in relatively less space requirements for
them and consequently smaller ablution space.

Friday prayers are required to be performed within

a group. Every mosque will have one Friday prayer per
week. All Friday prayers are performed at almost the
same time in one city. Mosques areas are determined
based on the needs of group Friday prayers with
significantly more users than regular prayers. Praying
facilities in public buildings will not be used for
Friday prayers and therefore, they are much smaller in
size.

Group Friday prayers are obligatory for males and

optional for females which results in less praying
space requirements for females and consequently smaller
ablution space.

Location of ablution space

It is important in designing the circulation and

access to mosques and praying areas to define what is
design-wise known as the clean zone. This definition
aims at keeping the praying space free of organic
traces, bad smells, and other things that either

19
render the praying space unsuitable for the function or
annoy those who are praying or sitting in the praying
space. It is important in the design to visually define
a line after which people should not be putting on
their shoes as these shoes might carry traces of road
dirt. The area inside such line is usually referred to
as the clean zone. The defined line can be a change
of material, a small step, a low fence or a door. It is
common to find shoes scattered just before this line.
Shoe racks as well are typically installed just before
this line. The contact line(s) between the clean zone
and non-clean zone is recommended to be as long as
possible to allow more users to simultaneously put on
their shoes after performing the prayer and leave the
praying space (the clean zone). Users who are not in
ablution state can still go inside the clean zone. No
religious rule prevents that. As users who perform
ablution need as well to take off their shoes so they
can wash their feet, the relationship between the
defined clean zone and ablution area is important for
designers to consider. More details are discussed in
the next section. This zone separation is mainly based
on a maintenance point of view rather than a religious
requirement to create two zones. Obviously toilets
should be out of the clean zone. Ablution spaces,
however, can be (actually better to be as the author
argues later) in the clean zone.

20
 The relationship between the access to the
ablution space and the access to the praying space is
very important in defining the comfort and safety level
for ablution space users. Conceptually, the access to
the ablution space can be either from outside or from
inside the clean zone. The access from inside the clean
zone can be either directly from the praying area or
through a corridor or other types of links.

Due to the concept of gender segregation during

praying, access to ablution spaces for each gender
should be as far away as possible from one another. It
is better if the routes linking the ablution space and
the praying space for males and females do not
intersect.

If the weather conditions permit, males may

perform ablution in an open area with no privacy. But
females need to have privacy away from males while
performing ablution. If shower spaces are included in
the design, each individual shower user should have
full privacy in such spaces.

The following needs to be considered as well when

locating the ablution space:

Location should not prevent, as much as possible,

any expected future expansion of the mosque or the
ablution space itself.

21
 Wind directions need to be considered to prevent
the transfer of humidity and humidity-related bad smell
to the praying space.

Route between ablution space access and the

praying space access better lead to the back of the
praying space. Routes leading to the side of the
praying space are acceptable but less favorable. Routes
should not lead to the front of the praying space. The
reason is related to the nature of Muslim prayers where
rows should be completely filled one after another
starting from the front that faces the direction of the
city of Mecca.

Design of ablution units

The ablution unit is the place in the ablution

space where a single user performs the ablution
process. An example will be one seat. There are certain
religious and functional requirements that determine
the design of the ablution unit:

1. Water used for ablution should be fresh. The

same water a person uses to wash his/her face
cannot be used to wash his/her arms. This
eliminates designs that depend on storing an
amount of water that can be used repeatedly even
by the same person. Some people might do so while
shaving.

22
2. A user needs to use both of his/her hands to
perform parts of the ablution process such as
washing the arms. Therefore, designs that
require the user to continuously use one of
his/her hands to get water flow are not
suitable.

3. A user needs to raise one of his/her feet at a

time and wash it by hand. The user should be
able to keep himself/herself comfortably
balanced while doing so.

4. The horizontal distance between adjacent

ablution units should be wide enough to perform
ablution without the users hitting one another.
The recommended minimum distance is 82 cm.

5. The unit should be safe to reach and leave

taking into consideration the wet feet
condition. Designs that use a step such as that
shown in Figure 1 can cause slipping accidents.

6. The design should avoid having elements and

areas that are difficult to clean. The
existence of water will facilitate the growing
of bacteria.

7. Users should not bend their backs or knees in

an unusual way. The design should consider the
elderly and sick users. Necessary accessories
such as handsupports (e.g., handrails or

23
 shelves) should be installed to help people
standing and sitting. Shelves and clothes
hangers should be provided.

8. The design should avoid water reflections on

surfaces that end up on users clothes. The
design should reduce the wetting of surfaces
that are in contact with the users.

Calculating the number of ablution units

There are rules of thumb to estimate the number of

ablution units. These rules, however, apply only to
mosques. Ibraheem (1979) advises using a ratio of 1:25
for residential area mosques. This means one ablution
unit for every 25 m2 of the praying area (equivalent to
25 users). This does not mean that only one person from
every 25 perform ablution. Many more do. This ratio is
relatively small because residential area mosques are
designed to accommodate the large number of users
during the Friday prayer. Most people ablute at their
home before coming to the mosque to perform their
prayer.

A pilot study (Nofel, 1999) for residential area

mosques in Egypt made a survey for using ablution units
and came out with curves rather than a fixed ratio.
Different requirement were found for rich residential
areas where water is easily available and poor or
commercial areas where some may find ablution facility
in the mosque to be a better option. For rich

24
residential areas: the minimum required is 2 units up
to a mosque capacity of 225 users.

The ration then starts from 1:65 and increases to

reach 1:40 at about the capacity of 600 users then it
decreases again to about 1:55 at a capacity of 2000
users. For poor or commercial areas: the minimum
required is 3 units up to a mosque capacity of 200
users. The ratio then starts from 1:40 and increases to
reach 1:32 at about the capacity of 800 users then it
decreases again to about 1:45 at a capacity of 2000
users.

Design of ablution space components

Access and Doors

Ablution space should be easily accessible,

especially for physically challenged users. Ramps
should be provided at a slope of 1:12. They should be
covered by rough material. Approaches to entrances
should enable easy maneuvering for wheelchair users.
Refer to specialized reference books for the needed
dimensions (e.g., Al Sheebany, 1994). When feasible, it
is not recommended to have doors for ablution spaces.
However, if doors are required, then the door material
should be selected to resist the high humidity which
usually exists in ablution spaces.

25
Water faucets

Because of the nature of the ablution process,

water faucets need to be carefully selected according
to the following considerations:

Water saving: The use of regular water faucets can

result in a lot of wasted water during ablution. Most
of the time, users are rubbing their body with a small
amount of water while the faucet continues to pump
water directly to the drain. Religious-wise, it is
highly recommended not to waste water. Some designers
use metering faucets that deliver water for a certain
period of time. These usually do not save water for a
function such as ablution because they continue to pump
water when it is not needed. Faucet aerators certainly
use less water than regular faucets, but a better water
saver for ablution purposes is the infra-red activated
faucets.

Unfortunately, they are more expensive and require

more maintenance.

1. Durability

Faucets are typically used as body supporters for

those performing ablution, especially when no body
support is provided in the design. Such use should be
carefully thought of when the designer selects the
faucets. Long-necked faucets are not durable. Short-

26
necked faucets are better to use for durability
purposes.

2. Accessories

The ablution space should provide hangers for

clothes, soap dispensers, paper towel dispensers, and
garbage baskets. The height specified to install
portion or all of these accessories should accommodate
the needs of wheelchair users.

3. Finishing materials

In addition to the normal considerations of price,

availability, and durability, the selection of
finishing material used in ablution spaces should
consider the following:

1. Prevention of slipping: Due to the existence of

water on the ground and the wet feet condition,
slipping can easily occur if smooth material is
used for flooring. Rough materials are better
used, but it should satisfy the following
considerations as well.

2. Maintainability: The selected material should be

easy to drain water and easy to clean. Typically
smooth materials such as ceramics fulfill such
requirements. Yet, ceramic is very slippery, even
anti-slippery ceramic can be dangerous.

27
 Resistance to the spread of diseases: Fungi and
bacteria can reside on floor material and are nourished
by the water, causing some skin diseases (Raboobee et
al., 1998). It is therefore important to select
material that is anti-fungi and anti-bacteria.

Signs

The signs shown on the following pages are

suggested for informing male and female users of the
location of the ablution spaces. The large sign directs
the user towards the location of the ablution space.
The small sign is to be put on the ablution space door.
The size of the large sign depends on the maximum
distance that a user is expected to see the sign. The
recommended dimension for the small sign is 150x150 mm.

According to A beginner's guide to the art of

Islam.(n.d)from Khan Academy Website, the religious
practice of Islam, which literally means "to submit to
God", is based on tenets that are known as the Five
Pillars, arkan, to which all members of the Islamic
community, Umma, should adhere.

1. The Profession of FaithThe Shahada

The Profession of Faith, the shahada, is the most

fundamental expression of Islamic beliefs. It simply
states that There is no God but God and Muhammad is
his prophet. It underscores the monotheistic nature

28
of Islam. It is an extremely popular phrase in Arabic
calligraphy and appears in numerous manuscripts and
religious buildings.

2. Daily PrayersSalat

Muslims are expected to pray five times a day.

This does not mean that they need to attend a mosque to
pray; rather, the salat, or the daily prayer, should be
recited five times a day. Muslims can pray anywhere;
however, they are meant to pray towards Mecca. The
faithful pray by bowing several times while standing
and then kneeling and touching the ground or prayer mat
with their foreheads, as a symbol of their reverence
and submission to Allah. On Friday, many Muslims attend
a mosque near midday to pray and to listen to a sermon,
khutba.

3. Alms-GivingZakat

The giving of alms is the third pillar. Although

not defined in the Quran, Muslims believe that they
are meant to share their wealth with those less
fortunate in their community of believers.

4. Fasting during RamadanSaum

During the holy month of Ramadan, the ninth month

in the Islamic calendar, Muslims are expected to fast
from dawn to dusk. While there are exceptions made for
the sick, elderly, and pregnant, all are expected to

29
refrain from eating and drinking during daylight hours.

5. Pilgrimage to MeccaHajj

All Muslims who are able are required to make the

pilgrimage to Mecca and the surrounding holy sites at
least once in their lives. Pilgrimage focuses on
visiting the Kaaba and walking around it seven times.
Pilgrimage occurs in the 12th month of the Islamic
Calendar.

The Kaaba

The Kaaba, pre-Islamic monument, rededicated by

Muhammad in 631-32 C.E., multiple renovations, granite
masonry, covered with silk curtain and calligraphy in
gold and silver-wrapped thread.

Prayer and pilgrimage

Pilgrimage to a holy site is a core principle of

almost all faiths. The Kaaba, meaning cube in Arabic,
is a square building elegantly draped in a silk and
cotton veil. Located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, it is the
holiest shrine in Islam.

In Islam, Muslims pray five times a day and after

624 CE, these prayers were directed towards Mecca and
the Kaaba rather than Jerusalem; this directionor
qibla in Arabicis marked in all mosques and enables

30
the faithful to know in which direction they should
pray. The Quran established the direction of prayer.

All Muslims aspire to undertake the hajj, or the

annual pilgrimage, to the Kaaba once in their lives if
they are able. Prayer five times a day and the hajj are
two of the five pillars of Islam, the most fundamental
principles of the faith.

Upon arriving in Mecca, pilgrims gather in the

courtyard of the Masjid al-Haram around the Kaaba. They
then circumambulatetawaf in Arabicor walk around the
Kaaba, during which they hope to kiss and touch the
Black Stoneal-Hajar al-Aswadembedded in the eastern
corner of the Kaaba.

Today, the Kaaba is a cubical structure, unlike

almost any other religious structure. It is fifteen
meters tall and ten and a half meters on each side; its
corners roughly align with the cardinal directions. The
door of the Kaaba is now made of solid gold; it was
added in 1982. The kiswathe large cloth that covers
the Kaabaused to be sent from Egypt with the hajj
caravan but today is made in Saudi Arabia. Until the
advent of modern transportation, all pilgrims undertook
the often dangerous hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca in a
large caravan across the desert, leaving from Damascus,
Cairo, and other major cities in Arabia, Yemen, or
Iraq.

31
 The numerous changes to the Kaaba and its
associated mosque serve as good reminder of how often
buildings, even sacred ones, are renovated and
remodeled either due to damage or to the changing needs
of the community.

Only Muslims may visit the holy cities of Mecca

and Medina today.

2.2 Related Studies

According to A Simulation Study of the effect Of

Mosque Design on Egress Times (2012), The Mosque prayer
hall is the only architectural space designed for a
large number of floor seated occupants. A critical
issue in the design of mosques is determining the
number and configuration of exit locations. This paper
describes a discrete-event simulation model developed
to assess the effect of mosque prayer hall
configuration on the egress times of the occupants. The
simulation model takes into consideration the
behavioral aspects of the mosque occupants such as shoe
placement and pickup, after prayer lingering, late
egress of front rows, after prayers, and congregations
inside and outside the mosque.

Most of the various exit configurations possible

in mosque design are modeled and assessed for total
egress time as well as flow rates. It is shown that

32
one-sided exit location out performs all other
configurations.

The study presents the first such analysis of mosque

egress and the results should of great interest to
architects and researchers alike.

Mosque Prayer Hall Configurations

There are various factors that affect the

pedestrian/occupant movements including the doors
orientations, doors width, area in front of the door
inside the mosque, area in front of the doors outside
the mosque, and the mosque orientation in relation to
the parking area. A number of exit location
configurations options can be identified for a typical
prayer hall. Exists can be located on the back end of
the prayer hall, on the sides of the prayer hall of to
one side only. The location of the exit will have a
significant impact on the performance of the design in
terms of ease, safety and efficiency of the egress of
the occupants from the prayer hall. This is usually a
very significant issue and may become a safety issue in
some cases where the mosque/prayer hall is located in a
location with restricted access such as malls or
airports.

Specifically, the research considered a typical

prayer hall with nine different configurations of the
exits. The exit configurations represent the most

33
common layouts of doors in the mosque prayer hall. Each
of the nine exit configurations is modeled with an
attached area on the outside and inside to

represent crowding areas and allow for occupant

densities to be measured. Figure below shows the nine
different configurations. Each of these configurations
will be assessed to identify which provides the most
efficient layout of exits under typical egress behavior
of worshippers in the mosque, as explained next.

Simulating Mosque Egress Behavior

The model developed in this research utilized that

feature to model a number of agent behaviors that
affect the performance of the various exit
configurations.

1. Arrival behavior. Although not directly part of

the simulation model developed the arrival of the
occupants will affect the egress since the occupants
will likely place their shoes next to the arrival
door and would likely egress from the same door as
well. Similarly the parking area location in
relation to the egress door will have a similar
effect.

2. After-prayer behavior. Rarely due worshippers

exit the prayer hall directly after the prayer but
instead they remain for a while for after-prayer
supplications or for after-prayer sunna prayers

34
 (extra prayers). It is more likely that the first
rows worshippers will be the last to leave the
prayer hall.

3. Shoe-pick up. The model considers the shoe

placement and relationship to selection of egress
door. Also the model considers the blocking that
may occur due to shoe wearing at the egress door

In addition the model considers social

congregations inside and outside the mosque hall after
the prayers.

Results

In order to assess which of the nine exit

configurations are the most favorable in terms of
egress, a number of simulation experiments were
conducted. For each of the nine models a 100
replications were conducted and results were extracted
from the simulations. In order to compare the nine
different configurations presented in figure 3, some
performance measures are needed. Specifically, 3 main
performance models were considered; namely the total
egress time for the 500 occupants, the average density
inside mosque and the average density outside the
mosque. From the results shown in figure below, it can
be seen that alternative Model F is the best option.
Alternative F, with doors placed to one side of the
prayer hall results in the lowest total egress time as

35
well as having the lowest average occupant density
inside and outside the mosque prayer hall. This is
mainly perhaps due to the nature of the prayer

activity at the mosque as explained earlier, which

allows worshippers the flexibility to egress as well as
allowing simultaneously for others to congregate inside
the prayer hall.

Fig. 2.1 The results obtained from the model

According to Conceptual Design of the Islamic

Cemetery with Technology Park Concept (2015), in the
normal situation, the cemetery areas are reserved for
the local residents only. But, in certain cases it is
also being allowed to accommodate people who live in
the neighborhood areas. By considering this condition

36
and others factors such as funeral any part of the
body, and unclaimed body. The burial plot areas are
proposed to be segregated based on specific locations
based on these situation considerations. This is to
make the new cemetery areas manageable especially when
identifying the buried body is required.

Beside the burial plot, there are various

facilities that can be provided to cemetery area. In
this study, additional features were proposed as listed
below;

5% of site landscaping services including gazebo,

signboard and decorate waterfall.

Pedestrian network facilities

Burial site divided by specific blocks

Types of ornamental trees easily maintained, shaded,

colored and scented leaves

200m2 building which located an office, prayer room

and toilet

Decorated lights along walkways

Parking space for cars including for the disabled

Fence around the cemetery

Equipped online system.

Cemetery areas layout

37
 The arrangement and specification of study site
were arranged based on the concept of the technology
park.

Fig. 2.2 Cemetery Layout Top View

The pedestrian facilities (The width of the

sidewalk is 3.9m including 1.5m for the width of the
vase (above fiqure)) and landscaping were proposed to
be improved by providing more trees to dim the areas
(Jean and Arnaud, 2007). Further to landscaping the
cemetery areas, Pudding tree was also proposed to be
planted since it can give more attractive view and easy
to be maintained.

The design of the main layout is comply with

Islamic law that facing towards the Qibla reading. The
Gazebo functions as a shelter from the hot sun.
Waterfall ornament pieces were placed for additional
aesthetic values. Ornamental trees such as island date
palm, plumeria rubra,coryline fruticose and calathea
lutea were also suggested to be planted (Figure below).

38
 Fig. 2.3 Cemetery Illustration of landscape

The layout for burial plots was designed to

optimized the used of cemetery land. The gap between
the graves is 1 feet distance, allows the movement flow
of visitor. Moreover, the standard size of vehicles
parking lots for visitor with disabilities facilities
are also suggested to be provided.

39