Mihrab

Mihrab of the oratory of La Aljafería, Zaragoza

Mihrab (in Arabic, محراب‎, miḥrāb; in Persian, مهرابه‎, mihrāba) is a semicircular niche or niche in the wall of a mosque indicating the qibla, that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca Where should the Muslim prayer go? The wall on which a mihrab appears is therefore known as the 'qibla wall'. In this sense, it has a similar importance to that of the sanctum sanctorum in mosques.^{[citation needed]} It consists of a small internal space (small size) preceded by an arch (usually horseshoe) or sometimes, as in the Mosque of Córdoba, a small room.

The minbar, which is the raised platform from which an imam (prayer leader) addresses the congregation, is located to the right of the mihrab.

Current usage

Detail of the decoration of the mihrab of the Mosque of Córdoba

Today, mihrabs vary in size and are often richly decorated, often designed to give the impression of an arched doorway or passageway to Mecca. In exceptional cases, the mihrab does not follow the direction of the qibla. In the mosques of Al-Andalus, for example, the mihrab is oriented to the south or southeast. This is the case, for example, in the Mosque of Córdoba. Among the explanations that have been proposed is the location of the Roman cardo street next to the old temple on which the mosque was built. Another example is the Mosque of al-Qiblatayn, or Mosque of the Two Alquiblas. It was there that the Prophet Muhammad was ordered to change the direction of prayer from Jerusalem to Mecca, and therefore he has two prayer niches. In the 21st century, the mosque was renovated and the old prayer niche that led to Jerusalem was destroyed, leaving only the one leading to Mecca.