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49-491: The etymology of the name "Mouassine" (or muwāssīn ) is uncertain. Historian Gaston Deverdun noted that the name was popularly attributed to a Sharifian family which supposedly lived in the district, which also explained why the mosque is also known by the name Jami' al-Ashraf ("Mosque of the Sharifs "). However, historians have not been able to establish a record of such a family in the area. Deverdun notes that another possibility

98-514: A howz , for ritual purification cleansing and performing of wudu (Islamic ablutions ), and flowing fountains for drinking water. The inner courtyard is not a religiously prescribed architectural feature, and some mosques, especially since the twentieth century, do not have a sahn . Residential sahns , part of a courtyard house , are the most private. The scale and design details differ: from urban to rural locales; different regions and climates , and different eras and cultures – but

147-555: A madrasa , a library, a primary school, a hammam (public bathhouse), an ablutions house ( mida'a ) with latrines, a water trough for animals, and a public fountain for distributing water to locals. Although many Marinid -era mosques were also built with attached facilities, this type of grand architectural complex was unprecedented in Morocco and may have been influenced by the tradition of building such complexes in Mamluk Egypt and in

196-410: A dedicated central open space, a communally private sahn , called saha ( Arabic : ساحة , sāḥä ), only for the neighbourhood's residents, usually consisting of members of the same tribe . The idea of public open space, central in the middle of a city, a town square or central plaza , is part of historical and contemporary urban design in many cultures around the world. Ancient examples are

245-400: A double-arched window, decorated with carved stucco, opening back onto the mosque. The mosque complex originally included a separate but nearby madrasa which had 28 rooms to lodge students. It was arranged around a small courtyard and its architecture was seemingly more modest than that of the famous Saadian-era Ben Youssef Madrasa . The madrasa was later replaced by a residence for women from

294-484: A large, nearly square courtyard ( sahn ) which occupied the northern half or so of the building while the southern section is occupied by the interior prayer hall. The courtyard is centered around a fountain and is surrounded on three sides by a gallery of arches, while the prayer hall on its south side is split into seven aisles by rows of arches. The arches are almost all of Moorish or horseshoe form , while band or outlines of stucco decoration are carved around them or on

343-401: A major mosque of the city. The mosque is the largest component in a complex of adjoining structures which also include a mida'a ( ablutions house), a hammam (public bathhouse), a library, a Qur'anic reading school for children, a madrasa (no longer extant), and, more famously, a public fountain alongside a drinking trough for animals. As with the near-contemporary Bab Doukkala Mosque,

392-634: A private family room veranda of three walls, usually overlooks the sahn and gives direct or stairway access to it. Upper floor rooms may also view it through mashrabiyas , wooden lattice covered windows. The Moorish patios of al-Andalus , in present-day Spain, include World Heritage Sites such as the Court of the Lions and Court of the Myrtles at the Alhambra palace. Traditional Islamic neighborhoods can have

441-466: A public fountain where Muslims performed Wudu a ritual purification required before prayer . The Great Umayyad Mosque of Damascus built in 706 CE provides one of the earliest withstanding example of a Sahn. The 122.5 meter long and 50 meter wide rectangular courtyard of the mosque is surrounded by a colonnaded portico ( riwaq ) on three sides. The use of sahn in Islamic architecture continued until

490-552: Is a courtyard in Islamic architecture , especially the formal courtyard of a mosque. Most traditional mosques have a large central sahn , which is surrounded by a riwaq or arcade on all sides. In traditional Islamic design, residences and neighborhoods can have private sahn courtyards. The sahn is a common element in religious buildings and residences throughout the Muslim world , used in urban and rural settings. The cloister

539-451: Is a cedarwood lintel and then several more horizontal bands with painted decoration (now partly faded), culminating in a wooden canopy with muqarnas and other carved elements typical of Moroccan architecture. The cedar wood corbels and the lower wooden lintel, all richly carved, are original elements from the Saadian era (16th century), while the plaster elements and painted decoration date from

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588-400: Is a result of its unfinished construction. If its construction had been completed, it would have been one of the tallest minarets in the city. A popular explanation reported in tradition claims that the minaret was left this way due to the demands of a vizier who lived near the mosque at the time of its construction and who objected to a tower from which someone could have potentially seen inside

637-429: Is covered by a cupola of muqarnas (stalactite-like sculpting). The central archway on the south side of the courtyard is covered in part by a wooden screen called the anaza which covers the entrance to the aisle leading to the central mihrab (niche symbolizing the direction of prayer) and also acts as an "auxiliary mihrab" for those carrying out their prayers in the courtyard. The transverse aisle running along

686-442: Is covered in stucco-carved decoration featuring arabesque , geometric , and calligraphic motifs. The space between the arches in front of the mihrab is also covered above by a large square cupola of fine muqarnas. The lower part of the mihrab is also decorated by eight engaged columns in a symmetrical arrangement around the mihrab's opening. Unlike most earlier examples of this feature, which were often carved in stucco or plaster,

735-667: Is its equivalent in European medieval architecture and its religious buildings. The word Sahn (صَحْن) means a courtyard in Arabic . But more commonly it means "plate", "dish". Originally, the sahn was used for dwellings, as a secure and private setting within a residence compound's walls. Ruins of houses in Sumerian Ur with sahns have been found, from the Third Dynasty of Ur (2100–2000 BCE). Most mosque courtyards (sahn) contained

784-538: Is that the name derives from an Arabic word meaning "knife-makers" or " cutlers ", denoting the former presence of craftsmen along the main street of the area when the Jewish community was established there. Iñigo Almela likewise cites this as the most plausible etymology, but notes that this is still debatable. The mosque was commissioned by the Saadian sultan Moulay Abdallah al-Ghalib . Construction took place between 1562–63 CE (970 AH ) and 1572–3 CE (980 AH). In 1557–58 CE

833-423: Is the mida'a ( Arabic : ميضأة ) or ablutions house, which allowed for visitors to the mosque to wash their limbs and face in the performance of ritual ablutions ( wudu ) before prayers. It consisted of a courtyard building with an arched pavilion over a water basin in the middle. This layout is similar to that of the much older Almoravid Qubba which was itself an ablutions pavilion. To the east of this structure

882-401: Is the hammam or bathhouse, which allowed members of the public to fully wash themselves (an act known as ghusl ). It included a changing room and then a succession of cold, warm, and hot steam rooms, mostly vaulted in brick. Much of it has been restored or redone over the years such that not much of the original Saadian materials are still visible. On the north side of the ablutions house and

931-551: The Shahada in Square Kufic was added on the back wall of the fountain sometime after 1905. Sharif Sharīf ( Arabic : شريف , 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef or sherif , feminine sharīfa ( شريفة ), plural ashrāf ( أشراف ), shurafāʾ ( شرفاء ), or (in the Maghreb ) shurfāʾ , is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, from

980-421: The majlis ( Arabic : مجلس , mağlis ), a salon or reception room, without seeing into the sahn . It is then a protected and proscribed place where the women of the house need not be covered in the hijab clothing traditionally necessary in public. In urban settings, the sahn is usually surrounded by a colonnaded riwaq , and has a howz , or pool of water, in the middle. The residence's iwan ,

1029-634: The Almoravid -era Minbar of the Kutubiyya Mosque . Its form seems to be inspired in particular by the minbar of the Kasbah Mosque (a mosque which was also repaired and restored by Sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib ). It is made of a combination of different-coloured woods including cedar and ebony, and its decoration mixes marquetry , ivory or bone inlay , and panels with sculpted reliefs to form both geometric and plant motifs. Scholars have argued that while

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1078-569: The Old English word scīrgerefa , meaning "shire-reeve", the local reeve (enforcement agent) of the king in the shire (county). Precise usage of the term has varied both historically and geographically. Often, the terms sharīf and sayyid were used interchangeably, while in other contexts they referred to Hasanid vs. Husaynid descent (especially in the Hejaz , where the Sharifate of Mecca

1127-599: The Ottoman Empire . Historian Gaston Deverdun suggested that Mamluk influence could have been transmitted thanks to pilgrims returning from the Hajj to Mecca via Mamluk Cairo . A more recent study by Iñigo Almela argues against direct Ottoman influence and in favor of more local influences from older religious complexes in Fez and Tlemcen . The mosque was built on top of a former Jewish cemetery, which caused some Jewish inhabitants of

1176-488: The caste system among South Asian Muslims , the term ashrāf designates not only Muslims of Arab descent ( sayyid s or purported descendants of Ali and Fatima, and shaykh s, which include all those who claim descent from the Quraysh or from one of Muhammad's companions ), but also Muslims of Pasthun or Turko-Mongol ( Mughal ) descent. Over time, people who were not of Hashimite descent were sometimes also granted

1225-451: The 19th century. The wooden corbels are covered with sculpted motifs of palmettes , pine cones , and leaves, while the lower lintel bears an inscription in Thuluth script, interwoven with images of leaves and plant motifs, which reads (approximate translation): "The most beautiful words that have been said are: praise to God in all circumstances!" This verse is similarly found on the lintels of

1274-521: The Bab Doukkala Mosque fountain and the Shrob ou Shouf Fountain. Inside the fountain, behind the arch, is another lower lintel with decoration. Its lower edge used to be painted with an inscription in black letters on a light background, but this has faded away. Above it, and extending along the side walls as well, is a frieze of stucco carved with geometric star patterns. A square plaque or tile displaying

1323-480: The Mouassine Mosque generally follows the layout and form of the 12th-century Kutubiyya Mosque which, along with other Almohad mosques of that era, more or less set the style of Moroccan mosques. This layout is often referred to as the "T-plan" model, by which the aisle or nave leading towards the mihrab and the transverse aisle running along the mihrab or qibla wall of the mosque are larger or wider than

1372-508: The Saadian aristocracy. Another school, devoted more strictly to learning the Qur'an and more akin to a primary school, was located next over the street right next to the eastern entrance of the mosque. It was referred to as a msid and also appeared to have served as a place to copy manuscripts. Still preserved today, it is located on an upper floor reached by a stairway and consists of a simple room which retains some fine stucco-carved decoration from

1421-400: The Saadian era. The room is partly divided by two dark marble columns with Saadian capitals carved with pine cone and palmette motifs. These in turn support consoles with arabesque and calligraphic stucco-carved decoration which support the ceiling. A frieze of more typical geometric and epigraphic decoration runs around the top of the walls of the room. To the northwest of the mosque

1470-628: The availability of water as an essential act of public charity. The Mouassine Fountain is one of the most outstanding examples in Marrakech. It was heavily renovated around 1867, under the reign of Muhammad IV, when much of its decoration was redone or added, but many of its carved cedar wood elements are preserved from the original 16th-century construction. The fountain's main arch consists of two lower corbels or consoles sculpted in plaster or stucco with muqarnas and other motifs, which in turn uphold step-like corbels made of cedar wood. Above these corbels

1519-404: The basic function of security and privacy remain the same. The sahn can be a private garden, a service yard, and a summer season outdoor living room for the family or entertaining. Usually the main entrance of the house does not lead directly to the sahn . It is reached through a broken or curved corridor called a majaz ( Arabic : مجاز , mağāz ). This lets residents admit guests into

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1568-414: The bay on the right harboured a public fountain for humans; a wooden bar across its opening prevented pack animals from reaching it. Yet another archway stands further left and east of this whole structure but serves to give access to the hammam, while two more arches, perpendicular to the others, enclose the east side of the small public square in front of the fountain, with one of the arches giving access to

1617-402: The city to avoid walking near the mosque for fear of unknowingly walking over an impure space where bodies were buried. According to one historical source, some Muslim worshipers were also put off by this and avoided attending prayers at the mosque. The latter claim is not backed up by other historical chronicles, but may have a part in explaining why the mosque did not gain greater prominence as

1666-419: The columns and their capitals here are made of marble . The surfaces of the columns are carved in arabesques and Arabic inscriptions, while the capitals are carved with ornate arabesques and muqarnas forms which are reminiscent of decorative Ottoman capitals of the era. The minbar (pulpit) of the mosque, kept next to the mihrab, follows in the artistic style and tradition of previous Almohad minbars and of

1715-425: The courtyards and rooms of his private residence and harem . The library is attached to the mosque's southeastern corner and is accessed from a doorway in that part of the mosque. The library, whose decoration dates from a 19th-century refurbishment, consists of a large square room measuring 7.65 metres per side. The room has five large niches with bookshelves surrounded by a band of epigraphic stucco decoration. By

1764-450: The family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad ( c.  570 CE – 632 CE ). It may be used in three senses: The precise usage of the term has varied both historically and geographically. The word derives from the Arabic root sh–r–f, which expresses meanings related to honor, nobility, and prominence. It has no etymological connection with the English term sheriff , which comes from

1813-429: The hammam, facing the street, is an arched structure sheltering a fountain and drinking trough. It was attached to the ablutions house in order to take advantage of the same water system. The structure occupies a rectangular space measuring about 18.1 by 4.7 metres and is divided by arches into four bays . The first three vaulted bays on the left (to the east) are occupied by what was a drinking trough for animals, while

1862-576: The market street beyond. While the arches of the drinking trough are plain, the archway and facade of the fountain are richly decorated and bear resemblances to both the fountain of the Bab Doukkala Mosque and the Saadian-era Shrob ou Shouf Fountain . The tradition of public water fountains was already an old tradition in Morocco, as well as in the wider Islamic world where fountains, bathhouses, and sabils were common urban public amenities, in large part due to Islamic tradition placing an emphasis on

1911-402: The mid-20th century the library was abandoned and no longer housed a collection. At the southwestern corner of the mosque, extending from the southern transverse aisle of the prayer hall, is a room called the bayt al-'itikaf ( Arabic : بيت الاعتكف ) which served as a space for spiritual retreat. It is a richly decorated chamber accessed from a stairway, with a richly-painted wooden ceiling and

1960-503: The mid-twentieth century, when Modern architecture began to influence Islamic cultures' residential and public buildings' designs. Almost every historic or traditional mosque has a sahn . The use of it in Middle Eastern countries' mosques was carried on to most Islamic countries' mosque architecture. Traditional mosque sahns are surrounded by the riwaq arcade on all sides. They also contain fountain water basins, such as

2009-496: The other aisles of the hypostyle prayer hall. Like in Almohad mosques, the principal decoration was concentrated around the mihrab area and along these emphasized aisles. However, the courtyard ( sahn ) of the Saadian mosque was larger than in previous Almohad mosques, being nearly equal or even slightly larger than the interior prayer hall (unlike in Almohad mosques where the courtyards were proportionally much smaller). Additionally,

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2058-453: The qibla (southeastern) wall is demarcated from the rest of the prayer hall by another row of arches running perpendicular to the others, while the arches next to the mihrab have a "lambrequin" profile (a dented and lobed outline common in Moroccan and Moorish architecture ) with muqarnas-carved intrados . The mihrab itself is an arched alcove with a small muqarnas cupola . The wall around it

2107-498: The qibla orientation of the mosque (meant to be aligned with the direction of prayer ) was shifted further east than before, closer to the "true" qibla (the direction of Mecca ) and away from the predominantly southwards alignment of Almohad mosques. Both of these shifts had begun during the preceding Marinid era, but the Saadians took them further and, in the process, consolidated the form of Moroccan mosques thereafter. The mosque has

2156-412: The quality of its craftsmanship does not live to its predecessors, it does show originality and a continued effort to adopt new forms into the decorative schema. The minaret of the mosque, located at its northwestern corner, is unusual for its short height (19.2 metres) and very simple form, in contrast with the ornate minarets of most royally-sponsored mosques in Morocco. This short and rudimentary form

2205-448: The sultan had ordered that the Jewish population of the city relocate to an area closer to the Kasbah (royal citadel), resulting in the creation of a new Jewish mellah which continued to exist into modern times. Construction of the mellah was probably finished around 1562–63. Meanwhile, the emptying of the old Jewish neighbourhoods had liberated a large amount of space within the city which

2254-703: The title sharīf as a general mark of nobility. The result of this has been that today the term sayyid has become a more common designation for those claiming descent from Muhammad. As such, Sayyid (or one of its many alternative spellings, like Sayyed or Syed ) has also become a common proper name . Sahn Features Types Types Features Clothing Genres Art music Folk Prose Islamic Poetry Genres Forms Arabic prosody National literatures of Arab States Concepts Texts Fictional Arab people South Arabian deities A sahn ( Arabic : صَحْن , ṣaḥn ),

2303-404: The wall surfaces between them. The mosque has three main entrances: one to the north, aligned with the major central axis of the building, which opens into the courtyard, and two symmetrical side entrances to the west and east that open to the north edge of the prayer hall. The outer portal of the entrances are often highlighted with more stucco decoration, while the space just inside each entrance

2352-469: Was open to redevelopment. The Mouassine Mosque, along with the Bab Doukkala Mosque whose construction began slightly earlier, appears to have been part of a larger plan to build new "model" neighbourhoods in this area and spur an urban renewall of Marrakesh. Like the Bab Doukkala Mosque, it was conceived as part of a coherent religious and civic complex which included, in addition to the mosque itself,

2401-607: Was restricted to persons of Hasanid descent). In still other contexts, they both referred to some form of Hashimite descent, but were linked to a different and specific social status. In most places, the term has functioned as a mark of nobility (both the Abbasids and the Fatimids were at one time holder of the caliphate ), except in South Asia , where the meaning of the term has expanded to include all Muslims of foreign descent. Thus, in

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