Михраб: Ниша для направления молитвы в мечети

Niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of prayer

Mihrab ([[wikt:محراب, , pl. محاريب ) is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a mihrab appears is thus the "qibla wall". The minbar, which is the raised platform from which an imam (leader of prayer) addresses the congregation, is located to the right of the mihrab.

The origin of the word miḥrāb is complicated and multiple explanations have been proposed by different sources and scholars. as well as "part of a temple where 𐩩𐩢𐩧𐩨 tḥrb (a certain type of visions) is obtained," from the root word 𐩢𐩧𐩨 ḥrb "to perform a certain religious ritual (which is compared to combat or fighting and described as an overnight retreat) in the 𐩣𐩢𐩧𐩨 mḥrb of the temple." whose equivalent in Sabaic is 𐩣𐩫𐩧𐩨 mkrb of the same meaning, does not however carry any relation to religious rituals) thus leading some to interpret it to mean a "fortress", or "place of battle (with Satan)," the latter due to mihrabs being private prayer chambers. The latter interpretation though bears similarity to the nature of the 𐩢𐩧𐩨 ḥrb ritual. The word mihrab originally had a non religious meaning and simply denoted a special room in a house; a throne room in a palace, for example. The Fath al Bari (p. 458), on the authority of others, suggests the mihrab is "the most honorable location of kings" and "the master of locations, the front and the most honorable." The Mosques in Islam (p. 13), in addition to Arabic sources, cites Theodor Nöldeke and others as having considered a mihrab to have originally signified a throne room. The term was subsequently used by the Islamic prophet Muhammad to denote his own private prayer room. The room additionally provided access to the adjacent mosque, and Muhammad entered the mosque through this room. This original meaning of mihrab – i. e. as a special room in the house – continues to be preserved in some forms of Judaism where mihrabs are rooms used for private worship. In the Qur'an, the word (when in conjunction with the definite article) is mostly used to indicate the Holy of Holies. The term is used, for example, in the verse .

The earliest mihrabs generally consisted of a simple stripe of paint or a flat stone panel in the qibla wall. Efn|K. A. C. Creswell and some later scholars argued that the oldest surviving mihrab is a flat marble panel, known as the Mihrab of Sulayman, found in the rock cut chamber under the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, which he attributed to the construction of Abd al Malik in the late 7th century. However, more recent scholarship has dated this mihrab to the 9th or 10th centuries based on stylistic, paleographic, and other historical grounds. Flat mihrabs were occasionally popular in these periods under the Tulunid and Fatimid dynasties. This mihrab features a combination of Classical or Late Antique motifs, with the niche flanked by two spiral columns and crowned by a scalloped shell like hood. In Ottoman mosques, these were made of brass, bronze or beaten copper and their bases had a distinctive bell shape. In exceptional cases, the mihrab does not follow the qibla direction, such as is the Masjid al Qiblatayn, or the Mosque of the Two Qiblas, where Muhammad received the command to change the direction of prayer from Jerusalem to Mecca, thus it had two prayer niches. In 1987 the mosque was renovated, the old prayer niche facing Jerusalem was removed, and the one facing Mecca was left.

Mihrabs are a relevant part of Islamic culture and mosques. Since they are used to indicate the direction for prayer, they serve as an important focal point in the mosque. They are usually decorated with ornamental detail that can be geometric designs, linear patterns, or calligraphy. This ornamentation also serves a religious purpose. The calligraphy decoration on the mihrabs are usually from the Qur'an and are devotions to God so that God's word reaches the people. Common designs amongst mihrabs are geometric foliage that are close together so that there is no empty space in between the art. It is used as a place of convergence in the mosque, where visitors could be amazed by its beauty and gilded designs. The entrance is covered in mosaics "which links to the Byzantium tradition, produced by the craftsmen sent by Emperor Nicephorus II. These mosaics extend along the voussoirs with a geometric and plant based design, but also in the inscriptions which record verses from the Koran". This style of mihrab set a standard for other mihrab construction in the region. The use of the horseshoe arch, carved stucco, and glass mosaics made an impression for the aesthetic of mihrabs, "although no other extant mihrab in Spain or western North Africa is as elaborate." It was built as a hypostyle mosque, built with a prayer hall leading to the mihrab, "on the back wall of the sanctuary are four mihrabs, two of which are the mihrab of the Companions of the Prophet in the eastern half and the great mihrab at the end of the transept". There have been other mosques that have mihrabs similar to this that follow the same theme, with scalloped domes that are "concave like a conch or mother of pearl shell.