Towards an understanding of the concept of the islamic house

Abstract EN

In Islam, the house is a place to rest, relax the body and mind, and enjoy legitimate worldly delights.

Within the house realm we also worship, teach, learn and propagate the message of Islam.

The Islamic house is a microcosm of Islamic culture and civilization in that individuals and families bred and nurtured therein constitute the fundamental units of the Islamic community.

Central to the standards by which a house may be categorized as Islamic are the holiness and purity of its philosophy, vision and utility, accompanied by convenience, efficiency, safety, awareness of the surroundings, and anything else that Islam reckons as indispensable for living a decent and accountable family life.

The overall physical appearance is therefore inferior and matters only when it comes into complete conformity with the said criteria.

Thus, designers, planners, builders and final users alike, ought to perceive the house phenomenon as a sheer means, an instrument, a carrier of the spiritual, not a goal itself.

Certainly, it is the tawhidic (God’s oneness) spirit of Islam that serves as the sole force which furnishes the Islamic house with both its essence and identity, integrating itself with and visibly holding sway over a number of indigenous and newly emerging geographical, climatic, social, economic and technical factors and features.

This paper briefly examines some aspects of the phenomenon of the Islamic house, whose significance easily comes to the fore under all circumstances.

The themes discussed are : the importance of the house institution in Islam ; the factors that make a house Islamic ; pragmatism in designing an Islamic house.

These themes constitute what could be described as an ideological aspect of the subject in question.

As a practical aspect of the paper, a four-steps strategy for designing an Islamic house is proposed.