Arches of the Vakil Mosque in Shiraz, Iran
The Mosque Canvas Series:
The Vakil Mosque is a mosque in Shiraz, southern Iran, situated to the west of the Vakil Bazaar next to its entrance. This mosque was built between 1751 and 1773, during the Zand period; however, it was restored in the 19th century during the Qajar period.
Question - can one see God?
Yes - just visit these Mosques and any other major temple - his works are THERE! - rahula
What we want? We want to get these Mosques filled with people - for them to be respected.
The great Mosques speak loud of: tears, devotion, joy, surrender, prayer, immensity, order, light, friendship, patience, love, generosity, sharing, study, faith, charity, humanity...
These Mosque canvas series on the Islamic faith and it's major meeting and prayer places - Mosques - are meant to allow believers and other religious people to bring to their home, offices, temples and schools awesome top quality images of the worlds greatest art and accomplishments - the largest world Mosques - basically places of worship of the one God they name Allah.
Decades or centuries of work by the best and faithful artisans and fortunes spent made these wonders and here we are tasked with bringing these Islamic Jewels to the public. Not everyone has a mosque nearby, much less such large ones, but here you can bring one to your own room or house or office, and we made sure they are affordable!
The author is really concerned that the wars and conflicts of the west against these regions are basically a religious war - like the Iraq war - that mercilessly destroyed the country. Thus even more we need to make these incredible wonders well known and respected. We the members of all religions and even non-beleivers should demand that we do not destroy these buildings and civilizations in the name of war, by terrorism or any other methods to create conflicts.
The fact is that most people in the world can not access these great places of worship, but here we see not only how they look from the outside, but also many images of the ornate and profound interiors full of amazing beauty and religious meanings...one can easily assemble a set of canvas for a given major mosque with views from the outside and the inside too into one ensemble.
References on the major Mosques:
Wiki on the largest mosques - from a capacity of 1.5M people to 10,000:
Making these awesome works of Faith affordable:
- The smaller ones have very low prices but the quality of the canvas is there.
- One can even have several of the smaller ones at a low cost!
What does Islam mean?
Islam is an Arabic word which means "surrender, submission, commitment and peace." Thus, Islam can be defined as a path to attain complete peace through voluntary submission to the divine will.
About Mosques:
Mosques commonly serve as locations for prayer, Ramadan vigils, funeral services, Sufi ceremonies, marriage and business agreements, alms collection and distribution, as well as homeless shelters.
For example the Imam Ali Mosque in Iraq is visited by over 8 million people each year.
Historically, mosques were also important centers of elementary education and advanced training in religious sciences. In modern times, they have preserved their role as places of religious instruction and debate.
Any act of worship that follows the Islamic rules of prayer can be said to create a mosque, whether or not it takes place in a special building - so much so for such huge Mosques!
Informal and open-air places of worship are called musalla, while mosques used for communal prayer on Fridays are known as jāmiʿ. Mosque buildings typically contain an ornamental niche (mihrab) set into the wall that indicates the direction of Mecca (qiblah), ablution facilities and minarets from which calls to prayer are issued.
The pulpit (minbar), from which the Friday (jumu'ah) sermon (khutba) is delivered, was in earlier times characteristic of the central city mosque.
God vs Allah:
"Allah" is simply the Arabic word for God. He is the same universal God worshiped by people of all faiths. The word "Allah" is sometimes preferred over God because it is neither masculine nor feminine. Also, there is no plural for "Allah."
Islam is partially based on the Judeo-Christian religions. It has a monotheistic (belief in one God) message, and follows some of the same principles as Christianity and Judaism. The followers of Islam, Muslims, believe in one God, Allah, and believe Muhammad was his prophet.
How many Muslims are there?
Islam spread quickly first throughout Arabia and surrounding countries and then throughout the world. There are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world with 7 million in the United States. About 18% of Muslims are Arabs and live in the Middle East. The countries with the largest Muslim populations are Indonesia and India.
There are two basic groups of Islam: the Sunnis (about 80% of the world's Muslims) and the Shi'ites (about 20% of the world's Muslims). Although they share the same basic beliefs, they disagree on who was the rightful leader of Islam after Muhammad's death.
Muslims have six major beliefs:
- Belief in one God (Allah)
- Belief in the Angels
- Belief in the holy books sent to all the prophets including Torah that was revealed to the prophet Moses, Bible that was revealed to the prophet Jesus, and Qur'an (Koran) that was revealed to the prophet Muhammad
- Belief in all the prophets sent by God including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. Although Muslims believe in Isa or Jesus they don't think of Jesus as the Son of God the way Christians do.
- Belief in the Day of Judgment and life after death. The best reward for performing good deeds is getting closer to God.
- Belief in divine decree. This means that God is all-powerful and nothing can happen without His permission, however, he has given human beings freedom to choose whether to be good or bad. In the end, everyone will be questioned about how they lived in this life.
What are the Five Pillars of Islam?
These are guides for daily life for putting the beliefs of Muslims into practice:
- Shahadah (declaration of faith)—to bear witness or testify that there is no god except one God (Allah) and Muhammad is His prophet or messenger.
- Salat (ritual prayer)—the five daily prayers are performed at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and night. The prayers are offered in Arabic language and facing the direction of Mecca.
- Zakah (alms tax) –Giving 2.5% of one's wealth to the poor and needy.
- Sawm (fasting)—Muslims fast during the daylight hours in the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar called Ramadan. The purpose is to remind people of the goodness of what they have and to show equality with the poor. Ramadan is a time for study and self-discipline.
- Hajj (pilgrimage): Muslims believe in making a pilgrimage to Mecca to the Ka'bah at least once in their lifetime.
The kA'bah is believed to have been built by Ibrahim (Abraham) and one of his sons. Muhammad restored it to worship Allah. For this reason it is a very sacred place to Muslims.
-------- About the Canvas:
Printed in the USA by CGI prints in CO in 2-3 days - with 99% quality ranking by printify.
A perfect addition to every room! Our standard canvas is a finely textured artist-grade cotton substrate which consistently reproduces image details with outstanding clarity and detail.
.: 100% Cotton fabric
.: Wooden frame
.: High image quality and detail
.: For indoor use
