What does a shia mosque look like inside and outside in comparison with a sunni one?

[jerzybg]

Hi,
What does a shia mosque look like inside and outside in comparison with a sunni one?
Are there any differences between them?

 

[Nehustan]

Well the definition of a masjid is very very broad. A Muslim's house can be a masjid, any building used as a masjid is a masjid, but I suppose you mean buildings built specifically for the purpose. I'd imagine the main difference might be, that there may be some calligraphy relating to the House of the Prophet. North Africa was what could loosely be described as 'Shia' (under the Fatimids), and in fact the Al Ahzar masjid, now a centre of Sunnah learning was dedicated to Fatima Zahraa wife of 'Ali and daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, hence the name Al Ahzar.

 

[jerzybg]

Sorry, I do not understand what the word "masjid" means.
Is it an English word? I imagine that a Muslim mosque (House for Muslim prayers)
has a prescribed form by Islamic law and art.
Do these two types of mosques have the same "equipment" inside?
Is it possible for non-Muslim to recognize whether a mosque is a shia type or a sunni type when standing in front of it (in front of a building)?

 

[Nehustan]

Masjid - Roman transliteration of Arabic meaning mosque.

 

[jerzybg]

Here is the answer (?)
"...Even their Mosques look different from the Main Stream Muslim ones! The domes that are on top of their mosques are always stretched out more on the top. Here are some comparison pictures:..."
http://www.answering-christianity.com/shia_mosques.htm

 

[Nehustan]

Yeh I read the text...personally I was finding it hard to tell exactly why the shia mosques are different, can you tell me if it was obvious to you?

 

[jerzybg]

"...The domes that are on top of their mosques are always stretched out more on the top. Here are some comparison pictures:..."

 

[Nehustan]

Very bizzare web page. I actually think that the earliest mosque originally had NO dome at all, and I think that to use the shape of a dome to signify Kufr, is to say the least bizzare.

 

[jerzybg]

What is Kufr?

 

[Nehustan]

The opposite of belief. It means to disbelieve in, or cover, the truth.

 

[jerzybg]

Is it possible to move this thread to Shi'ite sub-forum?

 

[Shia Islam]

there is no rule in Islam in how to build a mosque..
the tradition is to have a Minarate (like a tower) and domes ..

Unless you have a spiritual power, you can't till the difference...

by the way the website given (answering- Christianity) is full of lies and anti-shia propaganda ...

We used to such acts where Nasibis (anti-Prophet family), Wahabis, Salafis find themselves in hating Shia.

 

[TashaN]

We used to such acts where Nasibis (anti-Prophet family), Wahabis, Salafis find themselves in hating Shia.

And Nasibis are the Sunnis of course, according to shi'a, unless you will use tagya to say otherwise. Am i right?

 

[Shia Islam]

And Nasibis are the Sunnis of course, according to shi'a, unless you will use tagya to say otherwise. Am i right?

Nasibis is a Term you will find it in both Sunni and shia Hadith books.
anyone one who is an enemy of Ahlul-Bayt is nassibi..
not necessarly a sunni.

Taqya is mentioned in Quran
"Let not the believers take disbelievers for their friends in preference to believers. Whoso doeth that hath no connection with Allah unless (it be) that ye but guard yourselves against them, taking (as it were) security. Allah biddeth you beware (only) of Himself. Unto Allah is the journeying. "3-28

so we are not doing anything wrong

 

[TashaN]

Nasibis is a Term you will find it in both Sunni and shia Hadith books.
anyone one who is an enemy of Ahlul-Bayt is nassibi..
not necessarly a sunni.

Taqya is mentioned in Quran
"Let not the believers take disbelievers for their friends in preference to believers. Whoso doeth that hath no connection with Allah unless (it be) that ye but guard yourselves against them, taking (as it were) security. Allah biddeth you beware (only) of Himself. Unto Allah is the journeying. "3-28

so we are not doing anything wrong

Taqya is not in the Quran as Shi'a define it. I think Tqya the way Shi'a use it is nothing but plain deception.

 

[Shia Islam]

Taqya is not in the Quran as Shi'a define it. I think Tqya the way Shi'a use it is nothing but plain deception.

This argument needs the following:
1. Give evidence to the way you think Shia define it.
2. Prove that Shia misuse it.

 

[TashaN]

This argument needs the following:
1. Give evidence to the way you think Shia define it.
2. Prove that Shia misuse it.

Your first question is really strange. I should prove how i think shia define it?
How do i supposed to do that excatly?

Anyhow, the answer to both of your questions are, i saw a very long debate between sunnis and shi'a on tv. I always used to hear such things and see it on youtube but i wanted to make sure of it, and it was so clear on that long debate. that debate was held for days on that tv station.

 

[Woodrow LI]

Sorry, I do not understand what the word "masjid" means.
Is it an English word? I imagine that a Muslim mosque (House for Muslim prayers)
has a prescribed form by Islamic law and art.
Do these two types of mosques have the same "equipment" inside?
Is it possible for non-Muslim to recognize whether a mosque is a shia type or a sunni type when standing in front of it (in front of a building)?

I'm Sunni and have prayed in Shi'ite Mosques and never new the congregation was Shi'ite.

A Mosque is neither Shia, Sunni, Sufi etc. It is a Mosque. Typically and ideally the interior of a Mosque is an empty room free from furniture and adornments. There are no identifying features that designate a Mosque as Sunni or Shia.

As much as the media portrays our conflicts as a religious issue, the conflicts are political and the result of despots misusing the name of Muslim. I might disagree with some Shia but I will still call them Muslim and my Brothers and Sisters.

 

[Matemkar]

Salam. Could you brothers just discuss things in related threads and not derail them?

Edit. Sorry, I was too quick to judge and I thought you are still arguing, then I saw this is an 8 year old thread which I believe is not like you guys now.

And salam jerzybg. Though you may not be online anymore, here goes my reply.

There are two main words in Arabic to refer to worship places. One is JA'MI, and it comes from the root word JAM (to gather), thus it is a place where people gather in order to worship God. And the other is MASJIDwhich comes from the root word, SAJDA (prostration), thus Masjid is every place on/in which people pray and prostrate. And according to Islam, the whole earth is a Masjid. (that is, one can pray-prostrate anywhere clean.)

Thus, the difference of Jami Masjid from a Masjid is the gathering, especially in friday (in Arabic, Jumua; i.e. the gathering day) noon prayer. Friday prayers are to be performed in the former one and you can't perform it in more than one place in a 3 miles distance.

As for your main question. There is no such thing as sunni mosque or shia mosque. There is just mosque and Muslims (sunnis, shias, sufis, etc.) pray in them. And the shapes of mosques are determined by the architecture-culture of the nations which built them.

However, if you mean by sunni and shia mosques that, the majority thus the Imam/Leader and preacher of the community is whether sunni or shia, then, you can't say it from the outside except for hearing the adhan (i.e. the call to prayer).

If it is recited three times a day and includes the phrase about Imam Ali being the guide of God to the people, after stating that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh&hp) is the Messenger of God to the people; then it is a shia Islamic Jami and/or Masjid.

Because us shia Muslims have five daily prayers just like the sunni brethren, but we believe that 2nd and 3rd prayer of the day has a common time thus one adhan-call to the prayer is enough, same goes for the 4th and 5th prayer of the day. For more information, please see: Joining Prayers and Other Related Issues l al-islam.org

And because us shia Muslims believe in the leadership of Imam Ali after the Prophet, we state that he is (but not as a wajib/required part of the adhan/call, rather as a mustahab/recommended deed we say it). And this belief is not because he was a relative to the Prophet, rather because he was the perfect one for it and he was appointed by the Holy Prophet.

Lastly, it is nice that you are interested in to know about Islam. And if I may, rather than the differences, I suggest studying the commonalities of the denominations first, which is the essence of the religion of Islam. And later you can dive into differences on slight issues.

And, please refer to these two books for your study of Islam. (You can skip the article about Imamah/Leadership as it is just related to shia Islam and not other denominations):

Invitation to Islam

God, Man and the Universe

And, if you have a jami and/or masjid around, please don't hesitate to enter there and meet Muslims no matter what denomination.

I am sure they are not gonna eat you Kidding But seriously, you can go there at least once a week and make friends and learn about Islam. It is always to interact with people rather than studying it afar.

Good luck my friend. ma salam

I'm Sunni and have prayed in Shi'ite Mosques and never knew the congregation was Shi'ite.

A Mosque is neither Shia, Sunni, Sufi etc. It is a Mosque. Typically and ideally the interior of a Mosque is an empty room free from furniture and adornments. There are no identifying features that designate a Mosque as Sunni or Shia.

As much as the media portrays our conflicts as a religious issue, the conflicts are political and the result of despots misusing the name of Muslim. I might disagree with some Shia but I will still call them Muslim and my Brothers and Sisters.

MashaAllah. Blessings to you bro.

BTW, if I may, here's an article written by a sister who has experienced the same things you did:

A Sunni Muslim prays at a Shia Islamic mosque | For the Love of GOD

May Allah bless you. ma salam