Minarets as a Vital Element of Indo-Islamic Architecture: Evolution and Morphology

Abstract

The Minarets are a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic Mosques. The Minarets have become an essential and integral part of the mosque in the Indian sub-continent as like anywhere in the world. The Minarets evolved in Islamic Architecture at very early times. Although it was not an essential part of the mosque during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and even for some time after the period after him, There are, however, many conflicting views as to exactly where, when and by whom were the first mina-rets built. The minarets were constructed for monumental purposes but became symbolic and became the permanent features of the mosque buildings. These minarets are being built in varied geographical and cultural environments. The Muslim architects used forms that have been acclimatized in their traditional cultures. The architects did not invent new forms but preferred to refine the existing ones with the highest proportion and integrity to the main building. Therefore, they had gone through a transition state in adapting the minarets form, keeping their cultural richness and transforming them into a religious identity most suited to the Islamic buildings. This paper reviews the mosque architecture in general, the various functional aspects of minarets, its evolution in history, and the forms that the architects in India had used to determine their roots and the process of transformation by which it had been recognized as a vital element in the Islamic buildings, especially the mosques.