The Minbar: Pulpit of the Mosque
Suggest editDefinition and Purpose
The minbar (منبر) is the raised pulpit from which the imam or khatib delivers the Friday sermon (khutbat al-Jumu'ah) and other major addresses in a mosque. It is typically located to the right of the mihrab as one faces the qiblah, and its elevated position ensures that the speaker can be seen and heard by the entire congregation. The word minbar is derived from the root meaning 'to elevate' or 'to raise,' reflecting its function as a platform that raises the speaker above the level of the audience. The minbar is one of the most symbolically significant furnishings of any mosque, and its history connects directly to the practice of the Prophet ﷺ.
The Prophet's Minbar: A Miracle Preserved
The earliest and most significant minbar in Islamic history was made for the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah. The Prophet initially delivered his Friday sermons while standing or leaning against a palm tree trunk set against the qiblah wall of his mosque. When his Companions, observing his fatigue, offered to make him a raised seat from which to address them, he agreed. A woman from the Ansar arranged for a carpenter to build a wooden minbar with steps. When the Prophet ﷺ first used the minbar and moved away from the palm tree trunk, the trunk was heard to cry—a sound described in multiple narrations as resembling the crying of a child or a she-camel. The Prophet descended from the minbar, placed his hand on the trunk and spoke to it until it quieted. This miracle of the yearning palm tree (hannin al-jidh) is reported through numerous chains and is considered by hadith scholars to be among the most established miracles of the Prophet ﷺ, transmitted by over twenty Companions. The three-step design of the original minbar is preserved in Islamic tradition: the Prophet would sit on the top step and place his feet on the second, leaving the first step as the ground level.
Historical Development and Symbolism
After the Prophet's death, his Companions showed reverence for the minbar's significance. Abu Bakr stood on the second step, Umar on the first, and Uthman initially on the first before later ascending to the second and eventually the third, which drew some criticism as an innovation departing from the Prophet's practice. The minbar thus became a powerful symbol of political and religious authority: caliphs were recognized through the khutbah delivered from the minbar in their name every Friday, and capturing control of the minbar in a major city signaled the change of ruling power. When the Fatimids took Cairo, Friday sermons were delivered in the name of the Fatimid caliph; when Salah al-Din restored Sunni rule, the khutbah was immediately restored to the Abbasid caliph's name. Control of the minbar was control of religious legitimacy.
Architectural and Artistic Splendor
Over time, minbars became increasingly elaborate expressions of Islamic woodworking and architectural art. The Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs commissioned minbars of carved wood with intricate geometric interlace, screens of arabesque latticework, and canopied tops. The most celebrated minbar in Islamic history was the minbar commissioned by Nur al-Din Zangi in 1168-1169 CE and placed in the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem by Salah al-Din in 1187 CE after the liberation of Jerusalem from the Crusaders. Known simply as 'the minbar of Nur al-Din' or 'the minbar of Salah al-Din,' it was a masterpiece of Ayyubid geometric woodworking: approximately 7.5 meters tall with over 10,000 interlocking pieces of wood joined without a single nail, screw, or glue. This minbar was tragically destroyed in an arson attack in 1969 CE by an Australian Christian extremist; a faithful reconstruction was installed in 2007 CE, painstakingly recreated using historical records and photographs. The Moroccan tradition of minbar-making, using cedarwood with elaborate carved geometric panels and muqarnas hood, represents one of the finest surviving traditions of Islamic woodworking.
The Khutbah: Requirements and Etiquette
Islamic law requires that the Friday khutbah be delivered from the minbar or an elevated position in the larger mosques, following the Prophet's Sunnah. The khatib stands facing the congregation, greets them, delivers the first sermon sitting briefly in the middle, then stands for the second sermon, concluding with supplication for the Muslims. The congregation is obligated to listen attentively; scholars hold that even saying subhanallah to remind a person to be quiet during the khutbah is disliked, and the Prophet ﷺ described speaking during the sermon as 'laghw' (vain speech) that may nullify the Friday prayer's reward.