Bringing to Light the Qur’an: The Theophany of Allah by Means of Lighting Design in the Süleymaniye Mosque
In 1558, the Ottoman architect Koca Mimar Sinan Agha (c. 1488-1588) began construction on the Süleymaniye Mosque in Constantinople (Istanbul). The Süleymaniye Mosque drew significant inspiration from the nearby Hagia Sophia (532-37), a monument built a thousand years earlier for a different religion (Byzantine). Although both the Süleymaniye Mosque and Hagia Sophia were designed to dramatize daylighting, the former has been more successful. Whereas Hagia Sophia is relatively dim inside, natural light alone fully illuminates the upper half of the Süleymaniye Mosque. In the lower half of the mosque, the simple yet effective mosque lamps serve as task lighting for Muslims who wish to pray.
Architectural historians have studied the Süleymaniye Mosque extensively, investigating topics that range from the mosque’s political role in the Ottoman Empire to the comparison of oil mosque lamps and their LED counterparts. However, the scholarship on Sinan’s oeuvre continues to be predominated by “secular” readings. In fact, no literature (in English) delves into the relationship between the mosque’s structural and lighting design and the religion of Islam. My thesis proposes that the light within the space was designed to do more than simply fulfill practical requirements for worship and politics. I explore the extent to which Sinan designed the Süleymaniye Mosque as a “theophanic” tool: a spiritual instrument to manifest divine presence.
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