Understanding Islamic Architecture and Serenity

Islamic architecture, its basic essence is

Sakina. You know what Sakina means in Arabic?

Sakina is serenity.

The root word is Sakan. Sakan means housing.

Sakina, Sakan, all this S-K-N, Sakan, Sakina,

Sukut, it's all silence, repose, womb.

Because the house is symbol of the womb.

They used to do that in Pharaonic, the, uh, the, the house, uh, is, is

symbol of the womb. It's, it's the cave where our Prophet used

to, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, used to go and retreat in it.

The house in Islam is not a matter of, uh, twisted

walls and, uh,

funny-looking architecture. Uh, it is creating, uh, a space

inside the courtyard, protected from the

noise of the street, where you can have quiet,

you can have plants, you can

have a fountain, and you have a beautiful skyscape, not

landscape. Because then you can enjoy the sky at

night especially,

you see the stars.

I have a friend, he bought a house in, in Morocco, in Marrakesh.

Hmm.

And we went there. We never went out of the house.

Hardly.

Really?

We just go for a walk to the... to go out and eat and so on,

but you don't want to go out of the house. Today, people get suffocated in houses.

They want to go out in the street