The first mosque was the house of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina, a city north of Mecca to which the followers of Muhammad had withdrawn in 622. The reconstructions of Muhammad's house show a large courtyard containing a relatively small house. After many worshippers complained about the heat of the midday sun, Muhammad had a row of palm trunks erected on one side of the courtyard and a roof of palm fronds laid between the columns and the outer wall, creating a shaded prayer space. He himself stood at one end of this simple arcade to preach.
Muslims are commanded to offer Namaaz five times a day: morning, midday, afternoon, sunset, and evening - see Five Pillars of Islam for details. A muezzin calls the worshippers to prayers from the minaret (Arabic manara).
Because Islamic prayer must be preceded by ritual purification, mosques have in their entryways or courtyards, fountains or other facilities for washing. In many mosques this function is elaborated into a freestanding building in the center of a courtyard.
Entry into the mosque from the ablution area - courtyard or vestibule - leads to an open room without furniture. The architecture of this prayer hall is typically undifferentiated - often a forest of columns or a grid filled with adjacent domes covers the space. The visually emphasized area is usually the wall opposite the entry, the Qibla wall. The qibla wall should, in a properly oriented mosque, be set perpendicular to a line leading to Mecca. The faithful kneel in rows parallel to the qibla wall and thus have arranged themselves to face Mecca. In the qibla wall, usually in its center, is the Mihrab, a niche or depression indicating that this is the qibla wall. The mihrab is not occupied by any furniture, unlike the apse often found around the altar of Christian churches. If there is a raised minbar, or pulpit for Friday sermons, it is to the side of the mihrab.
Many forms of mosque have evolved in different regions of the Islamic world. Notable mosque-types include the early Abbasid mosques, T-type mosques, and the central-dome mosques of Anatolia. The oil-wealth of the 20th century drove a great deal of mosque construction using desings from leading non-muslim Modern architects and promoting the careers of important contemporary Muslim architects. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture, offered since 1977, rewards both architects working in manners rooted in Islamic tradition and those working in international styles.
See also: Islamic architecture, List of famous mosques