Cami
Turkish · Arabic jāmiʿ
Turkish for mosque. More precisely, a mosque where Friday prayer is held. The word means “the one that gathers”. A small prayer room without Friday prayer is called a mescit in Turkish.
What you see in the prayer hall
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In the prayer hall
Mihrab
Arabic miḥrāb · Turkish mihrap
The niche in the wall that shows the direction of prayer towards Mecca. In congregational prayer the imam who leads the prayer stands in front of it. In our mosque it has a golden frame.
Minbar
Arabic minbar · Turkish minber
The pulpit with the long staircase next to the mihrab. From here the imam gives the sermon at Friday prayer and on festival days.
Levha (calligraphy panels)
Turkish · calligraphy panel
Round panels with names in Arabic calligraphy (hat). In many Turkish mosques they show Allah and the Prophet Muhammad. There are also the first four caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and the Prophet’s grandsons Hasan and Husayn.
Kürsü
Turkish · Arabic kursī
A raised seat or lectern from which the imam gives talks and lessons. The Friday sermon, by contrast, is given from the minbar.
Qibla
Arabic qibla · Turkish kıble
The direction of prayer towards the Kaaba in Mecca. From Hamburg it lies roughly to the south-east. The whole room is aligned with it.
Prayer carpet
Turkish seccade (a single prayer mat)
During prayer the forehead, hands and knees touch the floor. That is why you only step onto the carpet without shoes. Its stripes mark the rows in which people pray shoulder to shoulder. The rows are called saf.
People
Imam
Arabic imām
Leads the congregational prayer, gives sermons and lessons, and is the person to talk to about religious questions and pastoral care.
Muezzin
Arabic muʾadhdhin · Turkish müezzin
Gives the call to prayer (adhan) and supports the imam during congregational prayer.
Jamaah
Arabic jamāʿa · Turkish cemaat
The community of people who pray, and also the congregational prayer itself. In our mosque it starts at the times in the prayer calendar. For Fajr we pray together half an hour before sunrise.
Prayer
Salah
Arabic ṣalāt · Turkish namaz
The ritual prayer, five times a day. It follows a fixed sequence of standing, bowing, prostrating and sitting.
Adhan
Arabic adhān · Turkish ezan
The call to prayer in Arabic. It invites people to each of the five prayers.
Wudu
Arabic wuḍūʾ · Turkish abdest
The ritual washing before prayer. You wash your hands, mouth, nose, face, arms and feet, and wipe your head with wet hands. Mosques have their own washrooms for this.
Friday prayer (Jumuah)
Turkish Cuma namazı
The congregational midday prayer on Friday, with a sermon. It is the most important congregational prayer of the week.
Khutbah
Arabic khuṭba · Turkish hutbe
The sermon at Friday prayer and on festival days. The imam gives it from the minbar.
Tasbih
Turkish tesbih
A string of prayer beads, usually 33 or 99, used to count words of praise to God.
The year and festivals
Ramadan
Arabic ramaḍān · Turkish Ramazan
The month of fasting. From dawn until sunset Muslims do not eat or drink. The Islamic calendar follows the moon, so Ramadan starts about eleven days earlier every year.
Suhoor, imsak, iftar
Turkish sahur, imsak, iftar
Suhoor is the meal before dawn. The fast begins at imsak. It is broken at sunset with iftar, often together in the mosque.
Eid (Bayram)
Turkish bayram
A festival day. The two great festivals are Eid al-Fitr (Ramazan Bayramı) at the end of the month of fasting and the Festival of Sacrifice, Eid al-Adha (Kurban Bayramı).
Kandil
Turkish
Five special nights in the Islamic year, for example the night of the Prophet Muhammad’s birth (Mevlid Kandili). The name comes from the oil lamps that used to light up mosques on these nights.