Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition

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Masd̲j̲id
(77,513 words)

(a.), mosque, the noun of place from sad̲j̲ada “to prostrate oneself, hence “place where one prostrates oneself [in worship]”. The modern Western European words (Eng. mosque , Fr. mosquée , Ger. Moschee , Ital. moschea ) come ultimately from the Arabic via Spanish mezquita .

I. In the central Islamic lands

A. The origins of the mosque up to the Prophet’s death.

The word msgdʾ is found in Aramaic as early as the Jewish Elephantine Papyri (5th century B.C.), and appea…

Cite this page
Pedersen, J., Hillenbrand, R., Burton-Page, J., Andrews, P.A., Pijper, G.F., Christie, A.H., Forbes, A.D.W., Freeman-Greenville, G.S.P. and Samb, A., “Masd̲j̲id”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 01 April 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0694>
First published online: 2012
First print edition: ISBN: 9789004161214, 1960-2007



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