(a.) minaret. 1. In the Islamic lands between the Mag̲h̲rib and Afg̲h̲anistan. Unlike the other types of Islamic religious building, such as the mosque and the madrasa , the minaret is immediately and unambiguously recognisable for what it is. The reasons for this are worth investigating. It seems on the whole unrelated to its function of the ad̲h̲ān [ q.v.] calling the faithful to prayer, which can be made quite adequately from the roof of the mosque or even from a house-top. During the lifetime of the Prophet, his Abyssinian slave Bilāl [ q.v.], was responsible for making the call to …