What is the History of the Minbar?
The first person who used the pulpit was Hz. It is said to be Abraham. As it is known later, Mr. It was used by Mohammed. Our Prophet was addressing the congregation by leaning on a palm stump and standing on a high structure made of mud brick. It is rumored that the first pulpit was produced from tamarisk wood in three steps by a woman’s carpenter slave, upon the request of the Prophet, after he met with his companions. The marble pulpit in the present Masjid an-Nabawi is a gift from the Ottoman Sultan Murat III. In Islamic culture, the pulpit is among the forms that symbolize the spiritual existence of the Prophet, just like the mihrab. It is narrated that the Prophet used this podium while receiving foreign envoys, apart from his sermons.
After the death of our Prophet, Hz. Abu Bakr (r.a.) in his second step because of his adab, Hz. Umar (r.a.) delivered a sermon in the first step. Hz. Osman, on the other hand, sat on the first first step for six years and finally climbed to the step that is the seat. Later, an attempt was made to dismantle this pulpit and move it to Damascus, but in the evening of the same day, a solar eclipse took place on the horizon and the removal of the pulpit was abandoned. Later, it is rumored that this pulpit burned in a fire in 1256 during the Abbasid period. Today, imams and orators who ascend to the pulpit generally do not rise above the third level and sit lower, out of respect for the Prophet and the Caliphs.
In the eyes of our Prophet, the pulpit became a science chair and an administrative office. Later, the caliphs continued to use it as a form in which they took office or presented their opinions. After the placement of minbars in mosques in Egypt since 132 Hijri, it spread to all Friday mosques. The most beautiful works of Islamic architecture were made using wood and marble. To give an example from the wooden pulpit, the oldest example is the Keyravan Mosque pulpit.
During the Ottoman period, pulpits made of marble were dominant. Some geometric shapes are used and decorated with plant motifs. These decorations on the minbars were in harmony with the decorations inside the mosque and it was inevitable that magnificent works of art would emerge. In the present time, pulpits are now built using more steps. The use of five, seven, nine or more steps may vary depending on the size of the mosque. As a result, the pulpit is one of the most beautiful elements that has become the symbol of authority and oratory over time.
