Transcendent Soul of the Muslim Architect and Spiritual Impact of the Islamic Architecture: Islamic Architecture and mundus imaginalis

Abstract

This paper represents the exploration of the transcendent soul of the Muslim architect and the spiritual impact of the Islamic architecture. It demonstrates that Islamic architecture is a sacred form of transmitting the Divine message, whichoriginates from the Spirit, surpasses time and space, and manifests itself in the physical world. In this sense, Islamic architecture isa perennial consequence ofan imagination which opens up the soul to certain possibilities of perceiving and understanding that are not available to the rational mind.The paper investigates examples from Islamic architectural tradition that engaged in the crystallization and expression of the mundus imaginalis, the realm where invisible realities become visible and corporeal entities are spiritualized. In order to examine the materialization of the world of symbols in architecture, the paper first addresses the crucial place of the Imaginal World in spiritual development of the Muslim architect and creation of the Islamic architecture. Italso demonstrates the fundamental aspects of the soul and characteristics of the Muslim architect in the frame of Islamic mysticism. Second, the paper discusses how Islamic architecture embodies and achieves the utmost degree of spirituality.