“And books have been spread abroad,” said Decker, catching on. “Through Amazon and modern digital printing presses. Heaven’s been laid bare through the Hubble and other telescopes, revealing the limits of the visible universe. What about hell being stoked up?”
“Could be volcanoes, like Mount Saint Helens and Etna. But many well-respected clerics believe it refers to nuclear power and the bomb. And the Garden has been brought nigh. A few years ago, several scientists determined — leveraging the Legend of Gilgamesh, ancient place names, and the historic location of rivers and mountains — that the legend of Eden was based on a real valley in western Iran.”
“I don’t know, Professor. One could read almost anything into these quotes. What are they meant to prophesy?”
“The end of the world,” said Hassan. “Armageddon.”
Decker felt an electric chill run up his spine. He pointed at the illustrations of the wallpapers on the bench between them. “Tell me about calligraphy, about this type of arabesque design?”
“In the hierarchy of the arts, Islam accords the highest rank to calligraphy,” Hassan replied, “since it’s the art that embellishes the word of God. The Qur’an itself bases its authority on its being the literal word of God, dictated to the world through the mouthpiece of a messenger, the Prophet Mohammed. Qur’an literally means ‘a reading.’ The visible Qur’an is but a reflection of the Preserved Tablet, the supernatural archetype laid up in heaven, which is a kind of metaphor for the mind of God.” The Professor paused, deep in thought. Then he added, “This principle of mirroring, of reversibility recurs throughout Islam. For example, in Islamic architecture the dome represents the vault of heaven. But in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, a highly stylized Cosmological Tree spreads downward, upside down — the arbor inversus. In the same way, from each of the four corners of the earth and in Mecca itself, one always prays towards the Ka’aba. But once within the Ka’aba, one prays in the reverse direction; that is, outwards, toward any of the four walls.
“The Ka’aba is the holiest site in Islam,” said Hassan. “In fact, the location was considered sacred even before Islam, but after the Muslim conquest of Mecca in 630, Muhammad destroyed the numerous pagan idols in the building. Within the courtyard of the Ka’aba are several sacred sites, including the burial place of Abraham and the Zamzam well, which sprang up miraculously for Ishmael and his mother, Hagar. Today, there is an ablution fountain between the external and internal features of every mosque, generally located in the center of the courtyard. In Islam, water is the vehicle of purification.”
Decker recollected the tapestries in the hall behind him. One featured the unicorn — before his death — dipping his horn in water, purifying a well.
Hassan picked up the second illustration, the one from Moussa’s locker. He studied it for a moment before confirming what Decker had already translated: Death Will Overtake You. Unfortunately, said Hassan, there wasn’t enough for him to guess at a source.
“And the numbers?”
The professor shook his head. “I’ve no idea. Wait a minute,” he added. He studied the first illustration. Then he picked up the second again. “You know,” he said. “This is interesting.”
“What?”
“See these lines here, this kind of T-junction in both drawings?” His hand swept across the designs. “These indentations, and this round shape in the arabesque over here?”
“What about it?”
“Both of these illustrations are laid out like… like virtual mosques.” He pointed at the illustration from the apartment in Queens. “This one looks like a masjid, the kind of mosque used for individual prayer.” Then he pointed at the other, the one from the jukebox dealer. “But this one looks like a musalla or idgah, a community mosque. They both have qibla and transversal axes, but this one has a minbar. See?” He stabbed a finger at a small rectangular shape. “And look how open it is — a true place of Id’.”
“Hold on a minute,” said Decker. “What’s a kibla and a minibar?”
Hassan laughed. “Not a minibar! A minbar — a pulpit.” He paused to explain. “In Islam, prayer — salat — is conducted at four different levels. For three of these, there are distinct liturgical structures — mosques. The first mosque, the masjid, is said to be for Individual prayer. The prayer rug also corresponds to this level. It’s used for daily worship, performed at the five liturgical hours: dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset and evening. It’s not used for the Congregational or Friday prayer, nor during Community prayer. But, like all mosques, it has a mihrab, a niche in the center of the qibla. You see these lines and this concave niche?” He pointed at Decker’s rough illustration.
“I’m still not following you. What’s a kibla again?”
“A mosque is a building erected around a single horizontal axis, the qibla, which passes invisibly down the middle of the floor, and terminates eventually at the Ka’aba in Mecca. Imagine Mecca as the central point; all mosques sit at right angles to Mecca, as if Mecca is the hub of a great wheel with lines, like spokes, fanning out in a great circle. At the point where the qibla axis meets the far wall of a mosque — the transversal axis — an indentation is produced, a directional niche called the mihrab, which is the liturgical axis made visible. This is where the imam or prayer leader stations himself to direct the congregation in prayer.”
Hassan pulled the second etching before them. “But this one is different. You see this here?” He pointed once again at the rectangle in the center. “It looks like a minbar, a pulpit. Of course, this mosque could be a jami’ masjid, which is used for Congregational prayer. That’s the second type, employed on Fridays. But I don’t think so. It’s too open and airy. I’d say it’s more likely a musalla or idgah, used in the third, Community prayer. Think of it as an open prayer area with nothing but a qibla wall and a mihrab. In other words, a mosque reduced to its barest essentials. It’s designed to accommodate an entire town or Community, hence the name.”
“What about the fourth kind of mosque. You said there were four.”
“Four types of prayer, or salat. But there is no liturgical structure or mosque for the fourth prayer. There couldn’t be. It’s meant for the Ummah, the entire Muslim community — worldwide. It would have to encircle the globe. The fourth prayer is reserved for the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. Unless he’s sick or otherwise incapable, every Muslim is required to make the Hajj at least once in his lifetime, although pilgrimages are encouraged every year.” Hassan paused for a moment, studying the second illustration. It was muddy and smudged. He looked up at Decker with a quizzical expression on his face. Then he said, “Was this traced or something, from another sheet of paper?”