Sacred objects

Mosque lamp

The mosque lamp, the hanging glass lamp of Islamic art: the Qur’an’s Verse of Light that inspired it, its history in Mamluk Egypt and Syria and its use as a symbol today.

Also called Mishkat · Qandil

In brief

I.Hanging lamps of glass or metal lit mosques for centuries.
II.They recall the Qur’an’s Verse of Light, which compares God’s light to a lamp in a niche.
III.Enamelled glass lamps of the Mamluk period, 13th–14th century, are among the treasures of Islamic art.
IV.The lamp often appears carved or painted in the prayer niche of mosques and on prayer rugs.

Chapter I

What it means

In the Qur’an, God is “the light of the heavens and the earth”, and his light is likened to a lamp in a niche. The mosque lamp brings that verse into the building: it lights the space of prayer and stands for the guidance that comes from God.

Many lamps carry the Verse of Light itself, written around their necks in coloured enamel, so that light shines through the very words.

Chapter II

Where it comes from

Rows of hanging lamps lit mosques from early times. In Mamluk Egypt and Syria (1250–1517) glassmakers produced magnificent enamelled and gilded lamps, often inscribed with the Verse of Light and the name of the sultan or emir who gave them. Many survive in museums in Cairo, London and New York.

The image of a lamp in an arch became common in prayer rugs and in the decoration of the mihrab The niche in a mosque wall that shows the direction of prayer. Glossary, the niche that shows the direction of prayer.

Chapter III

Where you see it today

Electric chandeliers have replaced oil lamps, but the lamp remains a familiar motif in mosque decoration, on prayer rugs and in the lantern decorations hung during Ramadan, especially the fanous of Egypt.

Questions people ask

What does the Verse of Light say?

Qur’an 24:35 begins: “God is the light of the heavens and the earth.” It compares his light to a lamp in a niche, inside a glass like a shining star, lit from a blessed olive tree.

Were mosque lamps really lit?

Yes. They held a small glass of oil with a floating wick, and hung on chains from the ceiling. The enamelled ones were also gifts that showed the donor’s piety and wealth.

Sources and further reading

Jonathan M. Bloom and Sheila S. Blair, Islamic Arts (Phaidon, 1997)
Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Religious symbolism and iconography”

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