A ''dikka'' or ''dakka'' ( ar, دكة), also known in Turkish as a ''müezzin mahfili'', is a raised platform or

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...

in a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

from which the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

is recited and where the

muezzin The muezzin ( ar, مُؤَذِّن) is the person who proclaims the call to the daily prayer ( ṣalāt) five times a day ( Fajr prayer, Zuhr prayer, Asr prayer, Maghrib prayer and Isha prayer) at a mosque. The muezzin plays an important r ...

chants or repeats in response to the imam's prayers. It is also used by the muezzin to chant the second call to prayer (''

iqama The Iqama or Iqamah ( ar, إِقَامَة, ') is the second call to Islamic Prayer, given immediately before prayer begins. Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd Edition Online. Edited by P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinric ...

''), which indicates to worshippers that the prayer is about to begin. On special occasions or evenings, such as during the month of Ramadan, expert or professional Qur'an reciters also use the platform to chant parts of the Qur'an. It is also known as the ''mukabbariyah'' () in the

Prophet's Mosque Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (), known in English as the Prophet's Mosque, is a mosque built by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the city of Medina in the Al Madinah Province of Saudi Arabia. It was the second mosque built by Muhammad in Medina, after Q ...

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...

. This feature is not found in all mosques, but is most often found in large mosques where it is difficult for worshippers far from the '' mihrab'' to hear the imam. Raised on columns, it can be a freestanding structure near the middle of the prayer hall or a balcony set against a pillar or a wall opposite the '' minbar''.

References

{{EB1911 article with no significant updates Architectural elements Islamic architectural elements Islamic architecture Mosque architecture Islamic terminology

See also

References