This is the Main light and ends of the dome that you can see outside. you can see Arabic writing on the sides which are prayers written for people to read. the writing also makes you feel that you are in a unique place because you do not see this kind of writing outside.

This part is newly built, to make more room inside the prayer room. This part makes the mosque look more modern and its easy for a disabled person to enter now.

The (A) marker on the map represents the Mosque. From the map you can see the surrounding area, mustard colour roads are the main roads that can be used to come and go from the Mosque. There's a local railway station nearby which is mostly used by people to come from far away and do not have a car. The Mosque has its own car park which can hold around 40 to 50 cars.

Other Mosques Nearby

on the map you can see that the there Muslim Mosques are in a different area, Hounslow Mosque is the largest Mosque from its nearby ones. Mostly on special occasions like Eid people who maybe regularly go to the other Mosque come to Hounslow Mosque to pray as it is large and many people gather here to celebrate Eid together as a great community with their families.

(D) Jamia Masjid, Southall

(B) Central Jamia Masjid, Southall

Mosque - Types of Mosques

Many forms of mosque have evolved in different regions of the Islamic world. Notable mosque-types include the early Abbasid mosques, T-type mosques, and the central-dome mosques of Anatolia. The oil-wealth of the twentieth century drove a great deal of mosque construction using designs from leading non-Muslim modern architects and promoting the careers of important contemporary Muslim architects.Mosque - Traditional mosquesThe idea of having a dome centered over the prayer hall was pioneered by the mosques of the Ottoman empire. The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul although it was originally built as a church examplifies the design with a dome in the center and minarets around the outside. Mosques since that time have incorporated the dome as the marker of the center part of the prayer hall.

The thick, large columns seen in the Mezquita in Cordoba were hallmarks of the Abbasid caliphate. Another popular style was the "T-type" mosque which called from a slightly longer hall leading up to the mihrab at the front-center of the mosque. Sometimes, "T-type" mosques would also be accompanied with more than one dome with the largest being at the intersection of the two segments of the "T". Over the centuries, however, the Abbasid mosques and especially the Ottoman central-dome mosques remained the basis of Islamic places of worship.Mosque - Modern-day mosquesMosques do not have to be elaborate with minarets, courtyards, columns, and domes to be considered mosques. Mosques simply have to hold the five prayers daily.

As a result, many present-day mosques, especially in the Western world, are converted buildings without those features usually associated with Islamic places of worship. Muslims in prayer will face in the direction of Mecca even if there is no qibla wall denoting it. The imam will offer his Friday sermons (khutbas) and lead prayers about a meter in front of the first line in prayer. At mosques without minarets, and even at some mosques with minarets, the muezzin will issue the call to prayer from inside the mosque.

Modern mosques with public address systems will often broadcast the call to prayer over a loudspeaker so Muslims in and around the mosque can hear it.Mosque - Notable mosquesNotable mosques, for size and Islamic significance include:Masjid al-Haram; Mecca, Saudi Arabia (holiest site in Islam)Masjid al-Nabawi; Medina, Saudi Arabia (second-holiest site in Islam)Al-Aqsa Mosque; Jerusalem, Israel (third-holiest site in Islam)Imam Ali Mosque; Najaf, Iraq (holy site in Shi'a Islam)Faisal Mosque; Islamabad, Pakistan (largest mosque in the Indian subcontinent)Mezquita; Cordoba, Spain (tenth century Moorish place of worship)Hagia Sophia; Istanbul, Turkey (converted by the Ottomans to a mosque; fourth largest cathedral in the world)Shah Mosque; Isfahan, Iran (major mosque in Iran)

Mosque - The first Mosques

The first mosque in the world was the Masjid Al Haram around the Ka'bah in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The first mosque in Medina, a city north of Makkah, was the house of the Prophet Muhammad, Masjid al-Nabawi, to which the followers of Muhammad had withdrawn in 622. The reconstructions of Muhammad's house show a large courtyard containing a relatively small house. After many worshippers complained about the heat of the midday sun, Muhammad had a row of palm trunks erected on one side of the courtyard and a roof of palm fronds laid between the columns and the outer wall, creating a shaded prayer space. He himself stood at one end of this simple arcade to preach.

Mosque - Functions

are commanded to offer prayer (salah) five times a day: before sunrise (fajr), at midday (dhuhr), in the afternoon (asr), at sunset (maghrib), and in the evening (isha'a). Although Muslims are not required to offer prayer inside a mosque, it is considered seventy times better to offer prayer in congregation at a mosque than to offer it alone.

In addition to holding the five ordinary daily prayers, mosques hold Friday prayers (Arabic transliteration: jumu'ah). While the ordinary daily prayers can be performed at any location, it is required that all teenage and adult men attend Friday prayers at the mosque. During the month of Ramadan, tarawih prayers are usually offered in major Sunni mosques. These prayers, which can last for up to two hours each night, result in the entire Qur'an being recited within the holy month. However, these prayers are only recommended in Sunni Islam and non-existent in Shi'a Islam. Other special prayers offered at the mosque include the funeral prayers (Arabic transliteration:janazah) and Eid prayers offered in commemoration of the two Islamic festivals, Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Both the funeral prayers and Eid prayers are traditionally held outdoors in a large courtyard. Some mosques, especially those in less favorable climates, will offer Eid prayers indoors in the same location as the five daily prayers. However, funeral prayers may not be held in the same location as the daily prayers, and thus they are held outside or in another area regardless of the climate.

Before the five required daily prayers, a muezzin calls the worshippers to prayer from the minaret (Arabic transliteration:manara). Although, the call to prayer (adhan) is not required, nearly every mosque practices it as it is a recommended practice or sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad.

Mosque - Other functions

Mosques are not meant solely for the purpose of prayer. Mosques are also community centers, places where Muslims are able to gather for social activities. During Ramadan, mosques will host iftar dinners where Muslims can break their fasts. Large mosques will often host dinners and other events where politicians and important Islamic scholars are invited to speak. Many mosques will have offer classes for those interested in learning more about Islam; Arabic and Qur'anic recitation classes are commonplace at mosques outside Arabic-speaking countries. Full-time schools for students in elementary school, and sometimes in high school, can be found at some mosques in countries where Muslims are not the majority and students are unable to get an Islamic education in state-funded schools. Some mosques will even have recreational facilities, such as basketball courts, or medical facilities to help promote the mosque as a place where the community can come together.

Appearance of Mosques

Because prayer must be preceded by ritual purification, mosques often have ablution fountains or other facilities for washing in their entryways or courtyards. However, worshippers at very small mosques often have to use restrooms to perform their ablutions. In traditional mosques, this function is often elaborated into a freestanding building in the center of a courtyard.

Because cleanliness is very important inside the mosque, nearly all mosques prohibit worshippers from entering the carpeted prayer hall with shoes on. Thus, foyers with shelves to put shoes and racks to hold coats are commonplace among mosques. To add to this cleanliness and purity of the mosques, many mosques do not admit non-Muslims into the buildings. However, Western mosques in countries where Muslims are not the majority are more likely to allow non-Muslims to enter mosques and attend mosque functions in an attempt to show openness.

The actual mosque, the prayer hall, has no furniture. Unlike in most other places of worship, images of spiritual figures or other animals cannot be found in mosques as Islam prohibits the association of other figures with God. Instead, mosques will often have Arabic calligraphy and verses from the Qur'an on the walls. Mosques generally have at least one large dome over the center of the prayer area. Very large mosques will also have a forest of columns arranged in a grid pattern throughout the prayer area. Most mosques will have at least one minaret, or tall spire, from which the muezzin issues the call to prayer. Larger mosques will have two or more minarets simply for appearance.

Mosque - The qibla wall

Usually opposite the entrance, the qibla wall is the visually emphasized area inside the prayer hall. The qibla wall should, in a properly oriented mosque, be set perpendicular to a line leading to Mecca, the location of the Ka'bah. The faithful kneel in rows parallel to the qibla wall and thus have arrange themselves so they face Mecca. In the qibla wall, usually at its center, is the mihrab, a niche or depression indicating the qibla wall. Usually the mihrab is not occupied by furniture either, unlike with the altars of Christian churches. Sometimes, especially during Friday prayers, a raised minbar or pulpit is located to the side of the , or pulpit for Friday sermons (qutba), it is to the side of the mihrab. Regularly, the mihrab serves as the location where the imam leads the five daily prayers.

Pakistan Mosques

Badshahi Mosque, Lahore

Faisal Mosque, Islamabad

Mohabbat Khan Mosque, Peshawar

Kuzkandi Jamiah Masjid Baghdada, Mardan

Blue Mosque

This was the end of my walk, when I reached the hounslow mosque after walking from 3 stops away.

I took this photograph as i got closer to the place of worship. You can see the shape of the building and the arches which are really popular in mosques.

First sighting of the building from a distance

Local shops 3 Min walk from the Mosque, which includes a take-away, 24-7 newsagents and pharmacy.

Corner before the shops

Road leading towards the Mosque, with this photograph you can tell how busy the nearby roads are and how noisy it is

Slip road from the main, this tells you how the area is full of houses

A walk on the main road leading to the building, passing the the houses

Local shops in the area, that incudes food shops and news agents

The main junction on the main road, this is were most of the traffic is all the time

this tire shop is located on the main road, with the tires on the half of the pavement

Crossing area, near the tire shop

Lawyers advert

Side road off the main

at the beginning of the road, trees and bushes took over half of the pavement and we were walking really close to the road while cars, vans, bikes are going pass

Traffic building up on the main road

Flats for sale on the main road towards my building

full view of the road

full street view

Pub on the junction corner when is a 10 min walk away from the Mosque

I started my walk about 3 bus stops away from the hounslow mosque. I noticed that the roads leading to the mosque were very busy and lively with shops, people and cars.

In this photograph you can see the cross junction and the cars stopped at the traffic lights while the traffic builds up around 4 o'clock

Hounslow Jamia Masjid

Hounslow Mosque is a place of worship where muslims gather to pray. Special prayers are held on Fridays at 1:15pm/2.15pm and all the days on Eid.

It is located on Wellington Road, Hounslow and has local shops, houses, a school and a pub within its 100 yards.

Hounslow Jamia Masjid & Islamic Centre offers a range of services and facilities for religious, social, health and educational needs of the community. A number of these services are run in partnership with local and national agencies.

you can make a donation to Hounslow Jamia Masjid, believes..The Holy Prophet(peace & blessings be upon him) said:"The believer's shade on the Day of Resurrection will be his charity”

Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 604