1. History

Al-Osmani mosque is a luxurious mosque inherited by Deli kingdom, Medan, North Sumatera, in Indonesia. Another beautiful mosque in the region is al-Mashun grand mosque that lays in Medan Maimun. Historically, the al-Osmani mosque was a kingdom monument built by the Sultan of Osmani who ruled from 1854 to 1858 CE. The mosque was therefore named as the founder‘s name, al-Osmani. As a monument, the mosque was established in the center of the kingdom, Labuhan, so that the mosque is also called Labuhan mosque. Among the surrounding inhabitants, Labuhan is more often mentioned and more popular rather than al-Osmani. Deli kingdom inherited some historical legacies, two of which were palace and mosque, but the palace had totally ruined. When the Sultan Osman died, he was buried in the mosque‘s yard.

Initially, timber was the only one material building of the mosque. In 1870, another version said in 1884, Sultan Mahmud Rasyid thought that the mosque was in urgent need of renovating with using cements as its main material building instead to be stronger and more luxurious. In the meantime, the renovation was funded wholly by the kingdom. The sultan and his family often performed prayers in the mosque, especially on Friday and Islamic memorial days. In every Eidul Adha (Islamic festival celebrated on 10 Zulhijah of Hijriah year), the sultans of Deli, more often than not, contributed several cows and sheeps to be sacrificed, and distributed the meats to surrounding poor people. In addition, the mosque also was taken as a center of conducting other Islamic festivals such as Maulid el-Nabi (Islamic commemoration of the birthday of Mohammed in 571 CE), Isra Miraj (miraculous event experienced by the Prophet Mohammed, happened on the Night of the Night Journey and Ascension) and Nuzulu al-Qura‘n (Islamic Night of Power during final days of Ramadan). Those festivals were always conducted in lavish form. Particularly, the festival of Maulid el-Nabi was always conducted at night by decorating the mosque with many lamps made in Andalusia (Spain) to make it glittering.

2. Location

The mosque is located in Labuhan Deli, a small city lays between Medan and Belawan, approximately 20 kilometers north side of Medan city. The mosque stands on the side of the main road that connects Medan and Belawan city. Labuhan Deli constituted the first capital of Deli kingdom before it was removed to the district called now Medan Maimun.

3. Measure

Initially, the entire mosque measured only 256 square meters. After the renovation held by Sultan Mahmud Rasyid, its measure became 676 square meters and could accommodate one hundred worshippers. The mosque had been renovated for several times that is now measured one hundred acres in total with the mosque building measuring 1200 square meters.

4. Architecture

Mosque is not an original building of Malay ethnic, therefore it is understandable that its architecture is mostly influenced by foreign elements. Generally, there are two architectural design features in Malay region, the first is that influenced by foreign architecture, and the second uses local design feature (vernacular). The al-Osmani mosque is included in the first category. Even it does not feature the local architecture. The influence of India, Persia, Andalusia and Arab – particularly Egypt – appears clearly throughout the mosque building. The only one local feature is a large open yard that surrounds the mosque.        

Its main building is formed quadrangle with a luxurious octahedral dome made of copper surmounting its roof. The dome lays on two piles of ascending layers, the upper is octadic form similar to the dome, and the lower is quadrangle. However, the ascending layer is built larger than the dome, designed as Arabesque and dominated with curved lines.

Another main building is Moorish characteristic featured corridor surrounding the mosque. Columns surrounding the corridor are shaped in cylindered form to support arches. Such design resembles the corridor design of mosques in Andalusia. The top of the columns was decorated with abstract ornaments.

Another part is a building of wudu (ritual ablution performed before praying). The octadic form of the dome is repeated in the high wall of this building. Water taps are placed at each side of the wall to be used by the worshippers to take ablution. The building has two tiered pyramidal octahedral roof. The upper is separated from the lower by wooden holed columns formed as thin cylinder. This is seemingly a local featured element of Malay that resembles largely the Malay buildings, such as houses and palaces. The roof is supported by eight thin cylinder columns. The same design can be seen at the main building of the mosque.

5. Planning

Founder of the mosque has not yet been known. If the founder was Malay, he must had seen the variety of mosques architectures in Egypt, Andalusia, Persia and India. These architectures were then mixed and applied as a unique architecture of the al-Osmani mosque. Another possibility is that the founder was a foreigner who has deep knowledge on Islamic architectures in various Muslim countries such as Egypt, Persia, India and Andalusia.

6. Renovation

The mosque had been renovated for several times. The first renovation held by Sultan Mahmud in 1870 CE, in which timbers were replaced by bricks and cements to be more luxurious and stronger. The second renovation in 1927 was held by De Deli Maatscappij, a cooperated company between the Deli Kingdom and the Dutch colonialist. The third renovation was conducted in 1966 by the mayor of Medan city at the time. Thus, the mosque appearance today is the result of several previous renovations.

Source:

1. Yulianto Sumalyo. 2006. Arsitektur Mesjid dan Monumen Sejarah Muslim. Yogjakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press.
2. Abdul Bagir Zein. 1999. Masjid-Masjid Bersejarah di Indonesia. Jakarta: Gema Insani Press.

                                                                       

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Comment of "al osmani mosque"

18 Jan 2010. Charles god maju terus melayu deli ku.......

18 Jan 2010. Charles masjid itu penuh dgn kenanganku.....tempatku bersujud dan menimba ilmu...

17 Jul 2012. ayu aranda bagaimana pendidikan yang ada di mesir?

27 Dec 2014. Rahadian, ST Menggali sejarah memang tidak mudah, saya kesulitan mencari nama-nama pasirah yg pernah memimpin marga kerkap.

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