The Survey of the Practices Determining Zuhr Prayer Time in Some of the Safavid Mosques and Madrasas

Throughout history, Muslim artists have offered scientific solutions to meet the needs of society while designing their cultural and religious structures. Muslim scientists and artists have produced solutions that are compatible with science and nature, especially for Muslims to fulfil their religious duties on time. One of these scientific solutions is the application of techniques to determine the prayer and religious times depending on the position of the sun and the invention of tools for this. In this article, the practices determining the Zuhr prayer time (Zuhr time) in some mosques and madrasas belonging to the Safavid Period are examined. According to the results, these applications can be divided into three groups. Those in the first group are movably separate from the mosque and the madrasa building. Those in the second group are added to the mosque and madrasa building and consist of elements that do not match the materials used in these structures and are not considered decoration elements. The third group includes those that are not considered as decoration elements, although they are compatible with the materials used in mosques and madrasas. Those in this group have no decorative function and are only used to indicate the religious times and the direction of qibla.