Mihrab  Mihrab (, ', pl. '), "(", ""), is a semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the "qibla", that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a "mihrab" appears is thus the "qibla wall". "Mihrab" should not be confused with the "minbar", which is the raised platform from which an Imam (leader of prayer) addresses the congregation. The mihrab is located to the left of the minbar. The word is possibly derived from the verb ' ("to fight", from the root Ḥ-R-B), so ' would mean "battlefield" or "place of fight (with Satan)". Some scholars have suggested that the word is from the Ethiopian "mekʷerab", or from the Hebrew "". The word "mihrab" originally had a non-religious meaning and simply denoted a special room in a house; a throne room in a palace, for example. The Fath al-Bari (p. 458), on the authority of others, suggests the "mihrab" is "the most honorable location of kings" and "the master of locations, the front and the most honorable." The "Mosques in Islam" (p. 13), in addition to Arabic sources, cites Theodor Nöldeke and others as having considered a "mihrab" to have originally signified a throne room. The term was subsequently used by the Islamic prophet Muhammad to denote his own private prayer room. The room additionally provided access to the adjacent mosque, and the Prophet would enter the mosque through this room. This original meaning of "mihrab" – "i.e." as a special room in the house – continues to be preserved in some forms of Judaism where "mihrab"s are rooms used for private worship. In the Qur'an, the word "mihrab" refers to a sanctuary/place of worship. The passage , for example, is inscribed on or over some "mihrab"s. During the reign of Uthman ibn Affan ("r." 644–656), the Caliph ordered a sign to be posted on the wall of the mosque at Medina so that pilgrims could easily identify the direction in which to address their prayers (i.e. that of Mecca). The sign was however just a sign on the wall, and the wall itself remained flat.