Ramadan is almost upon us and we know how the blessed month is lit up by prayer, Quran recitation, etc. Muslims often use a compass to figure out which direction to lay their prayer mats in order to face Mecca. Now there’s a new invention called EL Sajjadah, an illuminating prayer mat that lights up when facing Mecca. It’s a kickstarter project, waiting for funding. What better way to help and earn Allah’s blessing.
Source: Kickstarter.com
Product
EL Sajjadah is an illuminating prayer mat that lights up when facing Mecca.
'EL' stands for ‘Electro Luminescent’ and 'Sajjadah' means ‘Prayer Mat’. EL Sajjadah is thin and flexible. You can roll it and carry it around in its special case.
EL Sajjadah is not only a functional/practical product but also a unique art piece that you can hang on the wall as a night light.
Background
There are 1,6 billion Muslims around the world and 'prayer' is one of the prominent pillars of Islam. A prayer mat is the only product required during the 5-times-a-day prayers. Its main function is to provide a clean and isolated platform for the prayer. With the unique patterns on its surface, it also aims to bring the atmosphere of a mosque wherever it's taken.
Muslims need to pray towards Mecca where Holy Kaaba is located. Current practice is that an analogue compass is used to find this direction if it is not already indicated by a mosque or a local sign.
Technology
EL Sajjadah shows the right direction to pray by lighting up the patterns on its surface when facing Mecca, so that the interface becomes the prayer mat surface itself. Two pieces of information are required in order to do this:
- where north is, which is provided by a built-in digital compass,
- where we are in the world, which is manually input by the user via the 'city selection button'.
EL Sajjadah operates on:
- mains power,
- or rechargeable batteries.
Art & Design
The patterns on a prayer mat tell you the story of life. The Snake represents Hell which surrounds Heaven with a rectangle border. There is a Mosque at the heart of the Heaven. Mihrab is the arch that you would see at every mosque and so is the Light of God (Allah), suspended from the ceiling. Hand and Foot patterns indicate where to place hands and feet.
Green is the holy colour of Islam. Black is the colour of Kaaba.
'Vector line art' has been implemented to achieve a contemporary approach to the patterns on a traditional prayer mat. The Mosque pattern for instance, was drawn pixel by pixel by looking at a small scale model of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul…
Our designer Soner Ozenc wrote a ten-thousand-word thesis on EL Sajjadah, during his studies at Central St Martins College. We spent last six years of our time and approximately $30,000 of our personal finance to take it to its present stage. The demand has been overwhelming so far from all over the globe -from agents and distributors to galleries and museums, from enthusiastic art collectors to individuals.
To make this project a reality, we need US$100,000. This money will be used to refine the product, develop the manufacturing process, pay for tooling fees and meet minimum order quantity requirements. This is where we need your help!
…For an Early Bird offer of US$500, essentially, you will be pre-ordering EL Sajjadah mass production version, and have the privilege of being one of the first to get hold of it. US$1000 will get you a Kickstarter limited edition version, laser customised by RazorLAB (powered by Ponoko).
We are extremely excited and can not wait to see the outcome of this project which will be purely supported by friends, fans and the public. Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing funding platform which means that if we cannot reach our target goal, the project will not be realised. Therefore, please pledge an amount you are comfortable with, spread the word and tell your friends/colleagues/family. Follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and see our Blog.
Thanks for supporting us and being part of this journey!
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