Prophet's Mosque

The Prophet's Mosque () is the second mosque built by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in Medina, after the Quba Mosque, as well as the second largest mosque and holiest site in Islam, after the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, in the Saudi region of the Hejaz. The mosque is located at the heart of Medina, and is a major site of pilgrimage that falls under the purview of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (a royal style used by the King of Saudi Arabia.)

Muhammad himself was involved in the construction of the mosque. At the time, the mosque's land belonged to two young orphans, Sahl and Suhayl, and when they learned that Muhammad wished to acquire their land to build a mosque, they went to Muhammad and offered the land to him as a gift; Muhammad insisted on paying a price for the land because they were orphaned children. The price agreed upon was paid by Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, who thus became the endower or donor () of the mosque, on behalf or in favor of Muhammad. al-Ansari also accommodated Muhammad upon his arrival at Medina in 622.

Originally an open-air building, the mosque served as a community center, a court of law, and a religious school. It contained a raised platform or pulpit (minbar) for the people who taught the Quran and for Muhammad to give the Friday sermon (khutbah). Subsequent Islamic rulers greatly expanded and decorated the mosque, naming its walls, doors and minarets after themselves and their forefathers. After an expansion during the reign of the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I (), it now incorporates the final resting place of Muhammad and the first two Rashidun caliphs Abu Bakr () and Umar (). One of the most notable features of the site is the Green Dome in the south-east corner of the mosque, originally Aisha's house, From the 14th century, the mosque was guarded by eunuchs, the last remaining guardians were photographed at the request of then-Prince Faisal bin Salman Al Saud, and in 2015, only five were left. It is generally open regardless of date or time, and has only been closed to visitors once in modern times, as Ramadan approached during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

History

Under Muhammad and the Rashidun (622–660)

thumb|A [[hadith inscribed in the mosque which says "A prayer in this mosque of mine is better than a thousand prayers anywhere else, except for Al-Masjid al-Haram."]]The mosque was built by Muhammad in 622 after his arrival in Medina. Riding a camel called Qaswa, he arrived at the place where this mosque was built, which was being used as a burial ground. Refusing to accept the land as a gift from the two orphans, Sahl and Suhayl, who owned the land, he bought the land which was paid for by Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, and it took seven months to complete the construction of the mosque. It measured . The roof which was supported by palm trunks was made of beaten clay and palm leaves. It was at a height of . The three doors of the mosque were the Bāb ar-Raḥmah (, "Gate of the Mercy") to the south, Bāb Jibrīl (, "Gate of Gabriel") to the west, and Bāb an-Nisāʾ (, "Gate of the Women") to the east. At this time point in the history of the mosque, the wall of the qibla was facing north to Jerusalem, and the Suffah was along the northern wall. In the year 7 AH, after the Battle of Khaybar, the mosque was expanded to on each side, and three rows of columns were built beside the west wall, which became the place of praying. The mosque remained unaltered during the reign of Abu Bakr.

thumb|A plan that illustrates the building when it was built in 622 CE (1 AH), and before switching the [[Qibla towards Mecca in 623 CE (2 AH)]]

thumb|A miniature of the mosque in 628 CE (7 AH) after the first expansion

Umar demolished all the houses around the mosque, except those of Muhammad's wives, to expand it. The new mosque's dimensions became . Sun-dried mud bricks were used to construct the walls of the enclosure. Besides strewing pebbles on the floor, the roof's height was increased to . Umar constructed three more gates for entrance. He also added Al-Buṭayḥah () for people to recite poetry.

The third Rashidun caliph Uthman demolished the mosque in 649. Ten months were spent in building the new rectangular shaped mosque whose face was turned towards the Kaaba in Mecca. The new mosque measured . The number of gates as well as their names remained the same. The enclosure was made of stones laid in mortar. The palm trunk columns were replaced by stone columns which were joined by iron clamps. Teakwood was used in reconstructing the ceiling filza.

Umayyad era

In 706 or 707, the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I () instructed his governor of Medina, the future caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, to significantly enlarge the mosque. According to the architectural historian Robert Hillenbrand, the building of a large scale mosque in Medina, the original center of the caliphate, was an "acknowledgement" by al-Walid of "his own roots and those of Islam itself" and possibly an attempt to appease Medinan resentment at the loss of the city's political importance to Syria under the Umayyads.

It took three years for the work to be completed. Raw materials were procured from the Byzantine Empire. Al-Walid lavished large sums for the mosque's reconstruction and supplied mosaics and Greek and Coptic craftsmen. The area of the mosque was increased from the area of Uthman's time, to . For the first time, porticoes were built in the mosque connecting the northern part of the structure to the sanctuary. The reconstruction preserved the location of the qibla wall (in the direction of prayer), but Umar ordered the addition of a curved niche to it and this became the first concave mihrab in Islamic architecture. The renovated mosque was richly decorated with marble paneling and mosaics covering its walls. Later written accounts, such as that of Ibn Jubayr (1184), described the mosaics as containing inscriptions and depicting landscapes with trees, suggesting that they resembled the style of contemporary Umayyad mosaics in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the Great Mosque of Damascus.

The mosque's redevelopment entailed the demolition of the living quarters of Muhammad's wives and the expansion of the structure to incorporate the graves of Muhammad, Abu Bakr and Umar. The vocal opposition to the demolition of Muhammad's home from local religious circles was dismissed by al-Walid. A wall was built to segregate the mosque and the houses of the wives of Muhammad. The mosque was reconstructed in a trapezoid shape with the length of the longer side being .

According to the 10th-century writer Ibn Rusta, minarets were also built for the first time during al-Walid's expansion as four towers were added to the mosque's corners. They may be the first minarets in Islamic architecture, though it is not clear exactly what purpose these towers served in this early period. At the time of Ibn Rusta's writing, only one of the original four towers remained standing. The southwest minaret was demolished in 716 on the orders of Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik.

Abbasid era

The Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi () extended the mosque to the north by . His name was also inscribed on the walls of the mosque. He also planned to remove six steps to the minbar, but abandoned this idea, fearing damage to the wooden platforms on which they were built. The project required the demolition of the two northern minarets of al-Walid's time but they were replaced by two new towers at the northern corners of the new expansion. According to an inscription of Ibn Qutaybah, the caliph al-Ma'mun () did "unspecified work" on the mosque. Al-Mutawakkil () lined the enclosure of Muhammad's tomb with marble.

Mamluk era

thumb|upright|The current main minaret was built during the reign of [[Qaitbay, while the Green Dome was originally built during the reign of Qalawun but was later rebuilt and painted green in 1837]]

In 1269, the Mamluk sultan Baybars sent dozens of artisans led by the eunuch Emir Jamal al-Din Muhsin al-Salihi to rebuild the sanctuary, including enclosures around the tombs of Muhammad and of Fatima. in 1279 sultan Qalawun added a wooden dome over the tomb of the prophet,

In 1474 the Mamluk sultan Qaitbay ordered major renovation to be conducted on the mosque's roofs, columns, walls and minarets, the work also included the building of a stone dome over the prophet's tomb in 1476. and in 1483-1484 he reconstructed the Nabawi mihrab, Uthmani Mirhab and the Tahajjud Mihrab, and also rebuilt the south-eastern minaret (main minaret) next to the green dome and a western minaret، the latter was demolished during the Saudi expansions. except for the dome over Muhammad's tomb. As per the sahih hadiths, they considered the veneration of tombs and places, which were thought to possess supernatural powers, as an offence against tawhid, and an act of shirk. Muhammad's tomb was stripped of its gold and jewel ornaments, but the dome was preserved either because of an unsuccessful attempt to demolish its complex and hardened structure, or because some time ago, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, founder of the Wahhabi movement, wrote that he did not wish to see the dome destroyed. After the foundation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, the mosque underwent several major modifications. In 1951, King Abdulaziz (1932–1953) ordered demolitions around the mosque to make way for new wings to the east and west of the prayer hall, which consisted of concrete columns with pointed arches. Older columns were reinforced with concrete and braced with copper rings at the top. The Suleymaniyya and Mecidiyye minarets were replaced with two minarets in Mamluk revival style. Two additional minarets were erected to the northeast and northwest of the mosque. A library was built along the western wall to house historic Qurans and other religious texts.

In 1974, King Faisal added to the mosque. The area of the mosque was also expanded during the reign of King Fahd in 1985. Bulldozers were used to demolish buildings around the mosque. In 1992, when it was completed, the mosque took over of space. Escalators and 27 courtyards were among the additions to the mosque. A$6 billion project to increase the area of the mosque was announced in September 2012. After completion, the mosque should accommodate between 1.6 million to 2 million worshippers.

Architecture

thumb|The area of Al-Rawda al-Sharifah is distinguished by a series of uniquely colored columns. It lies between the minbar on the right and the wall of the burial chamber (Al-Hujrah - formerly the Prophet’s house) visible in the background. Entry to the Rawda is regulated through timed permits, with access granted during designated visitation slots.The modern-day mosque is situated on a rectangular plot and is two stories tall. The Ottoman prayer hall, which is the oldest part of the mosque, lies towards the south. It has a flat paved roof topped with 27 sliding domes on square bases. Holes pierced into the base of each dome illuminate the interior when the domes are closed. The sliding roof is closed during the afternoon prayer (Dhuhr) to protect the visitors. When the domes slide out on metal tracks to shade areas of the roof, they create light wells for the prayer hall. At these times, the courtyard of the Ottoman mosque is also shaded with umbrellas affixed to freestanding columns. The roof is accessed by stairs and escalators. The paved area around the mosque is also used for prayer, equipped with umbrella tents. The sliding domes and retractable umbrella-like canopies were designed by the German Muslim architect Mahmoud Bodo Rasch, his firm SL Rasch GmbH, and Buro Happold.

The Rawda

Al-Rawḍah Al-Sharīfah () is an area between the minbar and the burial-chamber of Muhammad. It is regarded as one of the Riyāḍ al-Jannah ().

Mihrabs

In the early years of the mosque, there were two mihrabs or markers indicating the qibla: one was added by Muhammad (Nabawi Mihrab) and another was added after by Uthman (Uthmani Mihrab) after the expansion of the mosque in the qibla wall . The latter was larger than that of Muhammad's, and acted as the functional mihrab, whereas Muhammad's mihrab became a "commemorative" mihrab. The first concave mihrab niche was added to the qibla wall during the Umayyad renovation of the early 8th century. Other mihrabs include the Tahajjud Mihrab which is currently covered, and the Fatima Mihrab in the burial chamber.<gallery class="center" widths="180" heights="180">

File:Qibla Nabvi mosque.jpg|The Nabawi Mihrab, the spot where Muhammad led prayers is identified with what is now a 19th-century mihrab of marble while the older minbar of Qaitbay was relocated from Quba Mosque to the Prophet’s Mosque Architecture Exhibition, situated to the south of the Prophet's Mosque.

Minarets

thumb|Bab Al-Salam Minaret (foreground left) and the main minaret and the Green Dome (foreground right)

The first recorded minarets, four in number, were constructed between 707 and 709 during the reign of al-Walid I. They were high.

Ali ibn Abdur-Rahman al Hudhaify – chief of imams at Prophet's Mosque
Salah Al Budair – deputy chief of imams at the Prophet's Mosque
Abdulbari ath-Thubaity
Saleh Al-Maghamsi
Abdulmohsen Al-Qasim
Abdullah bin Abdurahman al-Baijan
Ahmad bin Ali al-Hudhaify, son of Ali ibn Abdur-Rahman al Hudhaify
Muhammad Barhaji, guest imam in Ramadan 2024, appointed permanent imam in October 2024
Abdullah Qarafi, appointed in October 2024

References

Citations

Sources

External links

Detailed information on Masjid Al-Nabawi الْمَسْجِد النَّبَوي