2.Al-Masjid
al-Nabwi Mosque of the Prophet
Location
|
Madina, Hejaz, Saudi
Arabia
|
Established
|
622 AD
|
Leadership
|
Imam(s):
Abdur Rahman Al Huthaify
Salaah Al Budair
Sheikh Dr. Abdulbari Awadh Al-Thubaity
Sheikh Abdulmohsen Al-Qasim
Sheikh Hussain Abdul Aziz Aal Sheikh
Sheikh Ahmed bin Talib Hameed
Sheikh Abdullah Bu'ayjaan
|
Capacity
|
600,000 (increased to 1,000,000
during the Hajj
period)
|
Minaret(s)
|
10
|
Minaret height
|
105 meters (344 ft)
|
Al-Masjid
al-Nabawī or
Prophet's Mosque is a mosque originally built by the prophet Hazrat
Muhammad (SAW), situated in the city of Madina. It is the second holiest
site of Islam (the first being the Masjid
al-Haram in Makka). It was the second mosque built in history and is
now one of the largest mosques in the world. After an expansion during the
reign of al-Walid I, it also now incorporates the site of the final
resting place of Muhammad and early Muslim leaders Hazrat Abu Bakr
(RA) and Hazrat Umar (RA).
The
site was originally adjacent to Hazrat Muhammad's (SAW) house; He (SAW) settled
there after his Hijrah (emigration) to Medina in 622. He participated
himself in the heavy work of construction. The original mosque was an open-air
thatched building. The basic plan of the building has been adopted in the
building of other mosques throughout the world.
The
mosque also served as a community center, a court, and a religious school.
There was a raised platform for the people who taught the Quran.
Subsequent Islamic rulers greatly expanded and decorated it. In 1909, it became
the first place in the Arabian Peninsula to be provided
with electrical lights. The mosque is under the control of
the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
One
of the most notable features of the site is the Green Dome in the
south-east corner of the mosque, originally Hazrat Aisha's (RA)
house, where the tomb of Muhammad (SAW) is located. In 1279, a wooden dome
was built over the tomb which was later rebuilt and renovated multiple times in
late 15th century and once in 1817. The dome was first painted green in 1837,
and later became known as the Green
Dome.
The
mosque is located in what was traditionally the center of Medina, with many
hotels and old markets nearby. It is a major pilgrimage site. Many pilgrims who
perform the Hajj go on to Medina to visit the mosque due to its
connections to the life of Hazrat Muhammad (SAW). The mosque is open for
service all day, all year round.
History
The Prophet's Mosque during
the Ottoman Era,
The
original mosque was built by The Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammed (SAW) and his
companions next to the house where He (SAW) settled after his arrival in Medina
in 622 AD. The original mosque was an open-air building (covered by palm
fronds) with a raised platform for the reading of the Quran. It was a rectangular
enclosure of 30 m × 35 m at a height of 2 m wall which was
built with palm trunks and mud walls. It was accessed through three doors:
- Bab Rahmah (Door of Mercy) to the south,
- Bab Gabriel (Door of Gabriel) to the west and
- Bab al-Nisa' (Door of the Women) to the east
The
basic plan of the building has since been adopted in the building of most
mosques throughout the world
Inside
The Mosque, The Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammed (SAW) created a shaded area to the
south called the suffah and aligned the prayer space facing north
towards Jerusalem. When the Qibla (prayer direction) was changed to
face the Kaaba in Makka, the mosque was re-oriented to the south. The
mosque also served as a community center, a court, and a religious school.
Seven
years later (629 AD/7 AH), the mosque was doubled in size to accommodate
the increasing number of Muslims. The area of the mosque was enlarged by
20 m × 15 m and became almost a square 50 m
× 49.5 m. The height increased to became 3.5 m and the
mosque encompassed 35 columns
The
mosque remained like that during the caliphate of Hazrat Abu
Bakr (RA) until the caliphate of 'Hazrat Umar bin al-Khattab (RA),
who enlarged the area of the mosque to 3575 m2 and built more
wooden columns.
During
the time of Hazrat Uthman ibn Affan (RA) an arcade of stone and
plaster was added to the mosque and the columns were remolded and built of
stone.
Ummayyad Period
Subsequent
Islamic rulers continued to enlarge and embellish the mosque over the
centuries. In 707, Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid ibn Abd
al-Malik (705-715) replaced the old structure and built a larger one in
its place, incorporating the tomb of Hazrat Muhammad (SAW). This mosque was 84
by 100 m in size, with stone foundations and a teak roof
supported on stone columns. The mosque walls were decorated with mosaics
by Coptic and Greek craftsmen, similar to those seen in
the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and the Dome of the Rock in
Jerusalem (built by the same Caliph). The courtyard was surrounded by a gallery
on four sides, with four minarets on its corners. A mehrab topped
by a small dome was built on the Qibla wall
Abbasids’ era
Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi (775-785)
replaced the northern section of Al-Walid's mosque between 778 and 781 to
enlarge it further. He also added 20 doors to the mosque: eight on each of the
east and west walls, and four on the north wall
Mamluks
During
the reign of the Mamluk Sultan Al Mansur Qalawun, a dome was
erected above the tomb of Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) and an ablution
fountain was built outside of Bab al-Salam (Door of Peace).
Sultan Al-Nasir Mohammed rebuilt the fourth minaret that had been
destroyed earlier. After a lightning strike destroyed much of the mosque in
1481, Sultan Qaitbay rebuilt the east, west and Qibla walls.
Ottomans
The Ottoman sultans who
controlled Medina from 1517 until World War I also made their mark.
Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1520–1566) rebuilt the western and
eastern walls of the mosque and built the northeastern minaret known as
al-Suleymaniyya. He added a new mehrab (al-Ahnaf)
next to the Prophet's mehrab (al-Shafi'iyyah),
and placed a new dome covered in lead sheets above the tomb of Hazrat
Muhammad (SAW).
The
Rawdah (referred to as al-Rawdah
al-Mutaharah), covered by the dome over the south-east corner of the
mosque, was constructed in 1817 AD. during the reign of
Sultan Mahmud II. The dome was painted green in 1839 AD. and
came to be known as the Green Dome.
During
the reign of Sultan Abdul Majid I (1839–1861), the mosque was
entirely remodeled with the exception of Muhammad's (SAW) Tomb, the three mehrabs,
the minbar and the Suleymaniyya minaret. The arcade was enlarged to
include an ablution area to the north. The prayer hall to the south
was doubled in width and covered with small domes equal in size except for
domes covering the mehrab area, Bab al-Salam and Muhammed's (SAW) Tomb. The
domes were decorated with Quranic verses and lines from Qaṣīda
al-Burda (Poem of the Mantle), the famous poem by 13th century Arabic
poet Busiri. The Qibla wall was covered with glazed
tiles featuring Quranic calligraphy. The floors of the prayer hall
and the courtyard were paved with marble and red stones and a fifth
minaret (al-Majidiyya), was built to the west of the enclosure.
Bin Saud
When bin Saud took Medina in 1805, his followers, demolished
nearly every tomb dome in Medina in order to prevent their
veneration, and but they did not touch the Green Dome.
Hazrat
Muhammad's (SAW) tomb was stripped of its gold and jewel ornaments.
After
the foundation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, the mosque
underwent several major modifications. In 1951 King Ibn
Saud (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 Majidiyya
minarets were replaced by 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
1973 Saudi King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz ordered the construction of
temporary shelters to the west of the mosque to accommodate the growing number
of worshippers in 1981, the old mosque was surrounded by new prayer areas on
these sides, enlarging five times its size.
The
latest renovations took place under King Fahd and have greatly
increased the size of the mosque, allowing it to hold a large number of
worshippers and pilgrims and adding modern comforts like air conditioning.
He also installed twenty seven moving domes at the roof of Al-Masjid an-Nabawi.
Architecture and special structures
As it stands today, the mosque has a rectangular plan on
two floors with the Ottoman prayer hall projecting to the south. The
main prayer hall occupies the entire first floor.
The mosque enclosure is 100 times bigger than the first mosque built by Hazrat
Muhammad (SAW) and can accommodate more than half a million worshippers.
The mosque has a flat paved roof topped with 27
sliding domes on square bases. Holes pierced into the base of
each dome illuminate the interior. The roof is also used for prayer during peak
times, when the domes slide out on metal tracks to shade areas of the roof,
creating 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. Sliding Domes and retractable umbrella-like
canopies are designed by the German architect Mahmoud Bodo Rasch and his
firm SL Rasch GmbH and Buro Happold.
The north facade has three evenly spaced porticos, while the
east, west and south facades have two. The walls are composed of a series of
windows topped by pointed arches with black and white voussoirs.
There are six peripheral minarets attached to the new extension, and four
others frame the Ottoman structure. The mosque is lavishly decorated with polychrome marble
and stones. The columns are of white marble with brass capitals supporting
slightly pointed arches, built of black and white stones. The
column pedestals have ventilation grills that regulate the
temperature inside the prayer hall
This new mosque contains the older mosque within it. The two sections can
be easily distinguished: the older section has many colorful decorations and
numerous small pillars, and fans have been installed in the ceiling; the new
section is in gleaming white marble and is completely air-conditioned.
Riad ul-Jannah
The heart of the mosque houses a very special but small area named Riad ul-Jannah (Gardens of
Paradise). It extends from Hazrat Muhammad's (SAW) tomb (Rawdah) to his pulpit
(minbar). Pilgrims attempt to visit the confines of the area, for there is a
tradition that supplications and prayers uttered here are never rejected.
Entrance into the area is not always possible, especially during the Hajj
season, as the space can only accommodate a few hundred people.
Riad ul-Jannah is considered to be a part Jannah (Paradise). It
was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (RA) that Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) said, "The
area between my house and my minbar is one of the gardens of Paradise, and my
minbar is on my cistern (hawd)."
Tomb of Hazrat Muhammad (SAW),
It is a small place in
Masjid-e-Nabwi, floored with Green Carpet just to identify it, and the
entire Mosque is floored with red carpet. The Rawdah is one of the most
important features of the site. It holds the tomb of Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) and
two of his companions and first Caliphs, Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) and Hazrat
Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA). A fourth grave is reserved for Hazrat Isa (AS)
(Jesus), as it is believed that He will return
and will be buried at the site. The site is covered by the Green Dome. It was
constructed in 1817 AD. During the reign
of Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II and painted green in 1839 C.E. The
Rawdah has two small gateways. The pulpit was much smaller than the current one, and
constructed of palm tree wood, not marble. The current marble pulpit
was constructed by the Ottomans.
Mehrab
The mosque currently has three Mehrabs, of which the largest is currently
used by the imam to lead the prayers.
Minbar
Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) sometimes preached while standing by a wood of palm
trees. In 628 a minbar replaced it so that Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) was
able to raise above the crowd and lead prayer. It was a one-meter-high wooden
pulpit with three steps. A fire destroyed it in 654. The minbar which was built
in the reign of Ottoman Sultan Murad III is still in use.
Minarets
The mosque has 10 minarets built in different eras. The largest 6 were
constructed during the reign of King Fahd.
Imams and
Muadhins
· Hazrat Muhammad
(SAW) ( First Imam)
· Hazrat Abu Bakr
(Second)
· Hazrat Umar Bin
Khattab (Third)
· Hazrat Uthman
ibn Affan (Fourth)
· Shaykh Ali Abdul
Rahmaan Al Hudhaify (Senior Imam)
- Shaykh Hussain Ale Shiekh (Senior Imam)
- Shaykh Salaah Al Budair
- Shaykh Abdul Bari Ath Thubaity
- Shaykh Abdul Muhsin Al Qaasim
- Shaykh Abdullah Abdul Rahmaan Al Bu'ayjaan (Appointed as a Taraweeh Imam on the 15th Night of Ramadhaan 1434 and later appointed as a permanent Imam on the 10th October 2013)
- Shaykh Ahmad Taalib Hameed (Appointed as a Taraweeh Imam on the 16th Night of Ramadhaan 1434 and later appointed as a permanent Imam on the 10th October 2013)
- Shaykhs who have led the Prayer in Masjid Nabwi
- Saad Al Ghamdi (2009)
- Khalid Al Ghamdi (2010 and 2012)
- Muhammad Ayub (1990-1999)
- Abdullah Juhany (1998)
- Maahir Muaquily (2005)
- Ali Al Sudais (1995)
- Abdul Wadood Haneef
- Imaad Zuhayr Haafiz (2011)
- Ibrahim Al Akhdar (1990-)
- Abdul Aziz Bin SaalihMuadhins
- Hazrat Bilal Habshi (RA)
- Hazrat Umar Sunbul
- Essam Bukhari
- Saud Bukhari
- Hussain Rajab
- Umar Yusuf Kamal
- Maajid Hakeem
- Abdul Maajid Surayhi
- Abdul Rahmaan Khashugji
- Ashraf Afeefi
- Ayyad Shukri
- Faisal Numaan
- Abdul Muttalib Najdi
- Abdul Aziz Bukhari
