1. The Prophet’s Mosque in Madina is the second holiest mosque in Islam. Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah is the holiest mosque; the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest in Islam. The original Prophet’s Mosque was built by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) himself, next to the house where he settled after his Hijrah to Madina in 622 AD.

2. The original mosque was an open-air building with a raised platform for the reading of the Qur’an. It was a square enclosure of 30×35 meters, built with palm trunks and mud walls, and accessed through three doors: Bab Rahmah to the south, Bab Jibril to the west, and Bab al-Nisa’ to the east. The basic plan of the building has since been adopted in the building of other mosques throughout the world. Inside, the Prophet created a shaded area to the south called the Suffah and aligned the prayer space facing north towards Masjid Al-Aqsa. When the qibla (prayer direction) was changed to Makkah, the mosque was re-oriented to the south.

3. Following its establishment, the Masjid Al-Nabawi continued to introduce some of the practices now considered common in today’s mosques. For example, the adhan, or call to prayer, was developed in the form still used in mosques today. The Masjid Al-Nabawi was built with a large courtyard, a motif common among mosques built since then. The Prophet’s Mosque served many purposes: negotiations were conducted, military actions planned, disputes settled, religious information disseminated.

Must Read Posts:

  1. The Exalted Status Of Al-Aqsa Mosque
  2. Al-Israa’ and Al-Mi’raj: Everlasting Lessons
  3. The Modern Muslim State Of Madina
  4. Can Non-Muslims Enter Mosques?
  5. Some Aspects Common Among Prophets Of Allah