The Masjid al-Qiblatayn ( ar, مسجد القبلتين, lit=Mosque of the Two Qiblas), also spelt Masjid al-Qiblatain, is a mosque in Medina believed by Muslims to be the place where the final
Islamic prophet
Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God in Islam, God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. So ...
, Muhammad, received the command to change the '' Qibla'' (direction of prayer) from Jerusalem to Mecca. The mosque was built by Sawad ibn Ghanam ibn Ka'ab during the year 2 AH (623 CE) and is one of the few mosques in the world to have contained two ''mihrabs'' ( niches indicating the '' qibla'') in different directions.
In 1987, during the reign of KingFahd, the mosque was completely torn down and rebuilt. In the course of the reconstruction, the old prayer niche facing Jerusalem was removed, and the one facing Mecca was left. The Qiblatayn Mosque is among the earliest mosques that date to the time of Muhammad, along with the Quba'a Mosque and
Masjid an-Nabawi
Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (), known in English as the Prophet's Mosque, is a mosque built by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the city of Medina in the Al Madinah Province of Saudi Arabia. It was the second mosque built by Muhammad in Medina, after Qub ...
, considering that the Great Mosques of Mecca''Mecca: From Before Genesis Until Now'', M. Lings, pg. 39, Archetype and Jerusalem are associated with earlier Prophets in
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic thought.
History
The mosque is among the earliest mosques in Medina and was built by Sawad ibn Ghanam ibn Ka'ab al-Ansari in the Islamic year 2 AH, and the name of the mosque goes back to the lifetime of Muhammad, when his companions named it after an event that took place on the 15th of
Sha'baan
Shaʽban ( ar, شَعْبَان, ') is the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. It is called as the month of "separation", as the word means "to disperse" or "to separate" because the pagan Arabs used to disperse in search of water.
The fiftee ...
the same year, when Muhammad received revelation from
Allah
Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
instructing him to take the
Kaaba
The Kaaba (, ), also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah ( ar, ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, lit=Honored Ka'bah, links=no, translit=al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah), is a building at the c ...
as the ''qibla'' during the
Dhuhr
The Zuhr prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلظُّهْر ', "noon prayer") is one of the five mandatory salah (Islamic prayer). As an Islamic day starts at sunset, the Zuhr prayer is technically the fourth prayer of the day.Baytul Maqdis, which was the
Masjid Al Aqsa
al-Aqsa Mosque may refer to:
* The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, also known as the Haram al-Sharif, an extended religious sanctuary in Jerusalem covering the entirety of the area of the Temple Mount.
* The Al-Aqsa Mosque building, the congregational pr ...
in Jerusalem. He later announced this to his companions in his own mosque, after which the news began to spread. Many pilgrims who go to Mecca for
Hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
often visit Medina, where some visit this mosque because of its historical significance.
Indeed, We see you ˺O Prophet˺ turning your face towards heaven. Now We will make you turn towards a ˺direction of prayer˺ that will please you. So turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque ˺in Mecca˺—wherever you are, turn your faces towards it. Those who were given the Scripture certainly know this to be the truth from their Lord. And Allah is never unaware of what they do.
– Quran 2:144 (translated by Mustafa Khattab)
The main prayer hall adopts rigid orthogonal geometry and symmetry which is accentuated by the use of twin minarets and twin domes. Living accommodations for the Imam, the Muezzin and the caretaker are discretely grouped in one block to the west of the main structure. The difference in level at the southeast corner of the site has been exploited to incorporate a sub-basement level which serves as the ablutions area for worshippers. To the north, where the ground level is lower, the prayer hall is raised one-storey above ground level. Entry to the prayer hall is from the raised courtyard, also to the north, which can be reached by stairs and ramps from the main directions of approach. The prayer hall consists of a series of arches which support barrel-vaults running parallel to the qibla wall. These vaults are interrupted by two domes which establish an axis in the direction of Mecca.
The main dome to the south is raised on a drum of clerestory windows which allow light to filter into the interior directly above the mihrab. The second,
false dome
A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
is linked to the first by a small cross-vault to symbolise the transition from one qibla to another. Below it, a replica of the mihrab found in the lower chamber of the
Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock ( ar, قبة الصخرة, Qubbat aṣ-Ṣakhra) is an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, a site also known to Muslims as the ''al-Haram al-Sharif'' or the Al-Aqsa Compound. Its initial ...
in Jerusalem reminds onlookers of the oldest extant mihrab of Islam. Externally, the architectural vocabulary is inspired by traditional elements and motifs in a deliberate effort to offer an authentic image for the historic site. The mosque is located on the north-west of the city of Medina, on Khalid ibn al-Walid Road. The mosque was initially maintained by Caliph
Umar ibn al-Khattāb
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
File:Main entrance of Masjid al-Qiblatayn.jpg, Entrance to the Mosque
File:Mihrab of Masjid al-Qiblatayn Interior.jpg, Interior view of the ''
mihrab
Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...
''
File:MQiblat 091109-0115.jpg, The mosque viewed from the Khalid ibn al-Walid Road
Timeline of Muslim history
This timeline of Islamic history relates the Gregorian and Islamic calendars in the history of Islam. This timeline starts with the lifetime of Muhammad, which is believed by non- Muslims to be when Islam started, though not by Muslims.Esposit ...
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List of mosques in Saudi Arabia
This is a list of mosques in Saudi Arabia.
See also
* Islam in Saudi Arabia
* Lists of mosques
References
External links
{{List of mosques
Saudi Arabia
Mosques
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ...
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Lists of mosques
Lists of mosques cover mosques, places of worship for Muslims. The lists include the most famous, largest and oldest mosques, and mosques mentioned in the Quran, as well as lists of mosques in each region and country of the world. The major region ...