Pourghorbani

Masjid al-ʿUṣba (The Mosque of al-ʿUṣba)**  

Masjid al-ʿUṣba is an ancient mosque in [[Medina]], also known as Masjid al-Tawba (the Mosque of Repentance). It is located to the west of [[Masjid Quba]] in an area filled with farms and water wells. The structure of the mosque consists of a roofless square, approximately 11 meters in length and width, with stone walls about one meter high. It is reported that [[Prophet Muhammad (s)]] prayed within the vicinity of this mosque.

==Prayer of the Prophet (s)==   

Historical sources mention that [[Prophet Muhammad (s)]] prayed at Masjid al-Tawba in ʿUṣba, near the [[Well of Hujaym]].<ref name=":2">[https://wikihaj.com/index.php?title=پرونده%3Aالتعریف_بما_انست_الهجرة.pdf&page=217 Al-Taʿrīf bimā ansat al-hijra, al-Muṭrī, p. 217.]</ref>   

==Location and Name of the Mosque==  

Masjid al-ʿUṣba derives its name from its location in the village of ʿUṣba. ʿUṣba is an area to the west of [[Masjid Quba]]<ref name=":0">[https://wikihaj.com/index.php?title=پرونده%3Aمساجد_الاثریه.pdf&page=123 Masājid al-Athariyya, ʿAbd al-Ghanī, p. 123.]</ref> and was known for its farms and water wells.<ref name=":2" /> It was also referred to as the fortress or stronghold of ʿUṣba.<ref>Al-Maghānim al-Muṭāba fī Maʿālim Ṭāba, Fīrūzābādī, p. 265.</ref> This is the place where a group of migrants from Mecca stayed upon arriving in Quba before the arrival of the Prophet (s).<ref name=":1" />

In geographical sources about Medina, the name Masjid al-ʿUṣba is not mentioned; however, Masjid al-Tawba in ʿUṣba, near the [[Well of Hujaym]], is referenced.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> [[ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Samhūdī]], a historian of Medina in the 8th century AH, explicitly stated that the reason for the name Masjid al-Tawba is unknown.<ref name=":3">[https://wikihaj.com/index.php?title=پرونده%3Aوفاء_الوفاء_سمهودی_ج۳.pdf&page=248 Wafāʾ al-Wafā, al-Samhūdī, vol. 3, p. 248.]</ref> This area was inhabited by the Banī Jaḥjaba tribe, and for this reason, some have also called this mosque Masjid Banī Jaḥjaba.<ref>Maʿālim al-Madīna al-Munawwara bayn al-Māḍī wa al-Ḥāḍir, part 4, vol. 3, p. 228.</ref>

Some researchers of Medina’s history have identified this mosque with Masjid al-Nūr (the Mosque of Light), which was one of the mosques near Quba.<ref name=":4">[https://wikihaj.com/index.php?title=پرونده%3Aتاریخ_معالم_المدینه_المنوره_قدیما_و_حدیثا.pdf&page=209 Tārīkh Maʿālim al-Madīna al-Munawwara Qadīman wa Ḥadīthan, p. 209]; [https://wikihaj.com/index.php?title=پرونده%3Aالمدینه_بین_الماضی_و_الحاضر.pdf&page=302 Al-Madīna bayn al-Māḍī wa al-Ḥāḍir, p. 302]</ref> However, early sources do not equate these two mosques.<ref name=":0" />

Reports from the 15th century AH/20th century CE indicate that the mosque was located in the garden of Ibrāhīm al-Turkī, which was called Bustān al-ʿUṣba.<ref name=":4" />   

==History==  

There is no precise information about the construction date of the mosque. Some speculate that it was built during the rule of [[ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz]] over Medina.<ref>Maʿālim al-Madīna al-Munawwara bayn al-Māḍī wa al-Ḥāḍir, part 4, vol. 3, p. 228.</ref> There is no trace of this mosque in the 8th and 9th centuries AH, as noted by [[Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Muṭrī]] (d. 741 AH) and [[ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Samhūdī]] (d. 911 AH) in their discussions of mosques that are no longer known.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Muḥammad Kabrīt al-Madanī (1012–1070 AH) also confirmed in the 11th century that there was no trace of this mosque.<ref>[https://wikihaj.com/index.php?title=پرونده%3Aالجواهر_الثمیة_فی_محاسن_المدینة.pdf&page=157 Al-Jawāhir al-Thamīna fī Maḥāsin al-Madīna, p. 157]</ref> Aḥmad al-ʿAbbāsī (d. 11th century AH) mentioned the remains of the mosque near the [[Well of Hujaym]].<ref>[https://wikihaj.com/index.php?title=پرونده:عمده_الاخبار_فی_مدینه_المختار.pdf&page=180 ʿUmdat al-Akhbār, p. 175]</ref>

==The Current Structure==  

Today, the mosque consists of a roofless square, approximately 11 meters in length and width, with stone walls about one meter high, showing traces of whitewashing.<ref name=":1">[https://wikihaj.com/index.php?title=پرونده:مساجد_الاثریه.pdf&page=124 Masājid al-Athariyya, ʿAbd al-Ghanī, p. 124.]; Maʿālim al-Madīna al-Munawwara bayn al-Miʿmāra wa al-Tārīkh, part 4, vol. 3, pp. 229–230.</ref>   

==Historical Images of the Mosque==  

{{References}}

*Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd al-ʿAbbāsī. ''ʿUmdat al-Akhbār fī Madīnat al-Mukhtār''. edited by Muḥammad Ṭayyib al-Anṣārī, published by Asʿad Ṭarābuzūnī, Cairo, n.d.  

* Fīrūzābādī, Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb, and Jāssir, Ḥamd. ''Al-Maghānim al-Muṭāba fī Maʿālim Ṭāba''. Riyadh - Saudi Arabia: Dār al-Yamāma lil-Baḥth wa al-Tarjama wa al-Nashr, 1389–1969. 

*Muḥammad Ilyās ʿAbd al-Ghanī. ''Masājid al-Athariyya''. Maṭābiʿ al-Rashīd, Medina, 2nd edition, 1419 AH. 

*ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Kaʿkī. ''Maʿālim al-Madīna al-Munawwara bayn al-Miʿmāra wa al-Tārīkh''. part 4, Beirut, 2011.  

*ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Samhūdī. ''Wafāʾ al-Wafā bi-Akhbār Dār al-Muṣṭafā''. edited by Qāsim al-Sāmarrāʾī, London: Muʾassasat al-Furqān lil-Turāth al-Islāmī, 2001 CE.