Mosque of Fatima al-Zahra: Difference between revisions

{{Infobox religious building

| name = Mosque of Fatima al-Zahra

| image_size =  

| image_upright =  

| caption =  

| other_name = Mosque of Saʿd ibn Muʿādh

| location = [[Saudi Arabia]] • [[Medina]] • beside the [[Mosque of ʿAlī at the Trench]] and on the slopes of Mount Silaʿ

| religious_affiliation = [[Islam]]

| functional_status = active

| founded_by =  

| established = 14th century AH

* closure of the entrance in 1418 AH

| capacity =  

| site_area = 21 m²

| features = surrounding protective fence

The '''Mosque of Fatima al-Zahra''' (Arabic: {{ia|مسجد فاطمة الزهراء}}) is one of the historic mosques of [[Medina]], built after the 14th/20th century in the southernmost area of the [[al-Fath Mosques]], located near the western side of the [[Mosque of ʿAlī at the Trench|Mosque of ʿAlī]]. This site is reported to have served as one of the command positions of the [[Prophet Muḥammad]] during the [[Battle of the Trench]], as well as a place of prayer for him and his Companions. The mosque consists of a roofless rectangular structure with walls about one meter high, enclosed by an iron fence. Another name attributed to this mosque is the "Mosque of Saʿd ibn Muʿādh".

The Mosque of [[Fatima al-Zahra]] is situated in the southernmost part of the [[Mosques of the Trench|Mosques of the Conquest]], to the west of the [[Mosque of ʿAlī at the Trench]]. It lies within the old quarter of Medina, on an elevated area of [[Mount Silaʿ]].<ref name=":1">Maʿālim al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah bayna al-ʿimārah wa-l-tārīkh, vol. 4, p.180.</ref>

According to a 1947 CE report, the name of Saʿd ibn Muʿādh was applied to the Mosque of Fatima al-Zahra.<ref name=":1" /> It has been noted, however, that neither of these names appear in early sources.<ref name=":0">Āthār Islāmī Makkah wa-Madīnah, Jaʿfarīyān, p.303.</ref>   

== Architectural history ==

None of the historical sources prior to the 14th century AH mention the existence of a mosque named after Fatima al-Zahra or Saʿd ibn Muʿādh in this area.<ref name=":2">[https://wikihaj.com/index.php?title=پرونده%3Aمساجد_الاثریه.pdf&page=149 Masājid al-Athariyyah, ʿAbd al-Ghanī, p.149.]</ref> For example, ʿAlī ibn Mūsā, in his 1885 CE (1303 AH) travelogue, made no reference to this mosque.<ref>[https://wikihaj.com/index.php?title=پرونده%3Aوصف_المدینه_المنوره.pdf&page=17 Waṣf al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah, p.17.]</ref> It is only in old maps of Medina (dated 1325 AH/1947 CE) that a mosque under the name of [[Saʿd ibn Muʿādh]] is recorded.<ref>[https://wikihaj.com/index.php?title=پرونده%3Aالمدينه_المنوره_تطورها_العمراني.pdf&page=198 al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah: Tatawwuruhā al-ʿImrānī, p.198] / [https://wikihaj.com/index.php?title=پرونده%3Aمساجد_الاثریه.pdf&page=149 Masājid al-Athariyyah, ʿAbd al-Ghanī, p.149.]</ref>

=== Modern renovations ===

In 1399 AH/1979 CE, the [[House of Saud|Saudi authorities]] undertook repairs on the mosque.<ref>Maʿālim al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah bayna al-ʿimārah wa-l-tārīkh, vol.4, p.183.</ref> By 1418 AH, the mosque was a rectangular plot measuring 21 m², roofless, with walls about two meters high. Its length exceeded six meters and its width exceeded three meters.<ref>[https://wikihaj.com/index.php?title=پرونده:مساجد_الاثریه.pdf&page=150 Masājid al-Athariyyah, ʿAbd al-Ghanī, p.150.]</ref> In 1419 AH, the entrance was sealed with concrete blocks, and worshippers prayed outside the mosque.<ref name=":0" />

== Present structure ==

According to aerial maps<ref>Google Maps, [https://www.google.com/maps/@24.4758015,39.5949954,50m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en map]</ref> and user-contributed images,<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/مسجد+فاطمه+زهرا+(س)‭/@24.4758035,39.5949911,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e5!3m6!1sAF1QipOd1WYr7_SjyyLFBxW752VH5Sfq5DGwEW0sNDC_!2e10!3e10!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOd1WYr7_SjyyLFBxW752VH5Sfq5DGwEW0sNDC_%3Dw203-h360-k-no!7i1080!8i1920!4m9!3m8!1s0x15bdbf1de02eb2c5:0x2dc4ec502060a0f0!8m2!3d24.4758035!4d39.5949911!10e5!14m1!1BCgIgARICCAQ!16s%2Fg%2F11cm0pl5k4 photos]</ref> by 2021 CE/1442 AH the mosque had become a roofless rectangular structure with low stone walls, today enclosed by a metal fence.  

== Position among the Mosques of the Conquest ==

{{Reflist}}

 

* Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Ṭabarī (al-Muḥibb al-Ṭabarī), ''Dhakhāʾir al-ʿUqbā'', Maktabat al-Qudsī, Cairo, 1356 AH. 

* ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Kaʿkī, ''al-Maʿālim al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah bayna al-ʿImārah wa-l-Tārīkh'', vol. 4, Beirut, 2011.

* Rasūl Jaʿfarīyān, ''Āthār Islāmī Makkah wa-Madīnah'', Tehran: Nashr Mushʿar, 2011.

* Muḥammad Ilyās ʿAbd al-Ghanī, ''Masājid al-Athariyyah'', al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah: al-Rashīd Press, 2nd ed., 1419 AH. 

* Ibn Saʿd, ''al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā'', Dār Ṣādir, Beirut.

* Ṣāliḥ Lamʿī Muṣṭafā, ''al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah: Tatawwuruhā al-ʿImrānī'', Beirut: Dār al-Nahḍah al-ʿArabiyyah, 1981.