Mosque of Fatima al-Zahra

The Mosque of Fatima al-Zahra (Arabic: 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 'Ali. This site is reported to have served as one of the command positions of the Prophet Muhammad (s) 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 Sa'd b. Mu'adh".

File:Mosques of the Conquest overview.png

Location of the mosque among other al-Fath mosques.

Location

The Mosque of Fatima al-Zahra is situated in the southernmost part of the al-Fath Mosques, to the west of the Mosque of 'Ali (a). It lies within the old quarter of Medina, on an elevated area of Mount Sela'.

Names

According to a 1947 report, the name of Sa'd b. Mu'adh was applied to the Mosque of Fatima al-Zahra. It has been noted, however, that neither of these names appear in early sources.

Architectural History

None of the historical sources prior to the 14th/20th century mention the existence of a mosque named after Fatima al-Zahra or Sa'd b. Mu'adh in this area. For example, 'Ali b. Musa, in his 1303/1885 travelogue, made no reference to this mosque. It is only in newer maps of Medina (dated 1325/1947) that a mosque under the name of Sa'd b. Mu'adh is recorded.

Modern Renovations

In 1399/1979, the Saudi authorities undertook repairs on the mosque. By 1418/1997-98, 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. In 1419/1998-99, the entrance was sealed with concrete blocks, and worshippers prayed outside the mosque.

Present Structure

According to aerial maps and user-contributed images, by 1442/2021 the mosque had become a roofless rectangular structure with low stone walls, today enclosed by a metal fence.

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Notes

References

• 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, Al-Masājid al-Atharīyya, 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.
• al-Wāqidī, al-Maghāzī, 2 vols., Nashr Dānish Islāmī, 1405 AH.
• 'Ali ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Samhūdī, Wafāʾ al-Wafā bi-Akhbār Dār al-Muṣṭafā, ed. Qāsim al-Samarraʾī, London: al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 2001.
• Muḥammad ibn Maḥmūd ibn Najjār, al-Durra al-Thamīnah fī Tārīkh al-Madīnah, Cairo: Maktabat al-Thaqāfah al-Dīniyyah.