The Prophet's Mihrab

Prophet's Miḥrāb(Arabic:محراب النبي) is the place where the Prophet Muḥammad(a) prays, which is located in the Masjid al-Nabī between the Prophet's pulpit and his grave. During the period of the Prophet, there was nothing in the form of a miḥrāb, until during the development of the Masjid al-Nabī during the period of Walīd b. Abdul-Malik, a miḥrāb was built in the place of his prayer. Qāytbāy, the king of Egypt (9th/15th century) rebuilt the hollow-shaped miḥrāb by renewing the mosque. this miḥrāb was decorated during the era of Ottoman rule and is still located in Masjid al-Nabī.

History

During the time of the Prophet Muḥammad(a), in the place of Masjid al-Nabī where he prayed, there was no miḥrāb in the form of a hollow-shaped inside the wall. and the place of prayer of the Prophet, had no sign except that it was next to the Mukhallaqa pillar. This was the first time in the development of Masjid al-Nabī. During the period of Walīd b. Abdul-Malik (r. 86-96 AH/705-714-5), a miḥrāb was built at the place of the Prophet's prayer.

During the Mamālīk period

Although historical sources do not have any reports about the reconstruction of the miḥrāb during the period of Baybars Bunduqdārī (r. 658-676 AH/1259-60 -1277-8 AD), the fourth Mamālīk king, some researchers, by examining historical evidence, believe that the first hollow-shaped miḥrāb (carved into the wall) in the reconstructions of the Baybars period was made in the place that Prophet Muḥammad(a) prayed; Because the reports of the sources before this date did not mention the existence of a hollow-shaped miḥrāb in the place of Prophet's prayer. In the reconstruction of Masjid al-Nabī during the period of Qāytbāy, the king of Egypt, in 888 AH/1483-4 AD after the fire in Masjid al-Nabī, the miḥrāb was rebuilt in the place of the Prophet's prayer, and in the same period, it was decorated with marble and verses from the Quran were engraved on it

In the Ottoman period

In the reconstruction of Masjid al-Nabī during the reign of king Abdul-Majīd I, the Prophet's miḥrāb, which was left over from the time of Qāytbāy, was gilded. Also, during this time, ʿAbd Allāh Zāhidī, a Turkish calligrapher, engraved verses of the Quran, texts and poems on the miḥrāb. In the Saudi period, the same miḥrāb of the Qāytbāy period remained.

location

The Prophet's miḥrāb was built in the place of Masjid al-Nabī where Prophet Muḥammad(a) prayed. This miḥrāb is located next to the Mukhallaqa pillar and in the distance between the pulpit of the Prophet(a) and his grave (Rawḍa al-Sharīfa). Researchers are of the opinion that this place is the place where the Prophet(a) prayed. The miḥrāb is placed in such a way that the one who prostrates on it places his forehead on the Prophet's sitting place, not his prostration place. The Prophet's prostration place is placed under the miḥrāb.

Gallery

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  The altar of the Prophet is connected to the Mukhallaqa pillar.

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  The location of the Prophet's miḥrāb in the map Masjid al-Nabī.

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  Decorations of the prophet's miḥrāb with marble and gilding and verses from the Quran are written on it.

References

• Ansārī, Nājī Muḥammad Ḥasan ʿabdu l-qādir al-. ʿImārah wa tawsiah al-masjid al-nabawīī al-sharīf ʿabar tārīkh. [n.p], Nādī l-madīna al-munawwara al-adabī, 1996.
• Hazzaʿ al-Shahrī, Muḥammad .ʿImārah al-masjid al-nabawīī munzu inshāʾihī ḥattā nihāya al-ʿasr al-mamlūkī. Cairo: Cairo: Maktabat al-qāhira li-l kutub, 2001.
• Hazzaʿ al-Shahrī, Muḥammad .Al-masjid al-nabawīī al-sharīf fī al-ʿasr al-ʿuthmānī. . Cairo: Dār al- qāhira, 2003.
• Jaʿfariyān, Rasūl. ‘’Āthār-i islāmi-yi Makka wa Madīna’’. Tehran: Mashʿar, 1391 Sh
• Ṣāliḥī Lumaʿī, Muṣṭafā .Al-madīna al-munawwara taṭawwurihā al-ʿumrānī wa turāthiha al-miʿmārī. Beirut: Dār al-Nihḍa al-‘Arabīyya, 1981.
• Sayyid al-Wakīl, Muḥammad al- .Al-masjid al-nabawīī ʿabar tārīkh. [n.p], Dār al-mujtamaʿ li-lnashr wa al-tawziʿ, 1988.
• Sayyid Ḍīyāʾ b. Muḥammad b. Maqbūl ʿAṭṭār.Al-Taʿrīf bi tārīkh wa maʿālim al-masjid al-nabawīī al-sharīf. Jeddah: Kunūz al-maʿrifa, 1432 AH.