| یا صَرِیخَ الْمَکْرُوبِینَ، وَیا مُجِیبَ دَعْوَةِ الْمُضْطَرِّینَ، وَیا مُغِیْثَ الْمَهْمُومِینَ، اِکْشِفْ عَنِّی ضُرِّی وَهَمِّی وَکَرْبِی وَغَمِّی، کَما کَشَفْتَ عَنْ نَبِیِّکَ صَلَّی اللهُ عَلَیْهِ وَآلِهِ هَمَّهُ، وَکَفَیْتَهُ هَوْلَ عَدُوِّهِ، وَاکْفِنِی ما اَهَمَّنِی مِنْ أَمْرِ الدُّنْیا وَالْاَخِرَةِ، یا أَرْحَمَ الرّاحِمِینَ. |
Al-Fath Mosque
Al-Fath Mosque is one of the ancient mosques of Medina. The Prophet Muhammad (s) set up his command tent during the Battle of the Trench on a part of Mount Sela', which is the location of this mosque, situated to the northwest of al-Masjid al-Nabawi. In this place, the Prophet (s) prayed. The mosque has existed since the first/seventh century, and until the second/eighth and third/ninth centuries, the spot where the Prophet (s) prayed was marked with a pillar inside the mosque’s courtyard.
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| Current State | |
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| Status | Existing |
Location
Al-Fath Mosque is situated on a section of the western slope of Mount Sela'.[1] Fath is the name of the area where the group of al-Fath Mosques is located. The most famous of these mosques, positioned at the highest part of the slope, is al-Fath Mosque.[2]
Origin and Names
The Prophet’s command tent during the Battle of the Trench was located at the site of this mosque,[3] and thus it came to be known as al-Ahzāb Mosque. It was here that the Prophet prayed to God to defeat the “Ahzab.”[4][5] The Prophet prayed for three days, and on Wednesday, after the supplication was answered, signs of joy appeared on his face.[6] The spot where the Prophet (s) prayed was marked with a pillar in the mosque’s courtyard during the second/eighth and third/ninth centuries.[7]
It is narrated that the Prophet (s) gave Muslims the glad tidings of victory at this place, hence it was called al-Fath Mosque. Others believe the mosque was named “Fath” because Sura al-Fath was revealed there.[8] The name “al-A'lā” has also been given to the mosque, referring to its elevated location on the slopes of Mount Sela'.[5]
Prophet’s Prayer in al-Fath Mosque
The Prophet (s) performed the afternoon prayer in the area of al-Fath Mosque.[9] On one of the nights of the Battle of the Trench, the Prophet (s) stood on the hill where the mosque is located and asked for a volunteer to gather news from the enemy camp. Hudhayfa undertook the mission while the Prophet waited for his return.[10]
History of the Building
The mosque’s first structure was built by 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Aziz (governor of Medina between 87/706 – 93/711-12). It had a single portico with three columns.[11] In 575/1179-80, the mosque was rebuilt by Husayn b. Abi al-Hayja', a vizier of the Fatimids of Egypt, who also undertook expansions in al-Masjid al-Nabawi.[12] The current structure of the mosque goes back to the renovation in 1270/1853.[13] The mosque was restored again in 1411/1990-91, and further restoration after 1430/2009 gave the mosque its present appearance.[14]
Supplication of al-Fath Mosque
This mosque has been regarded as one of the significant mosques for Muslims in the early centuries of Islam.[9] A supplication has been narrated for visitors of the mosque, beginning with: “Lā ilāha illā Allāh al-'Aẓīm al-Ḥalīm...”[15] In Shia sources, another supplication is reported, recommended to be recited in al-Fath Mosque after the Tahiyyat al-Masjid prayer:
Supplication of al-Fath Mosque
| یا صَرِیخَ الْمَکْرُوبِینَ، وَیا مُجِیبَ دَعْوَةِ الْمُضْطَرِّینَ، وَیا مُغِیْثَ الْمَهْمُومِینَ، اِکْشِفْ عَنِّی ضُرِّی وَهَمِّی وَکَرْبِی وَغَمِّی، کَما کَشَفْتَ عَنْ نَبِیِّکَ صَلَّی اللهُ عَلَیْهِ وَآلِهِ هَمَّهُ، وَکَفَیْتَهُ هَوْلَ عَدُوِّهِ، وَاکْفِنِی ما اَهَمَّنِی مِنْ أَمْرِ الدُّنْیا وَالْاَخِرَةِ، یا أَرْحَمَ الرّاحِمِینَ. |
| O Helper of the distressed, O Answerer of the prayer of the desperate, O Reliever of the sorrowful, remove from me my hardship, my anxiety, my distress, and my grief, just as You relieved Your Prophet (s) of his worry and protected him from the terror of his enemy. Protect me too from that which preoccupies me concerning this world and the Hereafter, O Most Merciful of the merciful. |
| O Helper of the distressed, O Answerer of the prayer of the desperate, O Reliever of the sorrowful, remove from me my hardship, my anxiety, my distress, and my grief, just as You relieved Your Prophet (s) of his worry and protected him from the terror of his enemy. Protect me too from that which preoccupies me concerning this world and the Hereafter, O Most Merciful of the merciful. |
- ↑ al-Masājid al-Athariyya, p. 138.
- ↑ Tārīkh Ma'ālim al-Madīna al-Munawwara Qadīman wa Ḥadīthan, p. 199.
- ↑ Mawsū'at Mirʾāt al-Ḥaramayn al-Sharīfayn wa Jazīrat al-'Arab, vol. 4, p. 900.
- ↑ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 3, p. 234.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 al-Masājid al-Athariyya, p. 139.
- ↑ al-Istidhkār, vol. 2, p. 534.
- ↑ Tārīkh al-Madīna al-Munawwara, p. 60.; Akhbār al-Madīna, b. Zubāla, p. 142.
- ↑ Ma'ālim al-Madīna al-Munawwara bayna al-'Imāra wa al-Tārīkh, part 4, vol. 4, p. 84.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Tārīkh al-Madīna al-Munawwara, p. 59.; Akhbār al-Madīna, b. Zubāla, p. 143.
- ↑ I'lām al-Warā bi-A'lām al-Hudā, vol. 1, p. 193.
- ↑ al-Masājid al-Athariyya, p. 139.
- ↑ al-Tuḥfa al-Laṭīfa fī Tārīkh al-Madīna al-Sharīfa, vol. 1, p. 297.
- ↑ Mawsū'at Mirʾāt al-Ḥaramayn al-Sharīfayn wa Jazīrat al-'Arab, vol. 4, p. 696.
- ↑ al-Masājid al-Athariyya, p. 140.; Ma'ālim al-Madīna al-Munawwara bayna al-'Imāra wa al-Tārīkh, part 4, vol. 4, pp. 94, 103.
- ↑ Mawsū'at Mirʾāt al-Ḥaramayn al-Sharīfayn wa Jazīrat al-'Arab, vol. 4, p. 694.