Ratej Mosque is one of the mosques associated with the Banu Abdul-Ashhal tribe in the north of Medina. It currently does not exist, and only its boundaries or ruins remain.
Ratej was the name of a fortress belonging to the Banu Abdul-Ashhal tribe, and due to its fame, the area was also named Ratej. The Ratej Mosque was located next to this fortress. It is one of the mosques where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) prayed within its boundaries and where Bilal al-Habashi called the adhan (call to prayer). Location
Ratej Mosque was located in the old Ratej area, also known as Hisn Ratej. Today, there is no such name or area in Medina.(1) Kaʿkī, Maʿālim al-Madīna al-munawwara bayn al-ʿimāra wa l-tārīkh, vol. 4, p. 179. The current name of the area in question is Masani.(2) ʿAyyāshī, Al-Madīna al-munawwara bayn al-māḍī wa al-ḥāḍir, p. 358. Which is entirely located within the lands and boundaries of the Banu Abdul-Ashhal tribe.(3) ʿAyyāshī, Al-Madīna al-munawwara bayn al-māḍī wa al-ḥāḍir, p. 359. The place where Ratej Mosque was located is now on Uthman ibn Affan Street, which is known to the people of Medina as Tariq al-Uyoun.(4) Kaʿkī, Maʿālim al-Madīna al-munawwara bayn al-ʿimāra wa l-tārīkh, vol. 4, p. 179. Ratej Mosque was located to the northeast of Mount Dthubab. Today, Masjid al-Rayah is located on this mountain. [5] Samhūdī, Wafāʾ al-wafā bi akhbār dar al-Muṣṭafā, vol. 3, p. 225. Names The name of Ratej Mosque is derived from the Banu Ratej family, who are from the Banu Abdul-Ashhal tribe.(6) Kaʿkī, Maʿālim al-Madīna al-munawwara bayn al-ʿimāra wa l-tārīkh, vol. 4, p. 178. Ratej was the name of a fortress belonging to the Banu Abdul-Ashhal tribe.(7)Ḥimyarī,Al-Rawḍ al-miʿṭār fī khabar al-aqṭār, p. 266. And due to its fame, the area was also named Ratej.(8) Khiyārī, Tārīkh maʿālimal-madīna al-munawwara qadīman wa ḥadīthan, p. 36. And Ratej Mosque was also located next to this fortress.(9) Ṣabrī Pāshā, Mawsūʿa mirʾāt al-ḥaramayn, vol. 4, p. 706. And over time, other groups settled in the vicinity of the Ratej fortress. [10] ) Khiyārī, Tārīkh maʿālimal-madīna al-munawwara qadīman wa ḥadīthan, p. 44,51.
The building's history The construction and demolition dates of Ratej Mosque are not clear. The mosque did not exist in the eighth and ninth centuries. Samhudi mentioned this mosque in a section discussing mosques whose precise locations are not known.(11) Samhūdī, Wafāʾ al-wafā bi akhbār dar al-Muṣṭafā, vol. 3, p. 224. In "Al-Madina Between the Past and the Present" (published in 2013), Ibrahim ibn Ali Ayyashi locates the vicinity of the mosque next to the Jassum Well to the south, where a large Ottoman communications center was built.(12) ʿAyyāshī, Al-Madīna al-munawwara bayn al-māḍī wa al-ḥāḍir, p. 359. This building still remains to this day.(13) Kaʿkī, Maʿālim al-Madīna al-munawwara bayn al-ʿimāra wa l-tārīkh, vol. 4, p. 181. According to Kaki, a contemporary geographer of Medina, in 1992, the Municipality of Medina carried out renovation operations in this area.(14) Kaʿkī, Maʿālim al-Madīna al-munawwara bayn al-ʿimāra wa l-tārīkh, vol. 4, p. 183. Some historical events related to Ratej Mosque and its vicinity may include: According to some accounts, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) prayed in this mosque.(15) Shurrāb, Al- maʿālim al-ʾathīra fī al-sunna wa al-sīra, p. 262. And it's narrated that they drank from a well there called Jassum.(16) Numīrī, Ibn Shubba. Tārīkh al-madīna al-munawwara, vol. 1, p. 69. Also, Bilal al-Habashi called the Adhan (Islamic call to prayer) in this mosque. [17] Samhūdī, Wafāʾ al-wafā bi akhbār dar al-Muṣṭafā, vol. 3, p. 861. The digging of the trench At the suggestion of the Prophet Muhammad, the area of digging the trench and its divisions were arranged in a way to confront the attack of the polytheists, starting from the area of Muzad, extending to Dthubab, and then ending near Ratej Mosque.(18) Najafī,Madīna shināsī, vol. 2, p. 364. It has been reported that the Banu Abdul-Ashhal tribe dug trenches from the Ratej area to the vicinity of their homes.(19) Wāqidī,Al-Maghāzī, vol. 2, p. 337. "Related historical figures." One of the personalities from the residents of the Ratej fortress is Iyas ibn Aus, who during the Battle of Badr was among those who proposed engaging in battle outside Medina to the esteemed Prophet of Islam, peace be upon him.(20) Wāqidī,Al-Maghāzī, vol. 1, p. 211.
References Khiyārī, Sayyid Aḥmad Yāsīn.Tārīkh maʿālimal-madīna al-munawwara qadīman wa ḥadīthan. Riyadh: al-Amāna alʿāmma li-liḥtifāl miʾat ʿām ʿalā tʾsīs al-mamlika al- ʿarabiyya al-suʿūdiyya, 1419 AH/1999.
• ʿAyyāshī, Ibrāhīm .Al-Madīna al-munawwara bayn al-māḍī wa al-ḥāḍir. Medina: al-Maktab al-ʿilmīyya, 1972.
Kaʿkī, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. Maʿālim al-Madīna al-munawwara bayn al-ʿimāra wa l-tārīkh, part 1: al-Maʿālim al-Ṭabīʿīyya, vol. 1: al-Jibāl, Beirut: Muʾallif, 1419AH.
Wāqidī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar al-. Al-Maghāzī. Edited by Marsden Jones. Beirut: Muʾassisa al-Aʿlām, 1409 AH.
• Shurrāb Muḥammad Muḥammad b. Ḥasan. Al- maʿālim al-ʾathīra fī al-sunna wa al-sīra. Beirut: Dār al-Qalam, 1411AH.
• Ṣabrī Pāshā, Ayyūb. Mawsūʿa mirʾāt al-ḥaramayn. Cairo: Shirkat al-Dawlīyya li-l-Ṭibāʿa, 2004.
• Najafī, Sayyid Muḥammad Bāqir. Madīna shināsī. Tehran: Mashʿar, 1387 sh.
• Samhūdī, ʿAlī b. ʿAbd Allāh. Wafāʾ al-wafā bi akhbār dar al-Muṣṭafā. Edited by Muḥammad Muḥyi al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd. Beirut: 1984.
• Numīrī, Ibn Shubba. Tārīkh al-madīna al-munawwara. Edited by Fahīm Muḥammad Shaltūt. Tehran: Mashʿar, 1380 sh. .Ḥimyarī, Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Munʿim al-. Al-Rawḍ al-miʿṭār fī khabar al-aqṭār. Beirut, Lebanon: Maktabat Lubnān, 1984.