Bilal b. Rabah Mosque, attributed to Bilal, was located on top of Mount Abu Qubays in Mecca. It has been demolished as part of new development plans and the construction of government palaces by Saudi Arabia on Mount Abu Qubays.
This mosque is mentioned in earlier sources from the second and third centuries, where it was called the Ibrahim Mosque. In these sources, two prominent theories about the name Ibrahim are mentioned: one refers to the prophet Ibrahim, and the other to Ibrahim Abu Qubaysi. Contemporary sources report its renown as the Bilal Mosque. Some attribute this naming to Bilal's call to prayer at this site. Additionally, some sources consider this mosque on Mount Abu Qubays as the place where the Prophet performed the miracle of splitting the moon.
Location
The Bilal Mosque was located on top of Mount Abu Qubays and covered an area of about one hundred square meters.[1] This mosque existed until the 14th century AH.[2] However, it was demolished as part of new development plans and the construction of palaces for guests of the Saudi government on top of Mount Abu Qubays. Currently, there is no trace of it left, and only images of it remain.[3]
Ibrahim Mosque or Bilal Mosque?
The old name of the Bilal Mosque was the Ibrahim Mosque, and ancient sources referred to it by this name. According to the writings of Azraqi (d. 250 AH/864-5) and Fakhri (d. 272 AH/885-6), two historians of Mecca in the 3rd century AH, it was commonly believed among the people of Mecca that Prophet Ibrahim called people to pilgrimage from the top of this mountain.[4] However, some people of Mecca attributed the name of this mosque to a person named Ibrahim Qubaysi rather than Prophet Ibrahim.[5] Sources such as Ibn Jubayr[6] and Ibn Battuta[7] They also reported the existence of a mosque on top of Mount Abu Qubays without mentioning a specific name. However, contemporary sources have mentioned this mosque by the name of Bilal Mosque.[8] Furthermore, some have said that after the conquest of Mecca, Bilal called the Adhan (call to prayer) from Mount Abu Qubays, and later, in memory of Bilal, a mosque was built atop this mountain.[9]
The Prophet's Prayer and the Splitting of the Moon
Reports of the Prophet's prayer on top of Mount Abu Qubays[10](10) In their travel accounts, Ibn Jubayr and Ibn Battuta regarded this mosque as the place where the Prophet (s) performed the miracle of the splitting of the moon.[11]
Ibn Battuta's report on the lighting of Bilal Mosque
In his travelogue in 725 AH/1324-5, Ibn Battuta mentions the customs and traditions of the people of Mecca on the nights of the 27th of Ramadan and the first night of Shawwal. He says that on these nights, the people of Mecca light lamps and lanterns in Masjid al-Haram and its surroundings, as well as in the Bilal Mosque on Mount Abu Qubays.[12](12)
History of the Structure
Azraqi is the oldest source that mentions this mosque in the 3rd century AH.[13] Based on this, some historians have speculated that the construction of the mosque dates back to the first century AH.[14] Additionally, Ibn Battuta in the 8th century mentioned the reconstruction of the mosque ordered by Mamluk Sultan Dhaher.[15] There are also reports of the renovation of this mosque in the 13th century AH by an Indian man.[16]
The report of travelogues of Iranians
Some Iranian Shia who had visited Mecca before the demolition of the Bilal Mosque have reported on it in their travel accounts.[17] Mirza Davood Hosseini, who went on Hajj in 1322 AH/1904-5, stated that atop Mount Abu Qubays, where the Prophet called people to monotheism, a mihrab (prayer niche) and a minaret had been built.[18] Hajj Ayyaz Khan Qashqai, during his pilgrimage in 1341 AH / 1922-3, reported the existence of a shrine with two minarets on this mountain, but he did not mention its name.[19]
The latest reports on the Bilal Mosque
A report on the Bilal Mosque is also mentioned in the book "Tarikh al-Qawim." The report in this book, first published in 1385 AH / 1966 AD, indicates that the mosque existed until that time and was surrounded by numerous houses.[20] The Bilal Mosque has now been demolished.[21]
Gallery
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The Bilal Mosque in Mecca
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The Bilal Mosque in Mecca
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The Bilal Mosque in Mecca
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The Bilal Mosque in Mecca
Notes
- ↑ Jaʿfariyān,Āthār-i islāmi-yi Makka wa Madīna, vol. 1, p. 151.
- ↑ Kurdī, Al-Tārīkh al-qawīm li Makka wa bayt Allāh al-karīm, vol. 5, p. 84.
- ↑ Jaʿfariyān,Āthār-i islāmi-yi Makka wa Madīna, vol. 1, p. 151.
- ↑ Azraqī, Akhbār Makka, vol. 2, p. 201; Fākihī,Akhbār Makka fī qadīm al-dahr wa ḥaīthih, vol. 4, p. 16-17.
- ↑ Azraqī, Akhbār Makka, vol. 2, p. 201; Fākihī,Akhbār Makka fī qadīm al-dahr wa ḥaīthih, vol. 4, p. 16-17.
- ↑ Ibn Jubayr,Riḥla Ibn Jubayr, p. 76.
- ↑ Ibn Baṭṭūṭah Riḥlat Ibn Baṭṭūṭah, vol. 1, p. 383.
- ↑ Jaʿfariyān,Āthār-i islāmi-yi Makka wa Madīna, p. 125. , Ibn Baṭṭūṭah Riḥlat Ibn Baṭṭūṭah, vol. 1, p. 383. ,Nawwāb, Al-Riḥalāt al-Maghribiyya wa al-Andalusiyya, p. 456. , Manẓavī, ʿAlī Naqī. "Ḥajnāma 2." Majalla-yi Kāva, shumāra-yi 47 va 48.
- ↑ Jaʿfariyān,Āthār-i islāmi-yi Makka wa Madīna, p. 125.
- ↑ Fākihī,Akhbār Makka fī qadīm al-dahr wa ḥaīthih, vol. 4, p. 16.
- ↑ Ibn Jubayr,Riḥla Ibn Jubayr, p. 76. , Ibn Baṭṭūṭah Riḥlat Ibn Baṭṭūṭah, vol. 1, p. 383.
- ↑ Ibn Baṭṭūṭah Riḥlat Ibn Baṭṭūṭah, vol. 1, p. 404.
- ↑ Azraqī, Akhbār Makka, vol. 2, p. 202.
- ↑ Kurdī, Al-Tārīkh al-qawīm li Makka wa bayt Allāh al-karīm, vol. 5, p. 83.
- ↑ Ibn Baṭṭūṭah Riḥlat Ibn Baṭṭūṭah, vol. 1, p. 383.
- ↑ Muḥammad b. Aḥmad, Taḥṣīl al-marām, vol. 1, p. 502.
- ↑ Jaʿfarīān, " Panjāh Safarnāmah-i Ḥajj-i Qājārī", p. 766.
- ↑ Jaʿfarīān," Panjāh Safarnāmah-i Ḥajj-i Qājārī", vol. 7, p. 545.
- ↑ Jaʿfarīān, " Panjāh Safarnāmah-i Ḥajj-i Qājārī", vol. 8, p. 419.
- ↑ Kurdī, Al-Tārīkh al-qawīm li Makka wa bayt Allāh al-karīm, vol. 5, p. 84.
- ↑ Jaʿfariyān,Āthār-i islāmi-yi Makka wa Madīna, vol. 1, p. 151.
References
- Azraqī, Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Akhbār Makka. Qom: Maktaba al-Sharīf al-Raḍī, [n.d]
- Fākihī, Muḥammad b. Isḥāq. Akhbār Makka fī qadīm al-dahr wa ḥaīthih. Beirut: Dār al- Khiḍr, 1414 AH.
- Ibn Baṭṭūṭah (d. 779 AH). Riḥlat Ibn Baṭṭūṭah. Translated by Muḥammad ʿAlī Muwahhid. Tehran: ʿIlmī wa-Farhangī, 1376 SH.
- Ibn Jubayr, Muḥammad b. Aḥmad. Riḥla Ibn Jubayr. Beirut: Dār al-Maktaba al-Hilāl, 1986.
- Jaʿfariyān, Rasūl. Āthār-i islāmi-yi Makka wa Madīna. Tehran: Mashʿar, 1382 Sh.
- Jaʿfariyān, Rasūl. Panjāh Safarnāmah-i Ḥajj-i Qājārī. Tehran: Nashr-i ʿIlm, 1389 SH.
- Kurdī, Muḥammad Ṭāhir. Al-Tārīkh al-qawīm li Makka wa bayt Allāh al-karīm. Beirut: : Dār al- Khiḍr, 1420 AH.
- Muḥammad b. Aḥmad. Taḥṣīl al-marām. Mecca: [n.p], 1424 AH.
- Muḥammad b.ʿAbd Allāh. Akhbār Makkah wa Mā Jā fīhā min al-ĀthārEdited by Rashīd Ṣāliḥ Malḥas. Beirut: Dār al-Andalus, 1416 AH.
- Munẓavī, ʿAlī Naqī. Ḥajnāma 2. Kāva magazin, Num 47 va 48, spring and summer 1352, p. 62.
- Nawwāb, ʿAwāṭif Muḥammad Yūsuf. Al-Riḥalāt al-Maghribiyya wa al-Andalusiyya. Riyāḍ: Maktabat al-Malik Fahd al-Waṭaniyya, 1417 AH.