Al-'Usba Mosque
 | |
| General Information | |
|---|---|
| Other Names | al-Tawba Mosque, al-Nur Mosque |
| Place | Medina, west of Quba' Mosque |
| Religious Aspect | |
| Beliefs | The Prophet (s) praying within the boundaries of this mosque. |
| History | |
| Time of Construction | First/seventh century |
Al-'Usba Mosque (Arabic: مسجد العُصْبَة), is an ancient mosque located in Medina, also known as the al-Tawba Mosque. It is situated to the west of Quba' Mosque, in an area abundant with farms and water wells. The mosque structure is an open, roofless square, measuring approximately eleven meters in length and width, with stone walls that stand at a height of one meter. It has been reported that the Prophet (s) prayed within the boundaries of this mosque.
The Prophet's Prayer
Prophet Muhammad (s) offered prayers in the vicinity of this mosque, in the region of al-'Usba, near the al-Hujaym well.[1]
Location and Name
The al-'Usba Mosque takes its name from its location in the village of al-'Usba. Al-'Usba village is situated to the west of Quba Mosque,[2] in a region characterized by its lush fields and abundant water wells.[3] This area is also referred to as al-'Usba Castle and Fence.[4] This is the place where a group of the Emigrants (Muhajirin) stopped before the arrival of the Prophet (s) to Medina.[5]
The name of the al-'Usba Mosque is not mentioned in the geographical sources of Medina, but the al-Tawba Mosque in al-'Usba, near the Hujaym Well, is mentioned.[6] 'Ali b. 'Abd Allah al-Samhudi, a historian of Medina in the eighth/fourteenth century, explicitly stated that he did not know the reason for the name of the al-Tawba Mosque.[7] This area was the residence of Banu Jahjaba, and therefore some have also named this mosque the Banu Jahjaba Mosque.[8]
Some researchers of Medina's history have identified this mosque with al-Nur Mosque (which was one of the mosques near Quba').[9] However, in old sources, these mosques have not been considered the same.[10]
Reports available from the 15th/20th century place the location of this mosque in the garden of Ibrahim al-Turki, which was called Bustan al-'Usba.[11]
History
There is no precise information available about the time of the mosque's construction. Some speculate that this mosque may have been among the mosques built during the reign of 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Aziz over Medina.[12] There was no trace of this mosque in the eighth/fourteenth and ninth/fifteenth centuries, as Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Matari (d. 741 AH) and al-Samhudi (d. 911 AH) mentioned it in the section of mosques that are not known.[13] Muhammad Kibrit al-Madani (1012-1070 AH) also states in the eleventh/seventeenth century that there is no trace of this mosque.[14] Ahmad al-Abbasi (d. eleventh century AH) spoke of the existence of the mosque's remains near the Hujaym Well.[15]
Structure
Today, the mosque's structure consists of a roofless square with a length and width of approximately 11 meters, and with stone walls one meter high that show traces of whitewashing.[16]
Gallery
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Renovation of the walls -
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Notes
- ↑ Al-Taʿrīf bi-mā ansat al-hijra, p. 217.
- ↑ Al-Masājid al-atharīyya, p. 123.
- ↑ Al-Taʿrīf bi-mā ansat al-hijra, p. 217.
- ↑ Al-Maghānim al-muṭāba fī maʿālīm Ṭāba, p. 265.
- ↑ Al-Masājid al-atharīyya, p. 124; Al-Maʿālim al-Madīna al-munawwara bayn al-ʿimāra wa l-tārīkh, Part Four, Volume Three, p. 229-230.
- ↑ Al-Taʿrīf bi-mā ansat al-hijra, p. 217; Wafāʾ al-wafāʾ, Samhūdī, vol. 3, p. 248.
- ↑ Wafāʾ al-wafāʾ, Samhūdī, vol. 3, p. 248.
- ↑ Al-Maʿālim al-Madīnah al-Munawwara
- ↑ Al-Madīna bayn al-Māḍī wa al-Ḥāẓir, p. 302
- ↑ Al-Masājid al-atharīyya, p. 124
- ↑ Al-Madīna bayn al-Māḍī wa al-Ḥāẓir, p. 302
- ↑ Maʿālim al-Madīna al-munawwara, part 4, vol. 3, p. 228
- ↑ Al-Taʿrīf bi-mā ansat al-hijra, p. 217; Wafāʾ al-wafāʾ, vol. 3, p. 248
- ↑ Al-Jawāhir al-thamīna, p. 157
- ↑ ʿUmdat al-akhbār, p. 175
- ↑ Al-Masājid al-atharīyya, p. 124; Al-Maʿālim al-Madīna al-munawwara bayn al-ʿimāra wa l-tārīkh, Part Four, Volume Three, p. 229-230.
References
- Al-Jawāhir al-thamīna fi maʿālim al-Madīna, Muḥammad Kibrīt al-Ḥusaynī al-Madanī, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1997.
- Al-Maʿālim al-Madīna al-munawwara bayn al-ʿimāra wa l-tārīkh, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Kaʿakī, vol. 4, Beirut, 2011.
- Al-Madīna bayn al-Māḍī wa al-Ḥāẓir, Ibrāhīm b. ʿAlī al-ʿAyyāshī, 1972.
- Al-Maghānim al-muṭāba fī maʿālim Ṭāba, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-Fīrūzābādī, Riyadh: Dār al-Yamāma li-l-Bahth wa l-Tarjima wa l-Nashr, 1389–1969.
- Al-Masājid al-atharīyya, Muḥammad Ilyās ʿAbd al-Ghanī. Medina: Maṭābiʿ al-Rashīd, 2nd edition, 1419 AH.
- Al-Taʿrīf bi-mā ansat al-hijra min maʿālim dār al-hijra, Jamāl al-Dīn Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Maṭarī. Riyadh, Dārat al-Malik ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, 1426 AH.
- ʿUmdat al-akhbār fī Madīna al-mukhtār, Aḥmad b. ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd al-ʿAbbāsī, Cairo: Asʿad Ṭarābazunī.
- Wafāʾ al-wafāʾ bi-akhbār dār al-Muṣṭafā, ʿAli b. ʿAbd Allah al-Samhudi, London, Mūʾassisat al-Furqān li-l-Turāth al-Islāmī, 2001 CE.