Mosque of the Prophet – Wikipedia

The Mosque of the Prophet (in arab: Prophet’s Mosque ‎ Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi ^[first] ) is the second most sacred mosque for Islam ^[2] (in Medina, Saudi Arabia). This arises at the place where, since 622 ^[3] , Muhammad built a place intended for prayer, adjacent to the same home built as soon as he arrived in Medina (then Yathrib).

Their prophet died, the Muslims buried him inside the room of his wife ʿisha (among whose arms he had deceased) and the fact that the first caliph of Abū Bakr and the second chief of believers were later buried next to his burial , ʿUmar b. Al-Khaṭāb rendered the site so sacred as to soon induce expansion and embellishment of the follow-up. The most important architectural element of the prophet’s mosque is the green dome that dominates the center of the mosque and the underlying tombs of the prophet and its first two successors. It is not known with certainty the date of its construction, but manuscripts of the early twelfth century speak and precisely describe the dome, which is known as the dome of the prophet or green dome. ^[4]

The original construction was instead homeless while for the pulpit We know that the wood of the Tamerici forest of the nearby town of Ghāba was used. ^[5] The plan of origin of the structure (30 × 35 m approximately), with its Minallā (oratory) rectangular, however it served as a reference for subsequent mosques. Palm wood was used, while the walls were mud. It was accessed through three doors: the Porta della Misericordia ( BāB al-RAḥma ) to the south, Gabriele’s door ( Bāb Jibrīl ) to the west and the women’s door ( Bāb al-nisāʾ ) A is.

The mosque also served the community as a place of conference to discuss the most relevant issues and as a place of teaching and there was a slightly raised plan that served to those who approached the study of the Koran.

Inside the mosque, to the south, Muhammad created a shaded area, called shrub , aligned with the qibla In order to fulfill the obligation of mandatory prayer, since until a certain date the orientation was towards Jerusalem and, therefore, north. When the qibla It was changed to the Kajild in Mecca, the mosque was suitably reorieated south. Already seven years after Muhammad’s death, the mosque had to double to welcome the increased number of new Muslim faithful.

The subsequent rulers continued over the centuries the work of expansion and embellishment of the mosque. In 707, the Caliph Omayyade al-Walīd Ibn ʿbd al-Malik (705-715) replaced the original structure, built with very poor and easily perishable material, with a new structure, which crossed the tomb of Muhammad and the two first caliphs. The mosque was then 84 × 100 meters, with foundation stones and a wooden roof supported by stone columns. The walls of the mosque were decorated with mosaics put in place by Coptic and Greek workers, and similar to those that can freely be admired in the coeval mosque of the Omayyadi of Damascus (built by the same al-walīd I) and in the mosque of the Jerusalem rock ( Built by ʿbnik Ibn Marwān’s ʿbnk ʿmalik). The courtyard in front of the muzzle It was surrounded on four loggias, with four minarets at the corners. A miḥrb dominated by a small dome, was built in the wall of the qibla .

The Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdī (775-785) replaced the northern section of the Al-Walīd I Mosque between 778 and 781 to allow further expansion. He also added 20 access doors to the mosque: eight for the eastern and western part and 4 for the wall aimed at the north.

During the kingdom of Sultan Mamelucco Qalāwūn, a dome was erected above the tomb of the Prophet and a fountain for ablutions was built outside the Bāb al-Salām. The sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad reconstructed the fourth minaret that had been destroyed some time earlier. After lightning had damaged a large part of the mosque in 1481, the sultan Qaytbay rebuilt the eastern, western and that of the qibla .

The Ottoman sultans who had Medina control from 1517 (year of their victory over Mamelucchi) until the end of the First World War, did their part. Sultan Solimano il Magnifico (1520-1566) reconstructed the western and oriental walls of the mosque and built the North-East minaret, which will be known since then with the name of Al-Sulaymāniyya. Added a new one Michael (Al-Ahnāf) near the Michael of the Prophet (Al-Shāfi^) and placed a new dome covered with lead slabs, painted green, above the home and tomb of Muhammad.

During the kingdom of the Ottoman sultan Abdul Mejid I (1839-1861), the mosque was entirely renovated, with the sole exception of the tomb of Muhammad, of the three Michael , of the minbar and the minaret al-Sulaymāniyya. The sacred area was extended to include the area for the ablutions to the north. The prayer room ( Minallā ) to the south was doubled in width and was covered by numerous dome of the identical size, except for the domes that covered the surface of the Michael , the Bāb al-Salām and the tomb of Muhammad. The domes were decorated with verse of the Koran and with verses of the well-known poetry of the Qaunerdat al-Burda (poem of the cloak), of the Arab poet of the thirteenth century al-Būsīrī. The wall of the qibla It was covered with vitre cards that reproduced with elegant talling tanks styles. The floors of the Minallā And the courtyards were paved with marble and red stones, while a fifth minaret (al-majīdiyya), was erected west of the sacred enclosure.
After the creation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, the Mosque of the Prophet suffered massive (and sometimes criticized) renovations. In 1951 King ʿabd al-^zīz (1932-1953) ordered to demolish what surrounded the mosque to make room for new sectors to the east and west of the muzzle , erecting reinforced concrete columns with pointed arches. The oldest columns were strengthened with concrete and were fortified with copper rings. The minarets al-sulaymāniyya and al-majīdiyya were replaced by two mamlucco-style minarets. Two further minarets were erected to the north-east and north-west of the mosque. A library was built along the western wall to host historic choirs and other texts of religious interest.

In 1973 the Saudi King Faysal b. ʿObd al-°zīz ordered the construction of temporary shelters to stay the growing number of workers and craftsmen in the West of the Mosque. The old mosque was surrounded by new areas suitable for prayer, quinupying the previously existing spaces overall.

The latest changes took place during the kingdom of King Fahd and significantly increased the breadth of the mosque, allowing the influx of a large number of devotees and pilgrims, allowing them to be modern as air conditioning. Fahd also made 27 mobile dome on the roof of the prophet’s mosque. ^[6]

As today it shows, the prophet’s mosque has a rectangular plant on two floors, with the muzzle Ottoman who stretches south. The main prayer room occupies the entire first floor. The perimeter of the mosque is 100 times greater than the first mosque built by Muhammad and can accommodate over half a million devotees.

The prophet’s mosque has a plane dominated by 24 dome from the square base. Openings are practiced at the base of each dome, illuminated inside. The plan is used for prayer during the periods of greatest turnout (the month of Dhu L-Hijja), when the 24 dome slides on their tracks to shade the underlying areas, providing sources of light for the prayer room. On these occasions, the courtyard of the Ottoman mosque is also shaded with special curtains that are connected to the columns, leaving the underlying floor completely clear. The floor is accessed via stairs and lifts. The area paved around the mosque is equally used for prayer and is also equipped with curtains that provide the shadow if necessary.

The northern facade has three large arcades of identical dimensions, while the eastern, western and southern facade have two. The walls host a series of windows dominated by pointed arches, with white and black raid councils. There are six perimeter minarets annexed to the new extension of the mosque, and four others that are part of the Ottoman age structure. Everyone has a height greater than 100 meters, with a maximum of 105 meters. The mosque is generously decorated with marble and polychrome stones. The columns are white marble with brass capitals that support thin pointed arches, for which black and white marble and stones have been used. The base of the columns has a ventilation grid that allows you to adjust the temperature inside the prayer room.

This reluctant mosque of the prophet incorporates the ancient inside. The two sections can be easily distinct: the oldest has many colored decorations and numerous small pillars; The new section is instead in sparkling white marble and is completely air conditioned.

The heart of the rooms that make up the mosque consists of the very special small area called Al-Rawda Al-Nabawiya (The Garden of the Prophet), which extends from the tomb of Muhammad to his pulpit . The pilgrims who access the mosque with what is called Ziyara (visit) – That Wahhabita thought, official in the Saudi Kingdom, does not appreciate because of the fear that an excessive veneration for a man can weaken that due to Allah) tend to pray in Al-Rawda , since a tradition (which has no official) states that the supplies high to God from that place will not remain unheeded. Enter the Al-Rawda It is not always possible (especially in the month of Hajj ), also due to the limitation of space that allows you to entry very few hundreds of devotees. L’ Al-Rawda It has two small accesses, manned by officers of the special Saudi police who regularly supervise all religious rites due to the passionate devotion of pilgrims who could easily overflow in forms of excessive and risky religious excitement. The current marble pulpit was built in the Ottoman age. L’ Al-Rawda Al-Nabawiya It is considered widely as a part of Janna (Paradise).

The original mosque was not very large, while today it has truly remarkable dimensions. Since 1925, after Medina surrendered to the Saudis, the mosque was gradually enlarged until 1955, when extensive and remarkably innovative works were started. ^[4] The latest changes were made at the time of King Fahd and allowed the mosque to become an artifact of particular grandeur.

The mosque is located in what has traditionally been the center of the city of Medina, and is now surrounded by hotels and centers of commercial activity.