The Nabawi Mosque in Medina (The Prophet’s Mosque)

In addition to visiting the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Muslims who are performing Hajj or Umrah will also visit the Nabawi Mosque in Medina.

In addition to worshiping in the mosque, in this city Muslims will also make pilgrimages to the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad.

One of the largest mosques in the world, the Nabawi Mosque underwent several developments throughout its history, starting with the caliphate era, followed by the Umayyads, Abbasids, Ottomans, and, finally, the Saudi era, where it underwent its greatest expansion.

The mosque whose real name is Al-Masjid an-Nabawi is also the first place in the Arabian Peninsula that was illuminated by an electric light bulb in 1909 (1327 H).

The mosque whose name means ‘prophet’s mosque’ is the second mosque built by the Prophet Muhammad in the first year of Hijrah (the migration of the Prophet with his followers from Mecca to Medina, which was called Yathrib at that time).

The land on which the mosque was built belongs to two orphans, Sahl and Suhail, and is used as a place for drying dates.

The Prophet planned the structure of the mosque to occupy a 50 x 49 meter plot of land and build it facing Jerusalem, the mecca of Muslims at that time. He used palm fronds for the roof and palm trunks as pillars of the mosque.

The Prophet also built his mosque with three doors, one of which is at the back and is called the “Atikah” or “The Door of Mercy”, while the other is the “Gabriel Door” and is the Prophet’s preferred entrance. At the back of the mosque, there is a shaded area to protect travelers or homeless people known as “Al-Saffa”.

The Prophet Muhammad did not build a roof for the entire mosque, so when it rained, water would drip onto the congregation. But he reassured the congregation and said that the bad conditions would surely pass.

In its early days, the floor of the mosque was never covered with anything until 3 H (624 AD), when it was covered with gravel.

When the Qibla was changed to face the Kaaba instead of Jerusalem, Al-Saffa which was in the south of the mosque was moved to the north. The back door closed, and a new door opened to the north.

Area Expansion

The Nabawi Mosque experienced the first expansion during the Caliph Umar ibn Al-Khattab in 17 H (638 AD). Caliph Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq did not work to expand the mosque because he was busy in the Ridda War, also known as the War of Apostasy.

The mosque became very crowded with worshipers during the reign of Caliph Umar, so he bought houses around it to expand the mosque to the west, south (the qibla), and north. However, there is no extension to the east, because the room of the prophet’s wife is located there.

After the expansion, the mosque was built according to the direction of the Prophet Muhammad; the walls are made of bricks, the trunks of palm trees are used as columns, the roof is made of palm fronds, and the floor is made of garnet sand.

The expansion that occurred at the time of Caliph Umar is estimated to be around 1,100 square meters. The renovation also gave the mosque six entrances: Two to the east, two to the west, and two to the north.

During the reign of Caliph Uthman in 29 AH (650 AD), the capacity of the Nabawi Mosque was deemed too small, so he consulted with the companions of the Prophet to expand it and they considered it a good idea.

Caliph Uthman built the walls of carved stone and plaster, the pillars of carved stone and iron rods fixed with lead, and the roof of teak.

The Nabawi Mosque no longer underwent renovations until the leadership of Al-Walid bin Abdul-Malik in 88 H (707 AD).

Al-Walid wrote to the ruler of Medina, Omar bin Abdul Aziz (86-93 AH/705-712 AD), ordering him to buy a house around the Prophet’s Mosque to expand the area. He also directed him to include the room of the Prophet’s wife in the expansion.

Following Al-Walid’s direction, Omar bin Abdul Aziz expanded the Prophet’s Mosque and made the Prophet’s tomb a part of the mosque area. Therefore, the expansion of Al-Walid was carried out from three sides – east, north and west.

Expansions during the reign of Al-Walid bin Abdul-Malik included building a perforated mihrab and minaret for the first time at the Prophet’s Mosque. A total of four minarets were built, one at each corner, as well as a terrace on the roof of the mosque.

No expansion was carried out at the Prophet’s Mosque after Al-Walid’s expansion, but there have been some repairs and renovations.

The Nabawi Mosque Was Burned

A fire broke out at the Prophet’s Mosque in 654 AH (1256 AD), and a number of caliphs and Muslim leaders contributed to its restoration.

The first to contribute was the last Abbasid Caliph, Al-Musta’sim Billah, who sent supplies and workers from Baghdad to repair the mosque in 655 AH (1257 AD).

The Abbasid Caliphate ended with the fall of Baghdad to the Tatars. After that, a second fire erupted in 886 AH (1482 AD) which destroyed many parts of the roof of the mosque.

Sultan Qaytbay, the ruler of Egypt at the time, received news of the incident and, later, sent supplies, workers, and materials and the mosque was roofed in 888 AH (1484 AD).

The expansion of the Qaytbay initiation was completed in 890 AH (1486 AD) and was the last to be carried out before the Ottoman and Saudi eras.

No changes have occurred in the Prophet’s Mosque since the 387 years of expansion and reconstruction work on Qaytbay, but during this period, much repair and renovation work was carried out on the minaret, walls, and doors, and the crescent moon decoration on the minaret was replaced.

However, no major demolition and reconstruction were carried out until the reign of Sultan Abdulmejid.

The Ottoman Caliph, Abdulmejid II, sent architects, builders, workers, supplies, and materials in 1265 AH (1849 AD) to reconstruct and expand the mosque. The process took 13 years.

The materials used included red stone from Mount Al-Jamawat west of Medina (now known as Mount Al-Haram). These stones were used to build the columns, while the walls were made of black basalt.

The greatest expansion of all time in the Prophet’s Mosque occurred during the reign of the late King Abdullah. He ordered the installation of 250 umbrellas on the poles in the courtyard of the mosque. More than 800 worshipers can pray under each of these umbrellas.

The umbrella was specially made for the congregation when they were in the courtyard of the Prophet’s Mosque. This facility is designed sophisticatedly, so that when the umbrella is inflated, heat or rain does not reach the congregation.

Medina experienced the largest expansion in the history of the Prophet’s Mosque at the end of 1433 AH (2012 AD), when King Abdullah laid the foundation stone to expand the mosque so that it could accommodate 2 million worshipers.

King Salman then took the torch for the development of the Prophet’s Mosque after King Abdullah died.

In the era of King Salman’s leadership, the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque continue to be perfected, so that Muslims who want to go for Umrah, Hajj or pilgrimage remain comfortable and can worship solemnly.