::::::::The Masjid that is prevailing Our Heart:::::::::: Masjid Al-Nabawi الْمَسْجِد النَّبَوي When the Prophet Muhammad Sal lal lahu Alaihi wah Sallam arrived at what was then Yathrib, at the end of his Hijrah journey, it was clear that he did not have a specific place in mind from among the conglomeration of settlements. He halted at a place called Quba, as a guest with one called Kulthum b. al-Hidm in the dwelling of `Amr bin Awf staying there for 3-4 days. A mosque was built there which was later named by the Quran as Masjid al-Taqwa. This was the first mosque established by the Prophet SAWS. Then He SAWS mounted his camel with Abu Bakr Radiallahu Taála Anhu behind him and, as He saws advanced He saws offered his Friday Prayer in the dwellings of Banu Salim bin-Awf. A hundred men were in front of Him saws when He saws delivered the first Friday Sermon ever. The `Awf tribe requested him saws to take residence with them but He saws said, “Let alone the camel, for she is under command (from on High).” So He moved on. Similar requests were made by men of other dwellings, but He saws gave them the same answer, until she(camel) arrived at a spot where the Masjid al-Nabawi now stands. The camel squatted down at a place, then got up again, moved forward and stopped. Then she turned and came back to the first spot to settle down there for good, and the Prophet came down. It was the settlement of Banu Najjar with whom He saws was related from his mother’s side, the site – which served the purposes of an open camel-stable, belonged to two orphans, and the house that stood right opposite the spot was that of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. The latter came forward and carried away the Prophet Saws’s baggage to his house settling the issue of where he will stay! He saws had not brought any of his wives with him saws and so stayed alone! Of course, it would not have been easy for a 53-year old person to be living alone, after a long journey, but perhaps it was because his Hijrah journey was not a pre-planned one for him to have sent his wives across in advance. That necessitated Abu Ayyub to send him meals which were accepted with grace, although he saws was not in the habit of accepting gifts without responding correspondingly. He saws stayed with Abu Ayyub for 15 days, (with Abu Bakr Rta having found a place with one of his relatives), during which he built the mosque, the Masjid al-Nabawi, and his own quarters. He participated in the construction of the mosque, and although apparently it did not seem necessary, invited others to join in the construction (perhaps for them to share in the rewards until the Hour strikes). It was a simple hut, with a roof of frond-thatch and the floor bare sand that turned into mud when it rained. The Prophet indicated boundaries of Madinah and, marking its boundaries, declared the town a Sanctuary like Ibrahim had declared Makkah a Sanctuary. The Mosque has been expanded several times over since the time of the Prophet saws . Dajjal will lay siege to Madinah, followed by an earth-shake that will result in all unbelieving and hypocritical elements leaving the town. But Dajjal will not be able to enter the town. At every entrance to the town, he will find angels guarding it. Ultimately, he will lift the siege and leave!The Prophet has said that a Prayer in this mosque is better than a thousand Prayers in any other mosque except the Grand Mosque at Makkah! The size of the Mosque that the Prophet saws built was quite modest: about 2475 sq.m.; (that is, roughly 50x50 m., though the original was not a square). There were a few pagan graves there, and some date palm trees. The graves were cleared (perhaps dug and bones dispatched), and the trunks from the date palm trees were used at the walls. The roof was thatched and the floor was loose sand that turned into mud when it rained leaving marks on the foreheads of the devotees when they prayed while the floor was still wet. For a long time the Mosque was not lit, until one of the Companions placed a lamp and the Prophet saws did not object! There used to be, on the Syrian side (north) a sort of platform (perhaps a rock: Suffa) upon which lived those emigrants from surrounding towns and distant tribes, who had no place to go!There are eight columns in the original portion of the mosque which are of some historic significance: 1. The Perfume Column The column at which the Prophet saws used to pray. It is also known as the Perfume column. It was slightly moved in the Qiblah direction and part of it was made to enter into the niche! 2. The Aisha Column It is the third from the pulpit, the third from the grave and third from the position of the Qiblah in the mosque. It was also known as the column of the Muhajireen (emigrants) who used to gather around it! 3. The Taw bah (Repentance) Column It is the fourth from the pulpit, second from the grave and third from Qiblah. It is also known as Abi Lubabah Column because Abu Lubabah had tied himself to it for many days to punish himself for disclosing a secret of the Prophet to his old allies, the Banu Qurayza Jews. His daughter would untie him for prayers or when he wanted to ease a nature’s call, tying him up again thereafter. The Prophet saws finally untied him after Allah accepted his repentance! 4. The Bed Column It is one of the columns, adjoining the Sacred Chamber next to the Tawbah Column from the eastern side. The Prophet saws had a bed of palm leaves near this column on which he sometimes rested! 5. The Guard Column It is the one behind the Tawbah Column from the north, and also called the column of `Ali ibn abi Talib because he would say his prayers near it and sit there guarding the Prophet’s door if required! 6. The Delegations’ Column It is behind the Guard Column from the north. The Prophet would sit at this column to receive tribal delegations! 7. Graves Square Column It is also known as the stand of Jibril, and is situated at the north-west side of the sacred room. According to various historians, the house of Fatima was facing this square! 8. Tahajjud Column The Prophet saws had a prayer-mat of straw which he would take out late some nights and do Tahajjud prayers behind Fatima’s house! The Prophet’s Pulpit A Hadith of the Prophet saws says: “Between my house and my pulpit lies one of the gardens of Paradise.” The Prophet also said: “My pulpit stands on a Pond of Paradise!” It was made of wood; it had three or four rungs from where the Prophet saws delivered Friday and other sermons. The Prophet saws stood on the third rung while delivering his sermons. When Abu Bakr Siddiqi Rta became caliph, he stood on the second rung and `Umar ibn Al-Khattab Rta stood on the first. `Uthman bin `Affan did as Umar had done for six years before he returned to the old position of the Prophet saws. When the Madinans heard the noise of something falling in the Sacred Madinans Chamber, the services of Sheikh `Umar al-Nashsha’i rta who was the Grand Sufi of the time, living in Musil (Syria), were sought. He gave up eating and drinking for a couple of days to get over his problem of not able to maintain his wudu for any length of time. He went down with the help of ropes, with a candle in his hand and entered the Hujrah. He found that some plaster had fallen on the graves. He cleared the debris and then swept the graves with his beard! Mu`awiyyah increased the rungs to six. When the pulpit was burnt in the fire of 654H (1258CE), al-Muzaffar, the ruler of Yemen, sent a new one made of sandalwood which was used for ten years. It was replaced by one sent by al-Zahir Baibars of Egypt which remained in use until 797H (1397CE). When the Mosque was burnt, the citizens of Madinah built a pulpit of bricks in 886H. Two years later in 888H (1486CE) al-Ashraf Qaitabai sent a pulpit made of marble. The brick pulpit was destroyed and the new one erected in its place. In 998H (1593CE), Sultan Murad of the Ottoman Empire sent a new marble pulpit which was at the time considered one of the wonders of the world. It was constructed on aesthetic principles and ornamented with gold. The Qaitabai pulpit was taken to Quba Mosque and the new one sent by Sultan Murad was put in its place. Both pulpits still exist in the two mosques! Expansions of the Mosque The following are some details about the expansions of the Mosque: 1. First construction (1H) and its expansion (in 7H) by the Prophet – 2475 sq.m. 2. First expansion (17H): `Umar – increased by 1100 sq.m. 3. Second (29-30H): `Uthman – increased by 496 sq.m. 4. Third (91-93H): Walid b. `Abdul Malik - increased by 2369 sq.m. He destroyed the houses of the wives of the Prophet saws for this expansion. According to some reports he sought the help of the Roman King, who sent 40 Roman laborers, 40 Coptic laborers, and some amount of gold and decorative material. 5. Fourth (165H): Al-Mahdi Abbasi – 2450 sq.m. 6. Fifth and, 7. Sixth reconstructions (886-890H) were due to fires. 8. Seventh (1265-1278H): Sultan Abdul Majeed – increased by 1293 sq.m. It was built of red stone bricks taken from the Dhu al-Hulayfah Mount. This was the most beautiful reconstruction so far. About 140 bags of gold were sent for this purpose. 9. Eighth (1372H/1950CE): King `Adul `Aziz – increased by 6024 sq.m. 10. Ninth (1405H/1984CE), King Fahd b. `Abdul `Aziz – increased by 82,000 sq.m. The total area of the Mosque now is 98,327 sq.m. The Ancient Remnants The southern section after Bab Al-Nisa’ (Women’s Door), Bab Al-Rahmah (Mercy Door) and beyond them is what has remained from the reconstruction made by Sultan Abdul Majeed in 1265-1277H (1849-1861CE). The windows around the Sacred Chamber are a remnant of the renovation made by the ruler of Egypt Al-Zahir Baibars in 668H (1272CE) and King Zainuddin Kutbagh in 694H (1297CE). The Sacred Chamber and the bases and pillars of the Green Dome have remained from the renovation made by the ruler of Egypt Sultan Qaitabai in 887H (1485CE). The top of the Green Dome is from the reconstruction made by Sultan Abdul Majeed. Area of the Sacred Chamber According to the historian al-Samhudi, the length of the Chamber measured from east to west is 8 meters, and its width is 5.5 meters. The thickness of the inner wall is approximately one meter. In the north was the house of FatimahRta, the Prophet saws’s daughter. `A’isha Rta’s house had an opening through which the Prophet saws used to look through to inquire about his daughter and how she was doing. In the south (Qiblah side) there was a thoroughfare separating the home of Hafsa bint `Umar ibn al-Khattab Rta from the Sacred Chamber. The distance between the two homes was so close that `A’isha Rta used to exchange conversation with Hafsa RTa while both were inside their homes. The home of Hafsa Rta lies, today on the site where the visitor to the Prophets aws’s. Description of the Sacred Chamber The Chamber had two doors, one to the west leading in to the mosque and the other to the north. The doors had no frames and were made of wood cut from prickly cedar trees. Neither door had a lock. The Prophet’ sawss holy grave The Prophet saws was buried inside the room which was his home. His head was directed towards the west and his legs towards the east. His face was looking towards the Qiblah. The distance separating his body from the eastern wall was 23 cm and from the western wall was 150 cm. When Abu Bakr Rta died he was buried inside the Sacred Chamber and his body was laid beside the Prophet saws. Abu Bakr Rta’s head faced westwards behind the shoulders of the Prophet, and his feet faced eastwards with the face directed towards the Qiblah. A’isha Rta had originally planned her burial in her own home. But ‘Umar Rta asked for a space, and she agreed. When ‘Umar Rta was buried, his head was to the west behind the shoulders of Abu Bakr Rta and his feet to the east. His face was directed towards the Qiblah. This version is widely accepted. There are other versions about the positioning of the graves. One version says that there is space for a 4th grave which `A’isha had offered `Abdul Rahman b. `Awf to be buried there, and later Hasan b. `Ali to be buried there, but the Umayyads would not allow it. When `Umar b. `Abdul `Aziz was told that he could get himself buried there, he refused, saying that he feared Allah’s punishment for such an egoistic act. Some reports suggest that when ‘Isa bin Maryam Alaihi sallam dies after his second-coming he will be buried there. When the Chamber contained the two bodies of the Prophet saws and Abu BakrRta, `A’isha used to enter without her veil. When `Umar Rta was buried in the room she used to enter fully dressed with her veil on. Later, she Rta got built a wall dividing the house into two parts, one containing the three graves and the other where she resided. People used to collect dust and earth from the graves for blessing so she ordered a wall built. After buying the homes of Ummahat Al-Mu’mineen the Umayyad caliph al-Walid ibn Abdul Malik instructed the then governor of Madinah, `Umar ibn `Abdul `Aziz, to demolish their chambers and expand the mosque. Sa`eed b. al-Musayyib said “I wished these rooms had not been demolished so that later generations followed the simple life of the Prophet and realized his asceticism in the material pleasures of life.” The whole of Madinah wept when the chambers of the Prophet’s wives were demolished. When Wardan, the man appointed for reconstruction, dug through the foundation he was taken aback. ‘Umar retreated in panic. The men had seen two feet when the foundation was removed. `Abdullah ibn `Ubaydullah told them that what they had seen were the feet of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab which were outside the room when the space inside could not accommodate them. `Umar ibn `Abdul `Aziz built the Chamber using granite. The building occupied the original area built by the Prophet. The height of the wall was 6.75 meters. ‘Umar then built a barrier around the room having five sides so as not to have the shape of the Ka`ba. (a) The southern wall was approx 12.7 meters. (b) The western wall was approx. 11.5 meters. (c) The eastern wall was approx 9 meters. (d) The north-western wall was 9.75 meters (e) Width of the barrier wall: About 80 cm. Abu al-Baqa’ Ahmad (d. 854H) mentioned in his history of Makkah and Madinah that in 548H a noise of something falling was noticed from the Sacred Chamber. The matter was reported to the Governor who said that they needed to investigate what had happened. They began to look for the most pious person of the time, and found none but Sheikh `Umar al-Nashsha’i who was the Grand Sufi of the time, living in Musil (Syria). He was asked to enter in and find out what had happened. He begged excuse because of a disease he was suffering which did not let him maintain his wudu for any length of time. But when they pressed, he gave up eating and drinking for a couple of days and prayed to Allah that he may be cured of the problem at least for a while. He went down with the help of ropes, with a candle in his hand and entered the Hujrah. He found that some plaster had fallen on the graves. He cleared the debris and then swept the graves with his beard. After the affair his disease came back to him. First dome on the Chamber The Sacred Chamber had no dome until the year 678H (1282CE) to distinguish the Chamber from the rest of the roof covering the mosque building. Sultan Qalawoon al-Salihi became the first person to build a dome on the Sacred Chamber. The dome was renovated several times thereafter. Painting the dome green The Dome was painted green for the first time by Sultan Abdul Hameed who in the year 1253H (1837CE) directed that the green color be applied to it. The process is being followed ever since whenever the need arises. The dome has since then acquired the name the Green Dome. Previously it was known as Al-Baida’ (white), Al-Faiha’ (fragrant) and Al-Zarqa’ (blue)! ((Writing materials taken from Islamic ENCYCLOPEDIA...pics from net too))
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 07:21:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015