Library Section 18-History of al-Haramayn al-Sharifayn TheProphet'sMosque
TheProphet'sMosque
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TheProphet'sMosque
When the Prophet came to al‑Madinah after the migration, the first thing that he built there was the mosque. Afterwards he built the houses by its side. At first its area was 30 by 35 metres, which the Prophet (s) extended, making it 57 by 50 metres.
There was no minbar in the mosque at the time of its making. The Prophet (s) used to deliver his sermons leaning against one of the pillars, which were made of trunks of date‑palms. Later, the Companions built a wooden minbar with two steps. `Umar ibn al‑Khattab, during his reign, extended the mosque by five metres on southern and western sides and fifteen on the northern. He left untouched the eastern side where the dwellings of the Prophet's wives were situated.
`Uthman ibn `Affan demolished the mosque and rebuilt it, extending it in area by an amount almost equal to the one before by `Umar and left the houses of the Prophet's wives untouched. The building remained as `Uthman had made it until al‑Walid ibn `Abd al‑Malik demolished it again and extended it on all sides, and including even the houses of the Prophet's wives, together with that of `A'ishah, thus making the Prophet's tomb a part of the mosque.
The building constructed by al‑Walid stood until 266/879 when al‑Mahdi, the `Abbasid caliph, greatly extended its northern side. The building endured until the year 654/1256 when a fire broke out bringing down the roof and burning doors and the Prophet's minbar. The Mamluk sultan al‑Zahir rukn al‑Din Baybars I (658‑‑676/1260‑1277) ordered its reconstruction and the mosque was restored to its original form before the fire.
In 886/1481, lightening struck the mosque destroying all the building except the chamber of the Prophet's tomb and a dome in the mosque's courtyard. It was rebuilt by the Mamluk king al‑'Ashraf Sayf al‑Din Qait Bay (872‑‑901/1467‑‑95) in a fashion better than before. In the 10th/16th century the Ottoman sultan Salim had it renovated, building the mihrab (niche) on the western side of the minbar and which is still there.
In the 13th/19th century the Ottoman sultan Mahmud II (1223‑‑1255/1808‑‑1839) had the green dome constructed. During the same century the mosque again needed repairs, which were carried out by the orders of the Ottoman sultan. This time, the engineers dismantled the old building little by little gradually building in its place the new structure which was completed in 1277/1861.
