The Following Brief History Of The Mosque Is Taken From Samhoudy, The
Historian Of Medina:
"The mosque of Medina was founded by Mohammed himself, and is therefore
called his mosque, or Mesdjed-e'-Neby.
When he reached the city, at that
time an open settlement of Arabs, called Yathreb, (subsequently Medina)
after his flight from Mekka, and was sure of being now among friends, he
erected a small chapel on the spot where his camel had first rested in
the town, having bought the ground from the Arabs; and he enclosed it
with mud walls, upon which he placed a roof of palm-leaves, supported by
the stems of palm-trees for pillars: this edifice he soon after
enlarged, having laid the foundations with stone. Instead of the Mahrab,
or niche, which is placed in mosques to show the direction in which the
faithful ought to turn in their prayers, Mohammed placed a large stone,
which was at first turned to the north, towards Jerusalem, and placed in
the direction of the Kaaba of Mekka, in the second year of the Hedjra,
when the ancient Kebly was changed.
"Omar ibn el Khatab widened the mosque with mud walls and palm-branches,
and, instead of the stems of palms, he made pillars of mud. He first
carried a wall round the Hedjra, or the place where the body of Mohammed
had been deposited at his death, and which was at first enclosed only by
palm-branches. The square enclosed by the walls of the mosque was
increased to one hundred and forty pikes in length, and one hundred and
twenty in breadth, A.H. 17.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 494 of 669
Words from 134668 to 134941
of 182297
