Landmarks of the Prophet's Mosque

The Prophet's Mosque Squares

Included the expansion of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz of the Prophet's Mosque, the establishment and improvement yards Prophet's Mosque from the northern, western and south, which has an area(235.000 M2) to take it for a pray, it's about (450.000) worshiper and challenge these squares, walls and gates on each side, has been paving this squares with colored marble and granite, and above that Islamic geometric.

 

facilitate the movement of large numbers of visitors to the mosque, was set up under the squares parking with a total area (292.000 M2) capacity (approximately 4.200) Cars also include basements of the squares on the places of service visitors to the mosque and there are (15) facility dedicated one of it for the gallery building and expansion Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. And (14) made up of three floors. the first and the third was devoted to the ablutions and toilets, and the second floor to the work and technical equipment,

facilities Contain (5.750) faucet to ablutions and (700) fountain to drink water and (1.900) a toilet and shower, and the Escalators is (116) ladder, and normal ladders to facilitate the movement of visitors through the 30 entrance to the parking yards surrounding the mosque , and also lifts for the handicapped parking

There are projects ordered by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for the expansion of the Prophet's Mosque total cost (4.700.000.000) SR, including: the implementation of the Eastern yard of the mosque and an area of ??37.000 M2 capacity of more than 70,000 worshipers ; including: installation of 250 umbrella covering all the yards the Mosque to prevent visitors from glare of the sun and the risk of rains private slips by heavy rain and the umbrellas are equipped with systems for the disposal of rain, lighting, and opens automatically when needed, and canopy cover per 576 M2 and will benefit the end when more than 200,000 worshipers

Rawda (Garden) and Muhammad's pulpit

The heart of the mosque houses a very special but small area named -Riadh-Ul-Jannah, which extends from Muhammad's tomb (Rawda) to his pulpit. Pilgrims attempt to visit and pray in Riadh-ul-Jannah, for there is a tradition that supplications and prayers uttered here are never rejected. Entrance into Riadh-ul-Jannah is not always possible (especially during the Hajj season), as the tiny area can accommodate only a few hundred people. Ar-Rawdah has two small gateways manned by Saudi police officers. The current marble pulpit was constructed by the Othomans. The original pulpit was much smaller than the current one, and constructed of palm tree wood, not marble. -Riadh-ul-Jannah is considered part of Jannah (Heaven or Paradise)[citation needed].

It is prescribed for the one who visits the mosque to pray two Rak’ahs in the Rawdah or whatever he wants of Naafil prayers. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that Muhammad said: “The area between my house and my minbar is one of the gardens ( riyaad, sing. rawdah) of Paradise, and my minbar is on my cistern (hawd)” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1196; Muslim, 1391.

And it was narrated that Yazeed Ibn Abi ‘Ubayd said: “I used to come with Salamah ibn al-Akwa’ and he would pray by the pillar which was by the mus-haf, i.e. in the Rawdah. I said, ‘O Abu Muslim, I see that you are keen to pray by this pillar!’ He said, ‘I saw that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was keen to pray here.’” Narrated by Al-Bukhaari, 502; Muslim, 509.

The Prophet's Masjid is distinguished by the Rawda as-Shareefah, which is the area between the house of Allah's apostle al-Hujrah as-Shareefah - and the Minbar - the pulpit. The Prophet peace be upon him said,
"Between my house and my minbar - pulpit - a Rawdhah -garden- of Jannah." [Agreed upon]
This area is a side view of the Prophet's house. At the time of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him his wives rooms were at the side of the mosque and there was a door directly from the house to the masjid (mosque). But nowadays after the expansions, the houses are now inside the mosque.
This is the Mihrab of Allah's apostle may peace and blessings be upon

him. The mihrab is basically a recess in the masjid that indicate the direction of the prayer 'Qiblah' (to Makkah) . Ofcourse it didnt look like this at the time of Prophet muhammad peace be upon him, but this is exactly where the prophet peace be upon him used to stand to lead the prayer with the early muslim believers. Allahu Akbar!
An outside view of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him's mosque.
The prayer in the Prophet's Masjid is better than one thousand prayers somewhere else except in the Holy Masjid of Makkah.
"The prayer in this Masjid of mine is better than one thousand prayers elsewhere except in the Holy Masjid - of Makkah." [Agreed upon]

Room Prophet Muhammad This name is called the house of the Prophet peace be upon him where he was staying with the mother of believers Aisha daughter Abi Bakr, may Allah be pleased with them.
The generosity of Aisha, may Allah be pleased God to make the grave of the Prophet peace be upon him and his two companions Abu Bakr Siddiq and Umar Farooq) in her room
The room is located east of the noble Prophet's Mosque, and the door was open to kindergarten honest, because the Prophet peace be upon him was giving his head to Aa'ishah when he in e'itkave to clean and comb his hair, a retreat to the mosque.
When he died the Prophet peace be upon him was in the room Aisha, because he asked permission from the mothers of the believers to fall sick in a room Aa'ishah.
As died the Prophet peace be upon him sharing companions opinion where you buried the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him, said friend may Allah be pleased with him that he heard recently from the Messenger peace be upon him: "Every prophet buried where the arrest" was buried in this room was his tomb in the south of the noble room.

Platform Messenger of Allah peace be upon him

The Prophet peace be upon him said:

((The area between my house and my minbar is one of the gardens (riyadh, sing. rawdah) of Paradise, and my minbar is on my cistern (hawdh))

Anas said: The Messenger of Allah peace be upon him delivering the khutbah on Friday to the side stage assigns his back to it, when many people said, "Build me a platform," they built a platform with two stairs, and When the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him in the pulpit preaching, the tree cried to the Messenger of Allah . Anas said: I am in the mosque, I heard the stage cried like a baby, Messenger of Allah came down to it and embraced it and then become silent.

Ibn Abbas may Allah be pleased with him said: that the Messenger of Allah was preaching on the palm trunk, a roman man came to the Messenger of Allah, and the Messenger of Allah said to him : "Make me a platform for preach ."then the roman man made a platform . and the Messenger preaching on it

ibn al-Najjar said: the length of pulpit of the Prophet peace be upon him - height - two arms, hand, three fingers, and width 1 arm, the length of his chest - high Musnad –( a prophet reclined) 1 arm.

Later there were many kinds stairs of the platform, as there were many industry, was sometimes made ??of wood or alabaster or marble.

The evolution of the platform in the Prophet's Mosque

Platform was at the time of the Prophet and his four caliphs, the adult consists of two staircase and seat.

In the era of the Umayyad, Muawiya increased in the platform and make it six staircases and seat.

In the era of the Abbasid caliphs, some renewal of the platform.

In the year 654 AH: burned the mosque and burned down the platform, too, the King of Yemen sent a new platform .and it still ten years.

It still to797 AH year 664 AH: Zahir Baybars send a new platform In

- In 797 AH AL zaher Brgog sent a new platform, replacing a platform-Zahir Baybars.

In year 886 AH: burned the mosque, the platform is also being burnt, and the people of ALmadinah built the other platform.

n 888 HA: al-Ashraf GaytBay sent a new platform of marble, and removed platform built by the people of AL madinah, and put its place.

In 998 AH the Ottoman Sultan Murad sent a platform made ??of marble was very creative, and accuracy of its industry, and the magnificent decoration and inscriptions, painting of water gold , and transfer the platform of Gaytbay to Quba Mosque. And put a platform of Sultan Murad in his place. It is located now.

 

Niches of the Prophet's Mosque

Mihrab (niche) is issued the house, and the best position in the House, a position of Imam of the prayer in the Mosque.

He remained the Prophet peace be upon him receives Jerusalem in prayer about

sixteen or seventeen months

After Conversion Qibla to the Sacred Mosque, the Prophet peace be upon

him Conversion the niche of the mosque, from north to south,

And prayed to Aisha pillar two or four months

Then go to the scented pillar and prayed for days

Then became its location in prayer, and built his niche in it

Then Omar (R.A.E.)moving the Niche a little to south (forward) ,again Othman (R.A.E) moved the Niche a little to south, Is the Niche where the imam stands now, There was no hollow Niche in the era of the Prophet(s.a.e.w.s) And the time of the four Caliphs (r.a.e.), Historical sources indicate that the niche was hollowed in the era of the Umayyad, At AH 88-91 707-710 AD, and The Muslims have developed niches with The Islamic inscriptions and wonderful decoration, and they take special position forward of The Mosques, And are a hallmark for Qiblah direction the worshipers must be heading to it

There are a number of niches in the mosque:
1 - Prophet's mihrab in the Rawdha is located to the left of the platform.
2 - Othoman niche(Caliph Othman): the wall of the mosque, a tribal who pray the Imam now.
3 - Solimani niche: it was known as a Hanafi niche(Ottoman Empire) west of the platform.

The Pillars
The pillars of the mosque are trunks of dates palms and their locations have not been changed in various times of the mosque's extensions. Among this pillars , eight pillars are famous because of some specialties.
1) Mokhlagah pillar

2) Ayeshe pillar or Mohajerin , the place for sitting The emigrants from Makkah.

3) Tawbah pillar (Abu Lababeh) , the pillar where Abu Lababeh tied himself for repentance.

4) alharas pillar, the place where Imam Ali (A.S.) used to say his prayers.

5) Wufood pillar , the place where the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) used to receive the missions of delegations.

6) Sarir pillar , the place where the Prophet (S.A.W.) performed his Etekaf (a kind of worship) in there.

Thus, the expansion of the Prophet's house in north and south and east became twice as much. In this manner , the mosque become as a rectangle of 136 Zar (68 m) long from south to north and 114 Zar (57 m) wide from east to west. During the early time of Islam ultimate the area of mosque was 3876 meters.

The Gates of prophet's Mosque

1-Bab As slam

In 17H, Omar (RU) built this door in the western wall of the mosque. People used to enter the mosque through this door and proceeded straight to the Sacred Chamber for salutation. This led the people to the south of the Sacred Chamber. Note that the Prophet (SAS) and his two companions are facing in this direction. After salutation the people often leave this area to make room for others.

2-BAB ABUBAKR Al SSIDDIQUE(RU):

Ibn Hajar said, “Small door is called Khukhah” Such small door of Abu Bakr’s (RU) house was near the fifth column west of the pulpit. This small door opened into the mosque. This door was moved westward along the same line during the various expansions of the mosque. During the first expansion by the Saudi Government, it was named Bab Siddique.

3. BAB AR RAHMAH

It is in the western wall of the mosque and it was originally installed by the Prophet (SAS). During the various expansions of the mosque, it was moved westward in line with its original position. Since this door was in front of the house of Atika, , it was sometimes called Bab Atika.

As mentioned in Bukhari and narrated by Anas bin Malik (RU), “One person entered the mosque from this door. The Prophet (SAS) was delivering his Friday sermon. That person stood up in front of the Prophet (SAS) and said, ‘O Prophet of Allah, our wealth is destroyed, the traveling routes are cut off. Please pray to Allah (SWT) for rain.’ The Prophet (SAS) raised his hands and said, ‘O Allah, please send us rain. O Allah, please send us rain. O Allah, please send us rain.’”

Anas (RU) added, “There was no visible cloud in the sky at that time. There was no house between us and the Silaa mountain which could hinder us in looking at the clear sky. After Prophet’s supplication, a small cloud rose from behind Silaa Mountain and spread over the sky and started raining there and then. It rained heavily for six days. We did not see any sun for these six days.”

“Next Friday the same person entered the mosque while the Prophet (SAS) was again delivering his Friday sermon. The man again stood up in front of the Prophet (SAS) and said, ‘Our wealth is ruined and the traveling routes are cut. Please pray to Allah to stop the rain.’ The Prophet (SAS) raised his hands and said, ‘O Allah, around us and not upon us. O Allah, on the trees and mountains and in valleys.’ Anas (RU) said, “The clouds split instantly and we were walking in the sun.

6. BAB AL BAQEE:

This door was installed in 1408 H. It is in the eastern wall of the mosque and is exactly opposite to Bab Al Salam. It is to facilitate the flow of traffic. People leave the mosque from this door after salutation to Prophet Mohammed (SAS) and his two companions.

1. BAB JIBREEL:

It is in the eastern wall of Prophet’s Mosque. It is also called Bab-un-Nabi since the Prophet (SAS) used to enter the mosque through this door. It was also known as Bab Othman since it was in front of Ottoman's (RU) house.

Jibreel (AS) came to the Prophet (SAS) after the battle of Ahzab, and talked to the Prophet (SAS) at the door step of Bab Jibreel. It is mentioned in Bukhari as narrated by Aisha , “After the battle of AL Ahzab, Prophet (SAS) disarmed himself and took a bath. In the meanwhile, Jibreel (AS) came riding a pony and talked to the Prophet (SAS) near the door step of Bab Jibreel. Jibreel (AS) said to the Prophet (SAS), “You have put away your arms but we (the angels) are still in battle uniforms. So you should come with us to attack Jewish tribe Banu Quraiza .” Aisha added, “I was looking at Jibreel (AS) through the cracks in the door of my hut. Jibreel (AS) was covered with dust.”

Prophet (SAS) asked people on his way to Banu Guraiza, “Did you see anybody pass this way a little while ago?” They said, “We saw Dehya kalbi pass this way riding a white and black pony. He had silk sheet spread under him.” Prophet (SAS) said, “That was Jibreel (AS) who was sent to Banu Guraiza to destroy their forts and induce fear in their hearts.”

There is a round stone on the top of this window. This window indicates the location where Jibreel (AS) stood during his conversation with the Prophet (SAS).

During the extension of the mosque, the door has been moved somewhat eastward in line with its original position .

2. BAB NISA:

Omar (RU) expanded the mosque during 17H. He built this door at the end of eastern wall of the mosque. Ladies used to enter the mosque from this door and offered their salat in the last rows. Ladies felt very comfortable to enter and leave the mosque from this door without coming across any men. Abu Dawud mentioned that Omar (RU) said, “We should let the ladies use this door exclusively.” Nafae said, “Abdullah bin Omar (RU) never entered the mosque through this door during his lifetime.”

DOMES:

There were no domes on the Sacred Chamber for a long time. The roof of the Sacred Chamber was made of bricks to distinguish it from the roof of the rest of the mosque.

In 678H, Sultan Mansur Qalaon made a dome on the Sacred Chamber. He covered it with lead plates so that rain water may not go through it. This is known as the outer dome.

It was renovated from time to time. From 678H to 1253H its color was the color of lead plates fixed on it. In 1253H, Sultan Mahmood Osmani ordered to color it green. Since then it is known as Green Dome. It is repainted whenever it becomes faint due to weather conditions.

In 881H, Sultan Ashraf Qaitabai replaced the brick roof of the Sacred Chamber by an inner smaller dome.

The Domes were built to distinguish the roof of the Sacred Chamber from the roof of the rest of the mosque and also to safeguard against severe weather conditions. It was also to prevent anybody walking on the roof of the Sacred Chamber out of respect for the Prophet (SAS) and his companions.

Hence it is not proper to make domes on graves in various countries. In fact the Prophet (SAS) has forbidden us to make graves with bricks or concrete or to make a structure on top of the graves. (Sunan Abu Dawud)

MOVABLE DOMES

In order to provide fresh and natural air inside the mosque twenty seven movable domes have been built. They are opened and closed electrically by a computer. No sound is produced during their opening and closing. They are exquisitely beautiful and 2.5 kilogram gold has been used for gold work on each dome.

Minarets of the Prophet's Mosque

People were in the era of the Prophet peace be upon him, before he ordered the adhan, calling crier Messenger of Allah peace be upon him, praying the University, shall meet the people, when he spent a kiss to the Kaaba, is the adhan, and Mustafa peace be upon him may sprouting is prayer, he recalled some Muslims things gather the people to prayer, said to one another: the trumpet, and others said, bell, while those that came to the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him, Abdullah bin Zaid Al-Khazraji, may Allah be pleased with him said to him: he went by me this night, some professional, A man passed by me he Thawbaan Okhaddran carries a bell in his hand I said to him: will you sell this bell? He said: What will you do it? I said call to prayer, he said: Do they not tell you better than that? I said: what is it? Said: You say: God is great God is great - to the last prayer - when he told the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him, said that it is the right vision, God willing, do it with Bilal Volgaha, Vlaazn as possible, it Andy you votes When authorized by Bilal, he heard Umar ibn al-Khattab may Allah be pleased with him while in his house, went to the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him dragging his gown, he says: O Prophet of God, who sent you the right, I saw like the saw, said the Prophet, peace be upon him "Praise be to God proved it," was not the Prophet's Mosque during the reign of Mustafa peace be upon him, nor his successors in the era of the minarets of adults (Mnaúr) amounts by the muezzin call to prayer.