Draft:Al-Masajid al-Sab'a

Not to be confused with Members of Prostration.

Al-Masajid al-Sab'a

Al-Masājid al-Sabʿa (Arabic: مساجد سبعة, literally: the seven mosques) are old and small mosques located in Medina. The history of these mosques dates back to early Islam and they serve as memorials for individuals who were present or prayed at that location during the Battle of Khandaq. The names of these seven mosques are al-Fath Mosque, Salman al-Farsi Mosque, 'Ali (a) Mosque, Fatima (a) Mosque, Abu Bakr Mosque, 'Umar Mosque, and Dhu l-Qiblatayn Mosque, although there is a disagreement regarding their number. Al-Masajid al-Sab'a were a place of visitation for pilgrims until some of them, like the mosques of Imam 'Ali (a) and Lady Fatima (a), were first ruined and blocked with cement blocks, and then destroyed by the fatwa of Wahhabi muftis.

Introduction

Al-Masajid al-Sab'a refers to seven mosques located close to each other in Medina. It is said that these mosques, during the Battle of Khandaq, were the locations of individuals who were present or prayed there. These small mosques are situated on the western side of Mount Sal' and near the trench that Muslims had dug during the time of the Prophet (s) to defend Medina against the attack of the disbelievers. Of the Masajid al-Sab'a, only the mosques of al-Fath and Abu Bakr have been renovated, and some of them have been destroyed over the past years. These mosques are also referred to as "al-Fath Mosques" and "al-Khandaq Mosques".

Names

The names of the seven mosques of al-Masajid al-Sab'a are as follows:

The sign installed on al-Fath Mosque, which shows its renovation during the reign of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz in 1411 AH.

• Al-Fath Mosque is the most important mosque among the Masajid al-Sab'a, also known as "al-A'la Mosque" and "al-Ahzab Mosque", and also referred to as "al-Khandaq Mosque". This mosque, located on a height and the slope of the mountain, was the place where the Prophet's (s) prayer for victory in the battle was answered, and the news of the conquest and victory of the Islamic army reached the Prophet (s) at this location. Al-Fath Mosque was built by 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Aziz and rebuilt during the time of Sayf al-Din b. Abi l-Hayja', and once again repaired and renovated during the Ottoman rule. The current structure of al-Fath Mosque dates back to the time of Abdulmejid I in 1270/1853-54, and the Saudi government repaired this mosque in 1411/1990-91.

An old image of Imam 'Ali (a) Mosque in Medina

• 'Ali b. Abi Talib (a) Mosque, with an area of 35 square meters, is located south of Salman al-Farsi Mosque and near Fatima (a) Mosque. This mosque, in addition to being a watchtower during the battle, was also a place of worship for the Commander of the Faithful. According to al-Samhudi, a Shafi'i scholar in the tenth/sixteenth century, after this mosque was ruined, Amir Zayn al-Din Daygham al-Mansuri, the ruler of Medina, rebuilt it in 876/1471-72. 'Allama al-Majlisi referred to this mosque by the name of Amir al-Mu'minin Mosque, where Imam 'Ali (a) prayed.

A view of Lady Fatima (a) Mosque, blocked with cement blocks.

• Fatima (a) Mosque, located west of Imam 'Ali (a) Mosque, was a small mosque of about 12 square meters and without a roof. It is said that Lady Zahra (a) prepared food and bread for her father and her husband 'Ali (a) at this location during the Battle of Khandaq and was engaged in prayer and supplication for the victory of Muslims.

Salman al-Farsi Mosque

• Salman al-Farsi Mosque, with an area of 40 square meters, is located in the southern part of al-Fath Mosque. This mosque was also built during the time of 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Aziz. In Shi'a sources, it is recommended to pray in this mosque.

• Abu Bakr Mosque was located southwest of Salman Mosque and at a distance of fifteen meters from it. This mosque was destroyed in 1380 Sh/2001-2 and today is a parking lot for pilgrims' buses.

• 'Umar Mosque is located adjacent to Abu Bakr Mosque and has an area of 123 square meters.

• Dhu l-Qiblatayn Mosque is the mosque where the qibla of Muslims was changed from Jerusalem to the Ka'ba during the noon prayer. The name of this mosque was "Banu Salim" Mosque and it later became known as Dhu l-Qiblatayn Mosque. 

Disagreement on the Number

There is disagreement on the number of mosques; some have said that one of the mosques has been destroyed, and some have also said that there were originally six mosques and consider Dhu l-Qiblatayn Mosque as the seventh.

Al-Samhudi in the book Wafa' al-wafa introduced three mosques: al-Fath, Salman, and 'Ali (a), and does not mention a fourth mosque named Abu Bakr Mosque. The founder of these three mosques, in the years 575/1179-80 and 577/1181-82, was one of the amirs of the Fatimid government named Amir Sayf al-Din Husayn b. Hayja'. According to Rasul Ja'fariyan, the next three mosques date back to after this time, and until the ninth/fifteenth century and even after that, there was no mention of Abu Bakr Mosque, and this mosque was built around the year 1303/1885-86.

Destruction

The door of Fatima (a) Mosque was open until 1419/1998-99 and pilgrims used to pray in it. After that, the Saudi government, due to overcrowding and calling its visitation a heresy (bid'a), first blocked it and then destroyed it. Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan, a Wahhabi mufti from Saudi Arabia, had called for the destruction of al-Masajid al-Sab'a.

Ja'far Subhani, one of the Shi'a marja's in Iran, after this event issued a message considering the destruction of Lady Fatima (a) Mosque as a prelude to erasing Islamic monuments and causing the names of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) to be forgotten in Saudi Arabia.