Masjid al-Ijaba (Medina)
 | |
| General Information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Medina |
| Other names | Masjid Banu Mu'awiya • Masjid al-Mubahala |
| Related events | Answering of the supplication of the Prophet (s) |
| Specifications | |
| Status | Active |
| Area | 1000 square meters |
| Architecture | |
| Renovation | In various years |
Masjid al-Ijāba (Arabic: مسجد الإجابة) is a mosque in Medina, also known as "Masjid Banu Mu'awiya" or "Masjid al-Mubahala". It is narrated that the Prophet (s) prayed in this mosque and offered a supplication that was answered (ijāba), hence the mosque came to be known as Masjid al-Ijaba. Masjid al-Ijaba is located near al-Masjid al-Nabawi and al-Baqi' cemetery and has been revered by the people and pilgrims since early times. Some researchers have raised objections and rejected the idea that this mosque is the same as Masjid al-Mubahala and that the story of Mubahala took place there.
History and Significance
It is said that the history of Masjid al-Ijaba dates back to early Islam. Since the tribe of Banu Mu'awiya b. Malik built this mosque among their houses, it became known as "Masjid Banu Mu'awiya".[1] Regarding the naming of this place as "al-Ijaba", it is narrated that one day the Prophet of Islam (s) came to the mosque of this tribe, performed two rak'as of prayer, and then asked God for three things, two of which were granted and one of which was withheld.[2][3]
This mosque has been respected by the people and pilgrims of Medina from the beginning. It is narrated that supplications offered there are answered swiftly. It is famous that whenever the people of Medina performed Prayer for Rain in this mosque, it would be answered.[4]
Regarding another significance of the mosque, it is said that the story of Mubahala took place there, and for this reason, it has also been named "Masjid al-Mubahala". In Sunni sources, there is no mention of a mosque named Mubahala at this location; however, in some Shi'a sources, the name Masjid al-Mubahala appears, stating that another name for Masjid al-Ijaba is Masjid al-Mubahala, according to which the Mubahala between the Prophet (s) and the Christians of Najran took place at this mosque.[5]
Structure
Masjid al-Ijaba lacked a roof for many years. According to historical reports, this mosque faced ruin between the 7th/13th and 9th/15th centuries, and parts of it had collapsed until its repair and restoration took place in the late 9th/15th century and early 10th/16th century. By the 14th/20th century, the mosque had once again fallen into ruin and was subsequently rebuilt.[6] According to Rasul Jafariyan, a Shi'a history researcher, Masjid al-Ijaba had two prayer halls, a courtyard, and a minaret during the Ottoman era.[7]
Is it Masjid al-Mubahala?
In some Shi'a sources, a mosque titled "Mubahala" is mentioned without naming "al-Ijaba";[8] however, in some contemporary books, Masjid al-Mubahala is mentioned as another name for Masjid al-Ijaba.[9] Referring to Shi'a hadiths regarding mosques and holy and pilgrimage sites in Medina, some researchers have emphasized that no such mosque is mentioned in the words of the Shi'a Imams (a), which they regard as the strongest evidence that no separate mosque known as "Masjid al-Mubahala" existed; because if such a mosque existed, the Shi'a Imams (a) would have introduced it to their followers, and it would have been reflected in hadith books, jurisprudential sources, and collections of supplications and ziyarahs, just as the practices of the Day of Mubahala have been mentioned.[10]
The similarity of names and the mention of Masjid al-Mubahala by a Shi'a scholar have been identified as the main source of the confusion concerning Masjid al-Mubahala, and researchers have also discussed why no mosque was built at the site of the Mubahala.[11]
Supplication in Masjid al-Ijaba
It is recommended to recite this supplication after performing two rak'as of Tahiyyat prayer:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّی أَسْأَلُک صَبْرَ الشَّاکرِینَ لَک وَ عَمَلَ الْخَائِفِینَ مِنْک وَ یقِینَ الْعَابِدِینَ لَک اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ الْعَلِی الْعَظِیمُ وَ أَنَا عَبْدُک الْبَائِسُ الْفَقِیرُ أَنْتَ الْغَنِی الْحَمِیدُ وَ أَنَا الْعَبْدُ الذَّلِیلُ اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَی مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ وَ امْنُنْ بِغِنَاک عَلَی فَقْرِی وَ بِحِلْمِک عَلَی جَهْلِی وَ بِقُوَّتِک عَلَی ضَعْفِی یا قَوِی یا عَزِیزُ اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَی مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ الْأَوْصِیاءِ الْمَرْضِیینَ وَ اکفِنِی مَا أَهَمَّنِی مِنْ أَمْرِ الدُّنْیا وَ الْآخِرَةِ یا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِینَ.[12]
Current Status
The mosque is currently located on Sittin Street (now King Faisal Street), about 500 meters northeast of al-Baqi'. In 1997, its area was increased to 1000 square meters, and a dome and minaret were built upon it. For a period, the mosque's sign bore the name "Fahd b. 'Abd al-'Aziz", but in 2003 it was changed back to "al-Ijaba".[13]
Notes
- ↑ Samhūdī, Wafāʾ al-wafā, vol. 3, p. 38.
- ↑ It is narrated: "One day the Messenger of God (s) was returning from al-'Aliya when he passed by the mosque of Banu Mu'awiya. He entered it and prayed two rak'as there, and we prayed with him. He supplicated to his Lord for a long time, then turned to us and said: 'I asked my Lord not to destroy my ummah with famine, and He granted it to me. I asked Him not to destroy my ummah by drowning, and He granted it to me. And I asked Him not to place their violence among themselves (i.e., internal strife), but He denied me that.'" Musnad Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, vol. 1, p. 175.
Translation: One day, the Messenger of God (s), who was returning from al-'Aliya, passed by the mosque of Banu Mu'awiya. He entered this mosque and performed two rak'as of prayer. We also performed prayer with him. The Messenger of God (s) then made a long supplication. Then he turned to us and said: "I asked God for three requests, and He answered my prayer regarding two of them, but He denied my prayer regarding the third request. I asked God not to destroy my ummah with hunger, and God answered it; I asked Him not to destroy my ummah with drowning, and God answered this prayer of mine as well; and I asked Him to remove discord and sedition from among my ummah, but God did not answer this prayer." - ↑ Samhūdī, Wafāʾ al-wafā, vol. 3, p. 38.
- ↑ Jaʿfariyān, Āthār-i Islāmī-yi Makka wa Madīna, p. 337.
- ↑ Jaʿfariyān, Āthār-i Islāmī-yi Makka wa Madīna, p. 338.
- ↑ Najmī, Masjid al-Ijāba yā Masjid-i Mubāhala, pp. 119-120.
- ↑ Jaʿfariyān, Āthār-i Islāmī-yi Makka wa Madīna, p. 337.
- ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 97, p. 225; Mashhadī, al-Mazār al-kabīr, pp. 20, 102.
- ↑ Ḥasanī, Sīrī dar amākin-i sarzamīn-i waḥy, p. 59.
- ↑ Najmī, Masjid al-Ijāba yā Masjid-i Mubāhala, pp. 121-122.
- ↑ Najmī, Masjid al-Ijāba yā Masjid-i Mubāhala, pp. 123-126.
- ↑ Markaz-i Taḥqīqāt-i Ḥajj, Adʿiya wa ādāb-i Ḥaramayn-i Sharīfayn, p. 353.
- ↑ Qāʾidān, Darsnāma-yi amākin-i madhhabī-yi Makka-yi Mukarrama wa Madīna-yi Munawwara, p. 145.
References
- Ḥasanī, ʿAlī Akbar. Sīrī dar amākin-i sarzamīn-i waḥy. Tehran, Biʿtha-yi Maqām-i Muʿaẓẓam-i Rahbarī, 1371 Sh.
- Ibn Ḥanbal, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad. Musnad al-Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal. Ed. Aḥmad Maʿbad ʿAbd al-Karīm. Jeddah, Dār al-Minhāj, n.d.
- Jaʿfariyān, Rasūl. Āthār-i Islāmī-yi Makka wa Madīna. Tehran, Nashr-i Mashʿar, 1389 Sh.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār al-jāmiʿa li-durar akhbār al-aʾimmat al-aṭhār. Tehran, Islāmiyya, 1363 Sh.
- Markaz-i Taḥqīqāt-i Ḥajj. Adʿiya wa ādāb-i Ḥaramayn-i Sharīfayn. 1387 Sh.
- Mashhadī, Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar al-. Al-Mazār al-kabīr. Ed. Jawād Qayyūmī Iṣfahānī. Qom, Qayyūm, 1419 AH.
- Najmī, Muḥammad Ṣādiq. "Masjid al-Ijāba yā Masjid-i Mubāhala". Mīqāt-i Ḥajj. Autumn 1381 Sh, No. 41.
- Qāʾidān, Aṣghar. Darsnāma-yi amākin-i madhhabī-yi Makka-yi Mukarrama wa Madīna-yi Munawwara. Tehran, Nashr-i Mashʿar, 1390 Sh.
- Samhūdī, ʿAlī b. Aḥmad al-. Wafāʾ al-wafā bi-akhbār Dār al-Muṣṭafā. Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 2006.