Masjid An-Nabawi, the Prophet’s (saw) Mosque, is the second holiest mosque in Islam, after Masjid Al-Haram. As we are all aware, it is the burial place of our beloved Prophet (saw), as well as Abu Bakr (ra) and Umar (ra).

It is a Masjid so blessed that if you were to pray there you would earn the reward of praying a thousand prayers in another mosque.  

 

However, did you know the following interesting facts about our beloved Prophet’s (saw) Mosque…

This Masjid was the first place in the Arabian Peninsula to have electricity. The Ottomans provided electricity to this mosque first before it was even used in the Sultan’s palace.

Masjid An-Nabawi as it stands today is actually over 100 times bigger than the original building. This means that the current Masjid is now covering the entire area of the old city of Madinah.

A few centuries after the death of our Prophet (saw) there was a fire that destroyed a lot of the original building of the Masjid. This caused the roof and even some of the walls of the Prophet’s (saw) room to collapse, which revealed his resting place for the first time in 600 years.

The current Masjid is famous for its beautiful green dome. However, the dome was not always this colour. In fact, for over 650 years after the Prophet’s (saw) death, there was no dome at all! It was first built by a Mamluk sultan in 1279 and was made of wood. There then followed a time where the dome was white, and after that, for the longest time period, it was purple. It finally changed to the green colour we see today about 150 years ago.

Many of the Prophet’s (saw) belongings were kept in his room and in the room of Fatima (as). However, during World War One, Madinah was under siege and so the Ottoman commander had many of these items secretly sent to Istanbul. They are now displayed in a famous museum called Topkapi Palace. However, some of the items still remain hidden and undocumented in the Prophet’s room, within Masjid An-Nabawi.

One of the most interesting facts about the Prophet’s (saw) Mosque is all the hidden signs and secrets it holds. There were so many significant events and stories that took place in the Mosque during the time of the Prophet (saw). The people constructing the Masjid realised it would be impossible to put up signs for each event, as it would distract people from their prayer. Therefore, they decided to make minor changes in the design of objects near to wherever an important location was! 

Al Masjid An-Nabawi has never been just a mosque.  It was the centre of our first Islamic community and the location of our greatest victories and tragedies. 

Over the centuries the Masjid has grown in size, changed in colour and become modern with each generation. However, the core of this Holy Mosque still remains the same, untouched and sacred. 

May we all be given the chance to visit the beloved Masjid An-Nabawi Insha’Allah.