Five Things About Prophets Mosque

1. The Prophet's Mosque in Madina is the second holiest mosque in Islam. Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah is the holiest mosque; the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest in Islam. The original Prophet's Mosque was built by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself, next to the house where he settled after his Hijrah to Madina in 622 AD. 2. The original mosque was an open-air building with a raised platform for the reading of the Qur'an. It was a square enclosure of 30x35 meters, built with palm trunks and mud walls, and accessed through three doors: Bab Rahmah to the south, Bab Jibril to the west and Bab al-Nisa' to the east. The basic plan of the building has since been adopted in the building of other mosques throughout the world. Inside, the Prophet created a shaded area to the south called the suffah and aligned the prayer space facing north towards Masjid Al-Aqsa. When the qibla (prayer direction) was changed to Makkah, the mosque was re-oriented to the south.

3. Following its establishment, the Masjid Al-Nabawi continued to introduce some of the practices now considered common in today's mosques. For example, the adhan, or call to prayer, was developed in the form still used in mosques today. The Masjid Al-Nabawi was built with a large courtyard, a motif common among mosques built since then. The Prophet's Mosque served many purposes: negotiations were conducted, military actions planned, disputes settled, religious information disseminated.

4. After the foundation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, the Prophet's Mosque underwent massive expansion. In 1951 King Abdul Aziz ordered new wings to the east and west of the prayer hall, which consisted of concrete columns with pointed arches. Older columns were reinforced with concrete and braced with copper rings at the top. The Suleymaniyya and Majidiyya minarets were replaced by two minarets in Mamluk revival style. Two additional minarets were erected to the northeast and northwest of the mosque. A library was built along the western wall to house historic copies of the Qur'an. In 1973 King Faisal ordered the construction of temporary shelters to the west of the mosque to accommodate the growing number of worshippers. In 1981, the old mosque was surrounded by new prayer areas on these sides, enlarging five times its size. The latest renovations took place under King Fahd and have greatly increased the size of the mosque.

5. Imams at the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi include His Eminence Sheikh Ali Abdur-Rahmaan Al Hudhaifi, His Eminence Sheikh Abdul Bari Al-Thubaiti, His Eminence Sheikh Husayn Aal Al-Sheikh, His Eminence Sheikh Dr. Salah Al-Budair (has led taraweeh prayers at Masjid al-Haram since 2005), His Eminence Sheikh Abdul Muhsin Al-Qasim (for taraweeh prayers), His Eminence Sheikh Maahir Hamad Al-Mu'ayqili (for taraweeh prayers), His Eminence Sheikh Abdullaah `Awwaad Al-Juhanee (for taraweeh prayers, but from 2005 has led taraweeh prayers at Masjid Al-Haram).