Quba Mosque

Quba Mosque to the south of Madinah is the second largest and prestigious mosque in the city after the Prophet’s Mosque but claims the first place owing to its importance in Islamic history having been built in the first year of the Islamic calendar.

Its first stones were positioned by Muhammad as soon as he arrived on his emigration from the city of Mecca to Medina, and the mosque was completed by his companions. Muhammad spent 14 days in this mosque praying qasr while waiting for Ali to arrive in Medina after the latter stayed behind in Mecca to carry out a couple of tasks entrusted to him by the Prophet. Also going along with traditional saying, this mosque is said to be where the first Friday prayer was held, led by the Prophet Muhammad.

The prestigious and unique characteristics of Quba Mosque compared to other mosques are cited in this Hadith narrated by the Prophet: “Whoever makes ablutions in this house and offers one prayer therein, will be rewarded the equivalent of one Umrah.”

In the past centuries, Muslims have accorded Quba Mosque much attention. It was renovated by a number of caliphs of the period. The third Caliph Uthman ibn Affan made the first renovations. Caliph Omar bin Abdul Aziz built the mosque’s first minaret. It was renovated again by Abu Yali Al-Husaini who constructed a prayer niche known as the “Mihrab.”