The Introduction of the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah

The first urban element introduced by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to the city of Madinah was the mosque institution which functioned as a community development center. While in Makkah, the Prophet (pbuh) and his followers were denied the existence and free utilization of their mosques, although they were in dire need of them. As a result, they were denied free and proper practice of their new Islamic faith. They were thus denied some of their basic human rights. They were denied the freedom of thought, expression and practice of their beliefs. However, in order to offset partially this deficiency in Makkah, the first Muslims utilized some Muslim houses, or some quiet, secret and safe spots located mainly in the outskirts of Makkah, to serve the purpose on an interim basis.

They even got accustomed to going and visiting the Ka'bah or al-Masjid al-Haram, albeit without openly and freely performing their religious rituals there. Al-Masjid al-Haram was then controlled by polytheists and polytheistic ideas and customs, both from inside the city of Makkah and from abroad. This way, as much as symbolically only could al-Masjid al-Haram function as the mosque, as well as the nucleus, in the lives of the early believing Muslim community. Such a state of affairs continued for about 13 years following which Allah brought about a change and granted the Muslims and their Prophet (pbuh) that which they had been yearning for. They managed to migrate to Madinah where all the necessary conditions for establishing a well-structured, thriving, free and autonomous state existed.

To what extent the mosque institution was desirable both to propel the struggle for the Islamic cause to a higher level, and to spur and facilitate the overall progress of the Muslims and their young community, testifies the following event. On the way from Makkah to Madinah, the Prophet (pbuh) rested four, or fourteen, or eighteen, or twenty two days in Quba', a suburb of Madinah about two to three miles to the southeast of the city, whence he next proceeded to his final destination, the city of Madinah proper. Even though his stay in Quba' accounted for a short interval under some totally new circumstances which everyone was craving for, the Prophet (pbuh) succeeded in establishing a mosque there, "the Mosque of Piety", to which he later during his subsequent stay in Madinah frequently came, riding or walking. The Prophet (pbuh) is said to have first positioned a stone on the mosque's qiblah side (the qiblah then was towards al-Masjid al-Aqsa) followed by Abu Bakr, who positioned another stone. Next, the people started building.

The Quba' mosque was the first mosque built by the Prophet (pbuh). Thus, it occupies a special place in the Islamic tradition. The Prophet (pbuh) once said: "He who purifies himself at home and then proceeds to the Quba' mosque for a prayer will procure the reward of the 'umrah (the lesser pilgrimage)." Certainly, it was because of this that the Qur'an referred to the Quba' mosque as "the Mosque of Piety". The Prophet (pbuh) loved to go and visit it.

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