Qiblatain Mosque: The mosque with two Qiblas
While praying in this mosque, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) received the revelation to change Qibla.
(Web Desk) - According to historic Islamic traditions, in 2 AH, when Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was leading the Zuhr prayers, he received the Quranic revelation calling for him to change the direction of the Qibla from the Bayt-ul-Muqaddas (Masjid al-Aqsa) in Jerusalem to the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca.
The mosque where this change of direction of the Qibla took place takes its name from the incident. Henceforth after this incident, the mosque came to be referred as Qiblatayn Mosque, as in the mosque with two Qiblas.
Qiblatayn Mosque lies three miles away from Masjid an-Nabwi in Medina. According to Islamic traditions, it was the wish of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that the Muslims should pray towards the Masjid al-Haram. His wish was fulfilled with verse 2:144 from the Quran, “We have certainly seen the turning of your face, [O Muhammad], toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces toward it [in prayer]. Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture well know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do.”
The aforementioned verse was revealed during prayers and hence, two rakats were offered while facing towards Bail-ul-Muqaddas while two were offered while faing Masjid al-Haram. The Qiblatain Mosque also had two mihrabs (niches), one facing Jerusalem, and the other facing Mecca, but the older mihrab was covered during recent renovation of the mosque.
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The mosque is among the three earliest mosques in Islamic history, after the Quba Mosque and Majid an-Nabwi. Over the years, it has undergone numerous renovation and expansion projects, which resulted in increasing the mosque’s total area to 4000 square metres.
Due to its historical significance, the mosque has a lot of visitors. Just like Masjid al-haram, Qiblatain Mosque is thronged by worshippers throughout the day. During the Hajj season, a lot of Hujjaj visit the mosque.
