Online broadcast from the Masjid al-Nabawi Mosque is one of Islam's most revered shrines, located in the western Saudi city of Medina. It was built by the Prophet Muhammad and his associates immediately after the Hijri (relocation) of Meccanian Muslims to Medina.
It is believed that the first temple on this place appeared during the life of the prophet - the building was laid in 622. The Prophet's Mosque has an open rectangular courtyard and angular minarets. It is noteworthy that this principle of planning was later used for all Muslim temples, which began to be erected around the world.
The tomb of the prophet is located under the Green Dome. The exact date of construction of this part of the mosque is not known, but the mention of the dome can be found in the old manuscripts of the 12th century. In addition to Muhammad's tomb, the Prophet's Mosque houses the burials of the first two Muslim caliphs, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and Umar ibn al-Khattab. Curiously, the green color of the dome acquired 150 years ago, and before that it changed colors several times and was white, purple and blue.
The Prophet's Mosque has always played an extremely important role in the life of the Muslim community. As is customary in Islam, religious rites were regularly performed here. The temple taught students, the court worked, and held public meetings and holidays.
Each new ruler considered it his duty to make a possible contribution to the expansion and improvement of the shrine. In 1910, the Prophet's Mosque in Medina became the first place in the Arabian Peninsula to use electric lighting. The last large-scale reconstruction of the mosque was carried out with the funds of the Government of Saudi Arabia in 1953.
Today, Masjid al-Nabawi is a functioning Muslim mosque and a place of mass pilgrimage for adherents of Islam from all over the world. Muslims believe that the prayer spoken here is worth 1,000 prayers performed elsewhere. At the same time, up to 600,000 worshippers can be inside the Prophet's Mosque, and during the Hajj their number reaches 1 million people. It should be borne in mind that only Muslims can visit the mosque.
Features of architecture
The modern size of the Prophet's Mosque is about a hundred times larger than the original structure. Today, Masjid al-Nabawi occupies an even larger area than the entire Old Town of Medina.
The huge mosque is a true masterpiece of engineering thought. It has 10 minarets, the height of which reaches 105 meters. The floors and walls of the architectural monument are decorated with multicolored marble. Today, the complex includes 27 prayer halls-yards, each of which is covered with a sliding dome. All of them are equipped with automatic control systems, and the opening of the domes is almost silent.
The Prophet's Mosque can be accessed through 89 entrances. It is equipped with an unusual slat air conditioning system. Special metal bars are inserted into the rectangular bases of thousands of columns. Cool air comes here from the air conditioning station, located 7 km from the mosque, so even on the hottest day inside is never hot.
In the evenings, the Prophet's Mosque is beautifully illuminated. Four historic minarets are brighter than others, which stand at the corners of Masjid al-Nabawi.