Mosque Name: Al-Asha’ir Mosque
Country: Yemen
City: Zabid
Year of construction (AH): 184 AH or 3rd century AH
Year of construction (AD): 820 AD or 9th century
GPS: 14°11’45.32”N 43°18’45.42”E
ArchNet: https://archnet.org/sites/3812/media_contents/296
Gibson Classification: Unknown
Rebuilt facing Mecca: 1486
For a Link to the Qibla Tool Click Here
Description:
There are several conflicting reports on the date of this mosque. Wikipedia reports that locally the foundation is credited to Sahabi Abu Musa al-Ash’ari in the year 8 AH or 629 CE and since then this mosque was the first to achieve spiritual and historical status in Yemen. Local tradition narrates that the mosque is fifth oldest mosque in the history of Islam. The Gibson Qibla Database lists it as the 154th oldest mosque or place of prayer in the Islamic world.
The mosque underwent several renovations, but the most important additions of which were made during the reign of Sultan Al-Mansour Abdul Wahab bin Dawood in the year 1486, and since then the shape of the mosque remained as it is to this day, as pointed out by the great historian Ibn al-Dhibir in his book In Order to Benefit.
However, Archnet (https://archnet.org/sites/3812/media_contents/296) dates this mosque to 9th c./3rd c. AH and claims it is an Abbasid mosque. This is based on Finster, Barbara. 1992. An Outline of the History of Islamic Religious Architecture in Yemen. In Muqarnas IX: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture. Oleg Grabar (ed.). Leiden: E.J. Brill.
The Qibla of this mosque does not face Mecca and misses it by 13 degrees. Since the early foundation has not been excavated and revealed, Gibson lists this mosque as unknown.
The mosque Qibla. The green arrow faces Mecca.
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