Mosque Name: Humeima Abbas House
Country: Jordan
City: Humeima
Year of construction (AH): 80 AD
Year of construction (AD): 699
GPS: 29°56’59.64”N 35°20’45.33”E
Gibson Classification: Petra
Rebuilt facing Mecca: Never
For a Link to the Qibla Tool Click Here
Description:
J.P. Oleson of the University of Victoria excavated ancient Hawara or modern Humeima. The Abbasid qasr was identified in 1993. It is a rectangular structure (ca. 61 x 50 m) consisting of a large trapezoidal courtyard surrounded by rooms fronting the court. The excavation team did not find any room with a mihrab niche, so no prayer area was identified in the qasar itself. What appeared to be a very small mosque (ca. 5.7 m sq.) was later identified in the southwest corner of the property, and research published prior to 2020 list this structure as a mosque. However, it has now been identified as a tomb. (see below)
Ceramics and coins provide rich and precise documentation of the date of the Qasr, and the remains of frescoes and carved ivory furniture indicate a taste for luxury and wide commercial connections appropriate to this politically active family. The site was abandoned around 750 A.D.
The Umayyad Palace (qasr) at Humeima was built during the early Islamic era by Ali, a grandson of ’Abbas, a paternal uncle of the prophet Muhammad. Da Gibson has identified the long wide room on the north side as an early Rashidun mosque. It is accessible from the central court yard, and faces north away from Mecca but towards Petra. This room does not have a mihrab, because at the time of construction, the mihrab had not been invented yet. Since the entire structure faced a qibla direction, the central court could have also been used for prayer. The north side of this building is oriented northeast. Mecca is not in this direction, nor is Jerusalem, but it does correspond with Petra, only 27 miles to the north.
In the year 124 AH, Muḥammad ibn ‘Alî ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn al-‘Abbās died, and was buried in a small tomb. Later several other tombs were added. The Qibla of those tombs faced towards the Between position. See: https://nabataea.net/explore/cities_and_sites/humeima-small-mosque/
Only the foundation is left of the Abbas Qasr in Humeima.
The Qibla wall and prayer room to the north. The later tombs are in the south.
Satellite Photo of the Qasr
The modern visitor's centre is located in the top right hand corner, with the qasr in the centre of the screen.
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