The Quba Mosque

The Quba Mosque in the outlying environs of Medina in Saudi Arabia, is one of the oldest mosques in the world. Its first stones were positioned by the Islamic prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as soon as he arrived on his emigration from the city of Mecca to Medina^[1] and the mosque was completed by his companions. Muhammad spent more than 20 nights in this mosque (after migrating) praying qasr (a short prayer) while waiting for Ali whose house was behind this mosque.^{[citation needed]}According to Islamic tradition, offering two rakaʿāt of nafl prayers in the Quba Mosque is equal to performing one Umrah. Muhammad (PBUH) used to go there, riding or on foot, every Saturday and offer a two rak'ah prayer. He advised others to do the same, saying, "Whoever makes ablutions at home and then goes and prays in the Mosque of Quba, he will have a reward like that of an 'Umrah." This hadith is reported by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and Hakim al-Nishaburi.

When Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil was commissioned, in the 20th century, to conceive a larger mosque, he intended to incorporate the old structure into his design. But the old mosque was torn down and replaced with a new one.^[2]The new mosque consists of a rectangular prayer hall raised on a second storey platform. The prayer hall connects to a cluster containing:

residential areas,
offices,
ablution facilities,
shops, and
a library

Six additional entrances are dispersed on the northern, eastern and western façades. Four minarets mark the corners of the prayer hall. The minarets rest on square bases, have octagonal shafts which take on a circular shape as they reach the top.