The Seven Mosques (Arabic: المساجد السبعة, romanized: al-Masājid al-Saʿba) is a complex of six small historic and often visited mosques in the city of Medina, Saudi Arabia. The complex consists of six mosques despite the name “Sab’ah” which means “seven”, because Saudis demolished one. Although the mosque is often visited by pilgrims, Saudi sources claim that there are no accounts in the order of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or Sharia regarding the virtue of visiting these mosques. The prophet said: “You do not force yourself preparation to visit except these three mosques: Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, Masjid al-Haram, and Al-Aqsa. But recently there has been a push towards saving this as cultural and religious heritage. Like referred below for Masjid Ali bin Abu Talib.
Location
These mosques are located south of Mount Sela which was the scene of the Battle of the Trench.
Mosques in the complex
Al-Fath Mosque
This is the largest mosque of all, and it is located beneath Mount Sala’ on the western part. It is narrated that this mosque is named “Al-Fath” due to the account of the prophet praying here during the Battle of the Trench, and the battle ended in Muslim victory (in Arabic, “Fath” or “Fatah” means “conquest” in Islamic context). The mosque was built during the time of the Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz, and renovated by the minister Saifuddin Abu al-Hija in 1154 during the time of the Sharifate of Mecca.
Salman Al-Farsi Mosque
Located 20 meters south of Al-Fath Mosque, named after Salman Al-Farsi who led the construction of trenches during the Battle of the Trench. The mosque is built during the time of Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz, and renovated by the minister Saifuddin Abu al-Hija in 1154 during the time of the Sharifate of Mecca.
Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque
It is located 15 meters southeast of Salman Al-Farsi Mosque. These three mosques (Al-Fath Mosque, Salman Al-Farsi Mosque, and Abu Bakr As-Siddiq Mosque) were demolished and renovated into one mosque with wider space.
Umar bin Khattab Mosque
It is located 10 meters south of Abu Bakar As-Siddiq Mosque. This mosque is situated on higher altitude, and its look corresponds to the Al-Fath Mosque, thus it is considered that they were built and renovated at the same time.
Sa’d bin Mu’adh Mosque
Ali bin Abu Talib Mosque
Located in the south of Fatimah Az-Zahra Mosque on a small hill. This mosque has a length of 8.5 meters and a width of 6.5 meters. It is narrated that Ali joined the Battle of the Trench here. Today, the local government of Medina is renovating this mosque while maintaining its original shape and building a large park surrounding it as a decoration of the small building.
Fatimah Az-Zahra Mosque
It is a small mosque attached to the others, with an area of 4×3 meters. This mosque was built in the Ottoman period of the Hejaz Vilayet during the reign of Sultan Abdulmejid I.
