Taiz, Yemen
Coordinates: 13.668763, 44.167218
Nearby Places
- Mudhaffar Mosque 20.02 Km SW (237°)
- Cairo Castle 20.06 Km SW (235°)
- Al-Ashrafiyyah Mosque 20.11 Km SW (236°)
First Mosque of Yemen, Build by a Sahabi
Al-Janad Mosque is an ancient mosque located 20km southwest of Taiz, Yemen. It is considered the oldest surviving and the first mosque in Yemen built during the beginning of Islam, established by Hz. Muadh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه who was sent by the Islamic prophet Muhammad ﷺ to Yemen to teach its people and the provisions regarding the religion and spend among them in accordance with Sharia in the year 6 AH (585 CE). As such it is one of the most important religious sites in Taiz governorate. It is also known as Mu’adh Mosque. The mosque that stands today, however, was built in stages by a succession of rulers beginning probably in the tenth century.
History
Hz. Muadh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه built the mosque after meeting with soldiers of the province in the first Friday of Rajab (seventh month of the Islamic calendar). Since then people have been holding a festival every day on the first Friday of Rajab, by heading to the mosque to pray and conduct other religious rituals.
Restoration and Preservation
The mosque has been renovated and restored countless times throughout history. Al-Husayn ibn Salama re-built the mosque during the period of 896 to 981. It is said that the governor of Sulayhid Yemen also carried out construction work in the mosque. It was destroyed during the days of Mehdi bin Ali bin Mahdi al-Re’ai al-Humeiri in 1137. Then the Ayyubid ruler Saif al-Din Atabek restored the building in 1154, adding to the building the southern corridor, the side hallways and a sahn. Sultan Al-Nasir Ayoub bin Saif al-Islam built its ceilings with plaster and carved with gold and lapis lazuli in 1206.
Architecture
The current mosque is rectangular shaped with 65.5 x 43 square meters wide. A wall with 144 serrated balconies surrounds it. Its general layout consists of an open sahn (35.5 x 25.5 m) with a square column height of about 2m. The qibla, which consists of four bays and adorns the qibla wall, has two mihrabs placed between them. It is considered an artistic masterpiece rich in ornamentation, carves and engraves.
Minaret
The minaret occupies a part of the southwestern corner and consists of a cylindrical lower part topped by an octagonal shape above which a hexagon revolves and crowns the minaret from the top of the dome.
The mosque is open to visitors throughout the year.
