Microsoft Word When the Moon Split Final

The Prophet’s Mosque 
Soon after arriving in Madinah, the Prophet began the 
process of setting up the first Muslim state. First, he launched the 
construction of a mosque. He bought the land where his she-
camel had knelt down, about one hundred cubits in length and 
breadth. There were a few graves located on the land which had 
to be moved, as well as some date trees that had to be replanted. 
The mosque’s walls were made of earth and unbaked bricks; 
its roof was made from branches of date-trees, and tree trunks 
served as columns. Sand and pebbles were spread on the floor. 
The mosque had three doors and the Qiblah (a niche in the 
wall where the leader of the prayer stands) was made to face the 
direction of Bait Al-Maqdis (Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem). 
The Prophet worked along with the Muhajireen (the 
Makkan immigrants) and the Ansar (the Muslims of Madinah) 
building the mosque. While they carried bricks, rocks and tree 
trunks, they chanted work songs to make their toil easier. 
Two apartments were also built near the mosque for the 
Prophet’s wives, Saudah bint Zam’a and Aishah bint Abu Bakr, 
whom the Prophet married soon after he arrived in Madinah. 
These apartments were built of stone, mud, and date palms. 
The call to prayer 
At last the Muslims had a house of worship all their own. 
They no longer had to congregate surreptitiously as they had in 
Makkah at Bait Al-Arqam. In Madinah, they began to perform all 
five prayers in congregation in the Prophet’s mosque. The only 
problem was that the people were unsure of when each prayer 
would begin. The Prophet asked his followers for suggestions 
on how to solve this problem. Some suggested a shell or conch 
should be blown. Umar, ever direct, proposed that someone 
should be appointed to call out loudly, “Prayer is about to begin!” 
The Prophet liked Umar’s idea and put it into practice. 

---

129 
Later, however, Abdullah bin Zayd bin Abdu Rabb Al-Ansari 
had a dream in which he heard a beautiful prayer call. He related 
his dream to the Prophet , who realised that the dream was 
meant to be fulfilled. He asked Abdullah to teach the words to 
Bilal bin Rabah, who had a strong and beautiful voice. Bilal 
learned the words and called out to the Muslims in Madinah: 
Allah is Most Great! Allah is Most Great!
I testify that there is no deity except Allah! 
I testify that there is no deity except Allah! 
I testify that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah! 
I testify that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah! 
Come to the Prayer! 
Come to the prayer! 
Come to the Success! 
Come to the Success! 
Allah is Most Great! 
Allah is Most Great! 
There is no deity except Allah! 
When Umar heard the new prayer call, he hurried to the 
mosque and said, “By Allah, I have heard this call in my dreams.” 
From that day onward, Muslims gathered at the mosque 
whenever they heard Bilal make the prayer call.