Damascus -

 The Umayyad Mosque is the mosque in which the Syrian imam and scholar Muhammad Abu al-Huda al-Yaqoubi said, "There is no better mosque in the cities of Islam than it."

The Andalusian traveler and poet Ibn Jubayr described it as "the most famous mosque in Islam, beautiful and mastery of construction, strange workmanship, and a celebration of embellishment and decoration."

As for the Syrian jurist and writer Ali Al-Tantawi, he said about it, "Umayya went with her money and authority, and he remained alone in the world for the name of Umayyah, and it was more permanent than all that Umayya received from money and authority."

Al-Yaqoubi: There is no better mosque in the cities of Islam (Al-Jazeera)

The Egyptian Sheikh and poet Burhan Al-Din Al-Qirati said, describing the Umayyad Mosque, the largest and most ancient mosque in Damascus:

"The Umayyad Mosque has become a beautiful sacrifice... well done in the whole wilderness."

Sweet it when you sweeten it, then look at its plate.

Ibn Jubayr Al-Andalusi: The Umayyad Mosque is one of the most famous mosques in Islam, with goodness, mastery of construction, strange workmanship, embellishment and decoration (Al-Jazeera)

While Tantawi spent most of his years following the news of the Great Mosque of Bani Umayyah of scholars and jurists, hoping to make it a great author on the mosque he loved, before he was forced to emigrate under duress to Saudi Arabia after the Baath coup in Syria in 1963, leaving his papers and drafts in Damascus. And about that, he said, “Hope is lost, and only the brief remains.”

The abbreviation refers to his small work entitled "The Umayyad Mosque: Description and History".

What is the story of this mosque?

What are its most prominent architectural features?

What are the most important events that he receives in the holy month of Ramadan? 

At the hands of the Caliph Al-Walid bin Abdul-Malik, the conquest of the city of Damascus in the year 13 AH, this great edifice was transformed into a mosque (Al-Jazeera)

The Umayyad Mosque .. Al-Waleed's gift to the people of Damascus

The edifice known today as the Great Mosque of Bani Umayyah or the Great Mosque of Damascus existed thousands of years ago as a temple to the gods of the Canaanite and Amorite civilizations, according to the Lebanese researcher Philip Hitti. VI John the Baptist Cathedral.

And at the hands of the Caliph Al-Walid bin Abdul-Malik Fatih in the city of Damascus in the year 13 AH, this great edifice was turned into a mosque.

It is said that the workers during construction found a cave in which there was a box, so Al-Walid came down and opened it to find the head of Yahya bin Zakaria, peace be upon him.

The mosque witnessed throughout its history huge events such as fires and earthquakes (Al-Jazeera)

Abu Al-Baqa Al-Badri tells in his book “Nuzha Al-Anam fi Beauties of the Levant” that the mosque - after the completion of its construction - received great approval from the people of Damascus who praised God and thanked the Commander of the Faithful Al-Waleed bin Abdul-Malik, who ascended the pulpit of the mosque, and said his famous sentence on that day: “Oh! People of Damascus, you are proud of people over four things: your air, your water, your fruit, and your bathroom, so I wanted to add to you a fifth, which is the mosque.”

Throughout its history, the mosque witnessed huge events such as fires and earthquakes, which Ali al-Tantawi chronicled in his book. Only the four walls remain, and it remained in that condition for 14 years until its architecture was renovated under the rule of the Seljuks.

The Umayyad Mosque was transformed during the French Mandate period into a refuge for militants and organizers of the demonstrations that came out of its sanctuary (Al-Jazeera)

In the year 740 AH, the Great Fire of Damascus broke out;

The largest part of the eastern side of the mosque and its eastern minaret were completely burnt, and the last fire was in 1311 AH, in which the mosque was completely burnt.

Al-Tantawi described this day, saying, “The whole mosque was inflamed, and no one could come close to it, so they stood and watched the fire that devours their mosque and devours their hearts. Horror Hours.

But the people of Damascus soon began restoring their mosque again in the year 1314 AH.

Al-Tantawi tells - quoting his teacher Jamal Al-Din Al-Qasimi - "There was no artist left in Damascus except to put his art in the architecture of the mosque." The eastern half of the mosque was completed within two years, and a huge celebration was held, attended by the governor of Damascus and scholars.

The people of Damascus completed the building of the mosque again after only 9 years of fire, so that it appears as it is today with its majesty, decoration, walls and domes, after witnessing for hundreds of years the prayers of Muslims, holding the banners of their wars, teaching their sciences, and issuing their fairest rulings.

During the period of the French mandate, the mosque turned into a refuge for militants and organizers of the demonstrations that came out of its sanctuary, so speeches were given there, and demonstrations were prepared there, and the French did not dare to storm it throughout the period of their colonization of Syria.

The architecture of the Umayyad Mosque and the arts of its construction constitute today a basic reference for Islamic art (Al-Jazeera)

Hanging dome and a great mihrab

Abu Al-Baqa Al-Badri says, describing the Damascus Mosque, “From whichever direction you approach the city, you see the dome in the air as if it were suspended in the air. Colossal colour, some of its images cannot be captured by the phrase.

The architecture of the Umayyad Mosque and the arts of its construction today constitute a basic reference for Islamic art, although the influences of Byzantine art, which was still prevalent in Syria at the time, inspired its makers while it was in the process of construction. Profuse praise and praise from professionals and visitors.

One of the six gates of the Umayyad Mosque (the island)

The Umayyad Mosque has 6 gates: the main gate known as “Bab Jeroun / Bab al-Nawfara”, and historians estimate its age at more than a thousand years, and the “blocked door” located behind the mihrab, through which the caliphs used to enter before it was abolished, and the “Qibli Gate”, Bab al-Amarah, Bab al-Muhaddith, and Bab al-Barid.

It has small mosques attached to it. Each mosque has an imam: Shafi’i, Hanafi, Maliki, and Hanbali. It has 3 minarets: “The Minaret of the Bride,” which is today the oldest Islamic minaret, and “The Minaret of the Prophet Jesus,” and was named by this name due to the prevailing belief in the descent of Jesus, peace be upon him, to it at the end of time. The Minaret of Qaitbay, whose name was derived from Sultan Qaytbay, who ordered its construction.

The Umayyad Mosque embraces several shrines, including the tombs of Yahya, peace be upon him, and Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi (Al-Jazeera)

As for the mihrab of the Umayyad Mosque, in it, Abu al-Baqa Abdullah al-Badri said, “One of the most amazing Islamic mihrabs, with its beauty and strange workmanship, burns all with gold. In the middle were small mihrabs connected to a wall surrounded by twisted bracelets as if they were conical, some of them were red as if they were coral, and he did not see anything more beautiful than them.”

The mihrab is a semicircular or hollow energy that is located in the middle of the wall facing the qiblah to indicate its direction.

Today, the Umayyad Mosque houses a number of tombs of saints, sultans and leaders, such as the tomb of Yahya, peace be upon him (John the Baptist), and the tomb of Sultan Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, the founder of the Ayyubid state.

The Umayyad Mosque underwent many restorations, the last of which was in the nineties of the last century (Al-Jazeera)

In the past, the mosque was famous for its gold-encrusted mosaic decorations, of which today only a few traces remain, and historians said that it collected all the images of the countries of the world, and did not leave a territory or a place or a fruitful or unfruitful tree without its image, and it is said that these inscriptions remained unchanged. Until the reign of Caliph al-Ma'mun and then removed.

It is worth noting that the mosque underwent many restorations, the last of which was in the nineties of the last century, when the minarets of Qaitbay and the Bride and the tomb of Sultan Salah al-Din were restored, and the mosque was completely painted and its roofs strengthened.

The Umayyad Mosque attracts Syrian families with its activities that take place during the Iftar and Suhoor periods (Al-Jazeera)

The holy month in the Umayyad Mosque

Syrian families prepare early every year for the blessed month of Ramadan, which still retains special traditions and customs in Damascus that distinguish it from the rest of the Islamic world.

The choir of vocalists of the Umayyad Mosque begins a religious chanting one or two hours before the dawn prayer, with the participation of a large crowd of the people of the city of Damascus.

The Umayyad Mosque is unique in imitating the collective call to prayer (Al-Jazeera)

As for the iftar period, an hour before it is scheduled, a city scholar is assigned to deliver a sermon to the worshipers gathered in the mosque, followed by a religious chanting.

The Umayyad Mosque is unique in imitating the “collective call to prayer.” In the past, a whole group of muezzins performed the call to prayer to reach the farthest possible distance, and after loudspeakers were found, singing teams began to perform the collective call to prayer in the mosque’s courtyard, as a tradition specific to the Umayyad Mosque alone.

After the worshipers perform the Maghrib prayer in congregation, some residents of the city of Damascus undertake the task of distributing what is known as “the tables of the Most Merciful” to the poor and needy who eat their breakfast in groups in the mosque’s courtyard, and this tradition has become prevalent in recent years in which the city has witnessed many economic and living crises.