Ajloun -

Over the course of 775 years, the minarets of the Great Ajloun Mosque chant the call to prayer, embracing its kneeling sides who prostrate praying to God for relief, and in solitude students of science study the true Sharia and the provisions of intonation, and with the sunset of a Ramadan day, breakfast tables are extended for fasting people and wayfarers.

In the middle of the mosque, located in the city of Ajloun, northwest Jordan, which is full of historical Ayyubid monuments, starting with the Salah al-Din Castle opposite the mosque, the shrines of the righteous saints, and the archaeological Listeb Mosque, adjacent to the Mar Elias Church, which witnessed the birth of the Prophet of God “Elias,” according to history books - which is considered a pilgrimage to Christians And approved by the Vatican.

Historians date the building of the Great Ajlun Mosque to the Ayyubid era, when the righteous king Najm al-Din Ayyub ordered its construction in the year 645 AH, corresponding to 1247 AD.

The mosque takes the style of Islamic architecture in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, where the square columns interlaced in the middle were built in the form of arches with a slight slope from the eastern part of the mosque, in order to protect its pilgrims from the cold of winter and the heat of summer.

As for the mihrab, it was built in the form of an arched cavity, in which a dome was placed on two columns with various decorations, adding aesthetics to the mosque.

On its eastern façade, there are 3 doors to enter the worshipers, built in the form of geometric arches, and the mosque takes the shape of a rectangle from east to west.

Ajloun Mosque is considered the second oldest Jordanian mosque after the Husseini Mosque in the capital, Amman (Al-Jazeera)

renovation and expansion

The internal mosque and the new expansions accommodate more than a thousand worshipers. It is the Great Mosque for Friday prayers and holidays. It has an area of ​​600 meters and has 3 doors. It is considered one of the oldest mosques in the Kingdom along with the Husseini Mosque in Amman, which is located on the ruins of the Umayyad Mosque.

The old mosque includes 3 retreats, one for the contemporaries, another house for the Noble Qur’an, and a legal school in the form of the old scribes.

The mosque underwent several old and modern restorations, the last of which was during the reign of King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein in 2014, when a new expansion was built for the mosque, which included a chapel for men and another for women, and places for ablution and purity, and a pulpit was established similar to Salah al-Din’s pulpit in Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

The Great Ayyubid Mosque includes a model house for the Holy Qur’an, according to the hadith of the Director of Awqaf in Ajloun Ahmed Al-Smadi - to Al-Jazeera Net - and Quranic courses are offered in the provisions of intonation, and the legal licenses for reading with the bond related to the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace.

The pulpit of the Great Ayyubid Mosque is similar to the pulpit of Salah al-Din in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque (Al-Jazeera)

Councils for fatwa

Al-Smadi returns to say that the Directorate of Endowments has designated councils in this mosque for fatwas on the provisions of prayer, fasting and zakat in cooperation with the scholars of the Ifta Department, and other councils for legal courses that study Shafi’i jurisprudence, and Hashemite scientific councils explaining the moderation and moderation of the Islamic religion.

The Great Ayyubid Mosque includes halls for training and rehabilitating preachers, preachers, imams and muezzins on the methods of preaching, guiding and addressing people kindly, and enhancing the stock of knowledge with the necessary legal rulings for them.

Remains of stone inscriptions from the building of the Ajloun Mosque, which were destroyed by rain (Al-Jazeera)

mosque in ramadan

With the advent of the month of Ramadan, the Great Ayyubid Mosque is decorated with decorative ropes and lanterns, and perfumed with incense and perfumes to receive the fasting worshipers in the Tarawih and Tahajjud prayers, the imam of the mosque, Muhammad Al-Smadi, tells Al Jazeera Net.

Al-Smadi added that the mosque is filled with worshipers in the holy month, and breakfast meals are provided to fasting people coming from different regions of the governorate and visitors to the mosque, in addition to arranging breakfasts for orphans and workers of the homeland (cleaners), in addition to collecting donations and zakat to provide financial aid, food parcels and clothing for Eid al-Fitr, and organizing trips to perform rituals Umrah.

Hundreds of people come to the mosque to perform Tarawih prayers in Ramadan, and (the imam of the Samadi mosque) organizes sermons, lessons and religious competitions that enrich knowledge for the worshipers, and with the advent of the last ten days of the holy month, the worshipers begin to observe seclusion in the mosque, perform Tahajjud prayers, and distribute Suhoor meals in a distinguished atmosphere of faith.

As for Laylat al-Qadr, al-Smadi prepares a special program for it, starting from after the Tarawih prayer until the time of magic, which includes the Tahajjud prayer, reading the Qur’an, sermons, fatwas, competitions and religious invocations.

The Great Ayyubid Mosque can accommodate more than a thousand worshipers (Al-Jazeera)

Tourist path

The Great Ayyubid Mosque is visited by Arab and Islamic tourist groups coming to visit the ancient city and Salah al-Din Castle (Ajloun Castle) within the tourist path, especially since the mosque is in the middle of the city, according to the Director of Tourism in Ajloun Governorate, Muhammad al-Deek.

Al-Deek adds to Al-Jazeera Net that the Tourism Directorate organizes religious ceremonies in the courtyards of the mosque, in the presence of religious groups and the performance of prophetic praises and muwashahat on Islamic occasions.

300,000 tourists visit Ajloun annually, but this statistic recorded a decline last year, reaching about 190,000 tourists, due to the ban procedures and closures resulting from the Corona pandemic.