AL-JUMU'AH MOSQUE
The Mosque of the First Friday.
The First Friday in History
Friday. The very word is familiar to us. Al-Jumu'ah, "the gathering." For Muslims around the world, it is the sacred day of the week.
But do you ever wonder where the first Friday prayer was performed in the entire history of Islam? It was here. In Medina. On the road between Quba and the city. In the valley of Banu Salim ibn 'Awf.
The Context
The Prophet ﷺ had just left Quba after spending a few days with Kulthum ibn al-Hidm. He mounted his camel Al-Qaswa and headed towards Medina. It is a Friday. On the way, as he crossed the territory of Banu Salim ibn 'Awf, the time for the Dhuhr prayer arrived. The Prophet ﷺ stopped. And he decided to make this prayer the first Jumu'ah of Islam.
The Account from the Sîrah
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ continued on his way and the Friday prayer caught him among the Banu Salim ibn 'Awf. He prayed with them in the valley — the one that became the Mosque of Friday (Masjid al-Jumu'ah) — and he delivered the sermon. It was the first sermon he gave in Medina." (Ibn Hisham · Ibn Sa'd)
The First Sermon (Khutbah)
The Prophet ﷺ established the fundamentals: praise of Allah, invitation to piety (taqwa), reminder of death and the Day of Judgment, encouragement to good deeds and charity. The format of Jumu'ah that all imams around the world have followed for fourteen centuries was born here.
The Quranic Verse
"O you who have believed! When the call to prayer is made on the day of Jumu'ah, hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade. That is better for you, if you only knew." (Surah Al-Jumu'ah, 9)
The Mosque Today
Reconstructed in 1988 under King Fahd, on the traditional site of the prophetic prayer. Modestly sized (650 m²), capacity for 650 worshippers, 4 domes and 1 central minaret, about 4 kilometers from the Prophet's Mosque ﷺ.