Al-Masjid Al-Haram

The Sacred Mosque is the mosque of Mecca, holding the Ka'ba. Al-Muqaddasi described it about 375 AH with marble columns carried by sea from Alexandria and mosaic made by craftsmen of Syria and Egypt, and nineteen doors including the Banu Shayba and Safa gates. After the conquest of Mecca it became a school of learning: Mu'adh taught in it and Ibn Abbas held fatwa and lessons there.

The Sacred Mosque is the mosque of Mecca holding the Ka'ba. Al-Muqaddasi described it about 375 AH as al-Mahdi's building: marble columns carried by sea from Alexandria to Jeddah, the walls of its three porticoes clad in mosaic by craftsmen of Syria and Egypt whose names remain on it, nineteen doors including Banu Shayba, Safa and Nadwa gates, and around the tawaf miles of brass with candles burning on them. Four centuries later al-Umari recorded the Ka'ba's measures: four cubits between door and Black Stone — the Multazam — and on its back the sealed 'Refuge from sins' door; its gilded door was renewed in the Nasiri days. After the conquest it became a school of learning: the book records the Prophet ﷺ leaving Mu'adh to teach and Ibn Abbas holding fatwa and lessons, training Mujahid, Ata and Tawus; Hajj season was students' chance to meet scholars, and Ramadan held the Qur'an-finishing nights with the imams of the four schools.

The Sacred Mosque is the mosque of Mecca holding the Ka'ba. Al-Muqaddasi describes it c. 375 AH as al-Mahdi's building: marble columns carried by sea from Alexandria to Jeddah; the walls of its three porticoes clad in mosaic made by craftsmen of Syria and Egypt whose names survive on it; nineteen doors including the Banu Shayba, Safa and Nadwa gates; and around the tawaf miles of brass bearing candles lit for the kings of Egypt, Yemen and the lord of Ghurjistan — Mecca also holding three pools filled from the channel Zubayda edged from Banu Amir's garden. Four centuries on, Ibn Fadl Allah al-Umari recorded the Ka'ba's cubit measures: four cubits between the door and the Black Stone — the Multazam — the sealed 'Refuge from sins' door on its back, and its gilded door renewed in the Nasiri days at eighteen thousand dinars. After the conquest it became a school of learning: the book records the Prophet ﷺ leaving Mu'adh to teach (a report needing verification), Ibn Abbas holding fatwa and lessons with Mujahid, Ata and Tawus graduating at his hands; the Hajj season as the meeting of students with scholars; the Ramadan nights of Qur'an completion; and the imams of the four schools, per Ibn Jubayr's journey.