مسجد بنو انیف, Historical mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia
The Banu Unaif Mosque, also called Masjid Musabbah, stands southwest of the Quba Mosque on the right side of the Hijra Road into Medina. Its roofless stone structure has walls of rough basalt blocks, two pointed arches, and a flat roof of parallel wooden beams with four hanging metal lanterns. The floor is covered with patterned green and beige carpets.
The mosque stands where the Prophet Muhammad is said to have prayed while visiting the sick companion Talha ibn al-Bara ibn Umayr al-Balawi near the Banu Unaif fort. After Talha's death, the Prophet came to offer condolences and prayed at the spot. The site was later built as a mosque and is mentioned by historians such as al-Matari (d. 741 AH) and al-Samhudi (d. 911 AH).
The mosque is also called Masbah, from the Prophet's dawn prayer there, and locals know the spot as Tal'at Masbah. The tribe of Banu Unaif, a branch of Bali allied with the Aws, lived between Quba and al-Usba. The site was kept clean and visited before the mosque was built.
The mosque stands southwest of the Quba Mosque, on the right side of the Hijra Road for travellers arriving in Medina. The present building is an unroofed stone structure on raised ground, with its entrance on the north side. Visitors reach it by the Hijra Road and should dress modestly, since it is a prayer place.
Locals call the site Tal'at Musabbih, and the surrounding district still carries the name of the Banu Unaif, a clan of the Bali tribe allied with the Banu Amr ibn Awf of Quba. The mosque's second name, Musabbih, comes from the dawn prayer the Prophet is said to have prayed here.
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