AbuBakr Lineages

Continue reading as researcher Ahmed Farghal Al-De'bassi Al-Bakri imparts a little-known, yet undeniably obvious, historical fact indicating that the first mosque built in the history of Islam was not Quba Mosque as is commonly believed; rather, it was a different, older and smaller, mosque built by Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) in the courtyard of his home in Makkah Al-Mukarramah before the Hijrah!

A commonly held belief, as passed down from one generation to another for more than fourteen hundred years, is that the first mosque built in the history of Islam was Quba Mosque, which was constructed at the start of the first Hijri year, after the arrival of the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companion, Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, to Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, where they dismounted at Quba.

When I examined the biography of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) and investigated the matter more deeply, however, I was surprised to find out that there actually existed another mosque even older than Quba Mosque! The older mosque was located in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, on a plot of land belonging to the Bani Jumah clan of the Quraysh tribe – and specifically in the courtyard of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq’s home, where he used to live amongst the people of Bani Jumah before the Prophet’s emigration to Madinah. Abu Bakr As-Siddiq actually had two homes in Makkah, one of which was on a plot of land belonging to his people, the Bani Taym Bin Murrah, which may have been the one he left for his father, Abu Quhafa, while the other was located in the area where the people of Bani Jumah were living. It is from this home that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companion, Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, left to begin their journey of emigration to Madinah.

Masjid Abu Bakr As-Siddiq – which was located on a plot of land belonging to the people of Bani Jumah in Makkah Al-Mukarramah – before it was demolished some years ago.

Historical references have spoken a great deal about Abu Bakr As-Siddiq’s mosque in Makkah – the mosque that is small in size but large in terms of historical and archaeological importance. Among those who mentioned the matter of Masjid Abu Bakr As-Siddiq are:

First: Imam Muhammad Bin Isma’il Al-Bukhari (d. 256 AH) in his Sahih hadith compilation, where he said (1): Yahya Bin Bukair told us that Al-Laith told us, on the authority of Uquail, that Ibn Shihab said: “So Urwa Bin Al-Zubair told me that Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘I don’t ever remember my parents believing in any religion other than the true religion,’” and Abu Saleh said: “Abdullah told me, on the authority of Yunus, on the authority of Al-Zuhri, that he said: ‘Urwa Bin Al-Zubair told me that Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: ‘I don’t ever remember my parents believing in any religion other than the true religion, nor a single day passing without our being visited by Allah's Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) in the morning and in the evening. And when the Muslims were put to test, Abu Bakr set out migrating to the land of Ethiopia, and when he reached Bark-al-Ghimad, Ibn Ad-Daghina, the chief of the tribe of Qara, met him and said, ‘O Abu Bakr! Where are you going?’

Abu Bakr replied, ‘My people have expelled me, so I want to wander on the earth and worship my Lord.’

Ibn Ad-Daghina said, ‘O Abu Bakr! A man like you should not leave his homeland, nor should he be driven out, because you help the destitute earn their livings, and you keep good relations with your kith and kin, help the weak and poor, entertain guests generously, and help the calamity-stricken persons. Therefore I am your protector. Go back and worship your Lord in your town.’

So Abu Bakr returned, and Ibn Ad-Daghina accompanied him. Ibn Ad-Daghina visited the nobles of Quraysh and said to them, ‘A man like Abu Bakr should not leave his homeland, nor should he be driven out. Do you drive out a man who helps the destitute earn their livings, keeps good relations with his kith and kin, helps the weak and poor, entertains guests generously, and helps the calamity-stricken persons?’

So the people of Quraysh accepted Ibn Ad-Daghina’s protection, guaranteed Abu Bakr’s safety, and said to Ibn Ad-Daghina, ‘Let Abu Bakr worship his Lord in his house. He can pray and recite there whatever he likes, but he should not hurt us with it, and should not do it publicly, because we are afraid that he may affect our women and children.’

Ibn Ad-Daghina told Abu Bakr of all that. Abu Bakr stayed in that state, worshipping his Lord in his house. He did not pray publicly, nor did he recite Qur’an outside his house.

Then a thought occurred to Abu Bakr to build a mosque in the courtyard of his house, which he did, and he used to pray there and recite the Qur’an.

The women and children of the polytheists began to gather around him in great number. They used to wonder at him and look at him. Abu Bakr was a man who would often weep, and he could not help but weep upon reciting the Qur’an. That frightened the nobles of the polytheists of Quraysh, so they sent for Ibn Ad-Daghina. When he came to them, they said, ‘We accepted your protection of Abu Bakr on the condition that he should worship his Lord in his house, but he has violated the conditions, and he has built a mosque in the courtyard of his house where he prays and recites the Qur’an publicly. We are now afraid that he may affect our women and children unfavorably. So, prevent him from that. If he likes to confine the worship of his Lord to his house, he may do so, but if he insists on doing that openly, ask him to release you from your obligation to protect him, for we dislike to break our pact with you, but we deny Abu Bakr the right to perform his act publicly.’

Aisha said: ‘Ibn Ad-Daghina went to Abu- Bakr and said, ‘You know well what contract I have made on your behalf; now, you are either to abide by it, or else release me from my obligation of protecting you, because I do not want the Arabs to hear that my people have dishonored a contract I have made on behalf of another man.’

Abu Bakr replied, ‘I release you from your pact to protect me, and am pleased with the protection from Allah.’”

Second: ‘Abd Al-Razzaq Bin Hammam Bin Nafi’ Al-Hemiari Al-Sanaani (d. 211 AH) in his Musannaf (2).

Third: Abu Bakr Ahmad Al-Ataki, known as Al-Bazzar (d. 292 AH) in his Musannaf (3).

Fourth: Abu Hatim Muhammad Bin Hibban Al-Darmi Al-Tamimi (d. 354 AH) in his Sahih hadith compilation (4).

Fifth: Abu Nu’aym Al-Asbahani (d. 430 AH) in Hilyat Al-Awliyaa (5).

Sixth: Qawwam As-Sunnah, Isma’il Bin Muhammad Bin Al-Fadhl Al-Talhi Al-Qurashi Al-Asbahani (d. 535 AH) in The Biographies of the Righteous Predecessors (6).

Seventh: Abu Al-Qasim Ali Bin Al-Hasan Bin Hibatullah, known as Ibn Asakir (d. 571 AH) in The History of Damascus (7).

Eighth: Abu Al-Abbas Muhib Al-Din At-Tabari (d. 694 AH) in Ar-Riyad an-Nadirah fi Manaqib al-Asharah (8).

Ninth: Shams ad-Din Ibn Qaimaz Al-Dhahabi (d. 748 AH) in both Siyar A’lam Al-Nubala’ and Tarikh Al-Islam (9).

Tenth: Abu Al-Fidaa Isma’il Bin Omar Bin Kathir Al-Qurashi, known as Al-Hafidh Ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH) in The Beginning and the End, except that he reported on the authority of Ibn Ishaq in his chain of narrators, on the authority of Aisha, that Ibn Ad-Daghina was not the head of the tribe of Qara; rather he was “the brother of Bani Al-Harith Bin Bakr Bin Abed Mana Bin Kanana, and he was at that time the head of Al-Ahabeesh.” I say: This is an obvious error.

He also indicated that the location of Abu Bakr’s home was on a plot of land belonging to Bani Jumah and not where his people, the tribe of Bani Taym, were living (10).

Above are ten complete references, and we pray to Allah that they are sufficient.

As we can see, this is certainly an issue with many ramifications.

It’s worth mentioning that in Makkah, a mosque has been constructed where Abu Bakr As-Siddiq’s house once stood on the plot of land belonging to Bani Jumah, as an extension of the old mosque that occupied the remains of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq’s home, the one whose courtyard contained the first mosque in the history of Islam, which was built by our Master, Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, at a time when Islam was weak, and no one dared pray to Allah in public in the Valley of Makkah. This mosque was built by As-Siddiq, whose faith was strong but body was weak as he contended with the infidels of Makkah and called people to Allah there, eventually trading the protection of Ibn Ad-Daghina, the head of the tribe of Qara, with the protection of Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, Glory be to Him.

This mosque has others like it, including the mosques of the tribes, big ones and small ones alike, with many of the names being mentioned in the noble hadiths.

In Sahih Al-Bukhari, we find: Masjid Bani Zuraiq, Masjid Bani Salem, Masjid Abdul-Qais, Masjid Ash-Shajara, and Masjid Bani Rifa’ah.

In Sahih Muslim, there is mention of Masjid Dar Aba Salama and Masjid Bani Zuraiq.

Masjid Abu Bakr As-Siddiq met the conditions for a mosque to be considered a mosque, as it was a place allocated specifically for prayer and prostration, the floor was level, and it was surrounded by a structure (Aisha said: “So he built a mosque in the courtyard of his home.”) in which he performed congregational prayer. The house of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq was thus a house of pure faith, including among its worshippers (before the Hijrah) at least six believers: Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, Umm Al-Khayr (Salma Bint Sakhar, the mother of Abu Bakr), Umm Ruman (his wife), Abdullah Bin Abi Bakr, Asma, and Aisha – and possibly a seventh individual: Aamer Bin Fuhaira. So, as you can see, this mosque met the conditions needed in order for it to be considered a mosque, as it was the first mosque on Earth built after the mission of the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, began.

According to Arabic linguists, a mosque is a place allocated for prostration and prayer (a house of prayer), which is a prayer niche (the mihrab of the house) allocated for the prayers of the people of every house, or a place of prayer for the congregants.

Abu Mansur Al-Hurawi (d. 370 AH) says in Tahdhib Al-Lugha (11): “In terms of land, a mosque (masjid) is the site of prostration itself. Abu Abbas narrated on the authority of Ibn Al-Arabi: Masjid with a fat-ha on the jeem: A mihrab of the homes, and a place of prayer for congregations: Masjid with a kasra on the jeem, and masajid is the plural form. Masajid also: The extremities on which prostration is performed” [end of citation].

Abu Al-Hasan Ali Ibn Sidah (d. 458 AH) also mentioned in Al-Muhkam wal-Muhit al-A'zam (12): “Masjid: The place where prostration is performed. Al-Zajjaj said: Every place in which worship is performed is a masjid. Don’t you know that the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘The earth has been

made a place of prostration and a means of purification for me’ and that the Almighty said: ‘And who are more unjust than those who prevent the mosques of Allah?’ [end of citation] The same has also been mentioned by Jamal Addin Ibn Mandhour (d. in 711 AH) in Lisan Al-Arab.

Muhammad Murtada Al-Zabidi (d. 1205 AH) in Taj Al-Arus (13) mentions: “Masjid with a kasra on the jeem means the place of prostration itself, while in the book Al-Furouq by Ibn Barri, it says: Masjid: The house in which prostration is made, and with fat-ha: The location of the forehead. Al-Zajjaj said: Every place in which worship is performed is a masjid (with a fat-ha on the jeem). Ibn Al-Arabi: Masjid with a fat-ha on the jeem is the mihrab of the house and the place of prayer for congregations” [end of citation].

In closing, however, the old mosque has been demolished in the massive expansions of the Makkan Sanctuary, and currently an international Hilton Hotel tower has been erected in its place, near the Clock Tower opposite to the Yemeni Corner of the Kaaba. I have also heard that a mosque bearing the name Masjid Abu Bakr As-Siddiq has been established on the ground floor of one of this hotel’s towers – in the same location where Abu Bakr As-Siddiq’s mosque and house once stood.

So, may Allah be pleased with you, oh Companion of our Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

Prepared by:

Ahmed Farghal Al-De'bassi Al-Bakri

Chairman of the Lineage Investigation Committee of the Sheikhdom of Sijjada Bakria

Date: Monday, 15 Shawwal 1438 AH / 10 July 2017 AD

 

[1])) Sahih Al-Bukhari 3/ 98

[2])) Musannaf of ‘Abd Al-Razzaq Al-Sanaani 5/ 384

[3])) Musnad Al-Bazzar 18/ 189

[4])) Sahih Ibn Hibban 15/ 285

[5])) Hilyat Al-Awliyaa wa Tabaqat-ul-Asfiya 1/ 29

[6])) The Biographies of the Righteous Predecessors, pg. 54

[7])) The History of Damascus by Ibn Asakir 30/ 76-77

[8])) Ar-Riyad an-Nadirah fi Manaqib al-Asharah 1/ 96-97

[9])) Siyar A’lam Al-Nubala’ 1/ 312, Tarikh Al-Islam 1/ 670-671

[10])) The Beginning and the End 3/ 117-118

[11])) Tahdhib Al-Lugha 10/ 301

[12])) Al-Muhkam wal-Muhit al-A'zam 7/ 261, Lisan Al-Arab 3/ 204

[13])) Taj Al-Aroos Min Jawaher Al-Qmoos 8/ 17