Quba Mosque, 622 CE / 1 AH
Medina, Saudi Arabia
GPS: 24.439619, 39.617228
Torn down and rebuilt in 1043 CE and many times after. The original qibla direction cannot be deter-
mined.
Prophet’s Mosque, 623 CE / 2 AH
Medina, Saudi Arabia
GPS: 24.467615, 39.611376
Torn down and rebuilt in 707 CE and many times after. The last significant rebuild was in 1951. The
original qibla direction cannot be determined.
Mosque of the Two Qiblas, 626 CE / 5 AH
Medina, Saudi Arabia
GPS: 24.484089, 39.578658
Torn down and rebuilt several times. The last significant
rebuild was in 1987. Original qibla direction was appar-
ently observed in the ruined foundation under the old
mosque. It faced north generally towards Jerusalem or
Petra. No accurate measurements were made at that time.
Janad Early Mosque, 627 CE / 6 AH
Janad, Yemen
GPS: 13.668710, 44.166391
Torn down in 1011 CE and rebuilt. The original qibla direction cannot be determined.
Al Mudhmar Mosque, 627 CE / 6 AH
Samail, Oman
GPS: 23.311375, 58.010684
Torn down several times, the most recent was in 1979. The original qibla direction cannot be deter-
mined.
Jowatha Mosque, 629 CE / 8 AH
al-Kilabiyah, Saudi Arabia
GPS: 25.469615, 49.678872
Torn down in the 9th century and rebuilt. The original qibla direction cannot be determined.
Xian Mosque, 629 CE / 8 AH
Guangzhou, China
GPS: 23.148262, 113.255447
This may be the earliest extant mosque. It faces Petra and
contains the graves of Sa’d ibn Abī Waqqāṣ and 40 emigrants
from the Middle East to China in the first century of Islam.
Al Mudhmar Mosque, 627 CE / 6 AH
Samail, Oman
GPS: 23.311375, 58.010684
Torn down several times, the most recent was in 1979. The original qibla direction cannot be deter-
mined.
Jowatha Mosque, 629 CE / 8 AH
al-Kilabiyah, Saudi Arabia
GPS: 25.469615, 49.678872
Torn down in the 9th century and rebuilt. The original qibla direction cannot be determined.
Xian Mosque, 629 CE / 8 AH
Guangzhou, China
GPS: 23.148262, 113.255447
This may be the earliest extant mosque. It faces Petra and
contains the graves of Sa’d ibn Abī Waqqāṣ and 40 emigrants
from the Middle East to China in the first century of Islam.
Ṣaḥābah Mosque, 600-699 CE / 20-80 AH
Massawa, Eritrea
GPS: 15.611981, 39.480632
Dating to the early 7th century CE, it is believed to be the
first mosque on the African continent. It was reportedly built
by Companions of the Prophet Muḥammad who came to Ab-
yssinia on the First Hegira. While this mosque is in Eritrea
it was part of Abyssinia at the time. The companions were
fleeing persecution of the followers of Muḥammad by the
people in the Holy City. The current structure is of later con-
struction as some features, like the miḥrāb, did not develop
until later in Islamic architecture (89 AH/708 CE). So, this
mosque was likely built as a memorial to these early follow-
ers of Muḥammad.
Guangzhou Mosque, 627 CE / 6 AH
Guangzhou, China
GPS: 23.125902, 113.253737
The Great Mosque of Guangzhou is also known also as Huaisheng Mosque (Memorial of the Holy
Prophet) or the Guangta Mosque (Light Tower Mosque). It is thought to be one of the earliest surviv-
ing mosques in China and has the earliest freestanding minaret in China. Chinese manuscripts from
1206 CE claim that the mosque was originally built by Abu Waqqas on the first Muslim mission to
China in the 630s, during Muḥammad’s lifetime. The mosque was rebuilt
in 1350 during the Yuan dynasty under the rule of Zhizheng (1341-1368)
and rebuilt again in 1695 under Emperor Kangzi of the Qing dynasty after
it suffered fire damage. When examining this mosque in 2008, Dan Gibson
did not see any evidence that the mosque had been reoriented. Gibson first
classified this mosque as Petra-facing, but once he understood between-
facing mosques, he changed the classification to Between.
Umar ibn al-Khattab, 634 CD / 13 AH
Dawmat al Jandal, Saudi Arabia
GPS: 29.811933, 39.867393
This mosque was torn down and rebuilt in 1793 CE. The original qibla direction cannot be determined.
Gaza Congregational Mosque, 635 CD / 14 AH
Gaza, Palestine
GPS: 31.504283, 34.464567
This mosque contains three miḥrābs. GPS directions are: Petra:
144, Between 155, Mecca 153. It has been torn down and re-
built multiple times, but the original miḥrābs continue to exist.
Worshipers can pray at any of the miḥrābs.
[...]