My Experience during Hajj Pilgrimage 2008 (3)

Al-Qiblatain Mosque

After doing prayer in Quba mosque, we continued our tour to Al-Qiblatain Mosque. Masjid Al-Qiblatain or mosque with two Qiblas is situated a few kilometers from Masjid Nabawi. It is one of the oldest mosques in the world and uniquely contains of two mihrabs; one in the direction of Bait Al- Maqdis (Jerusalem) and the other toward Mekkah.

This mosque was originally built by Bani Salamah, who were of the Al-Khazraj tribe on a small hill near Wadi Al-Aqeeq. Over time, the design and structure of the mosque changed greatly.

Qiblatain mosque can accommodate up to 2000 worshippers. The main prayer hall adopts geometry and symmetry which is accentuated by the use of twin minarets and twin domes.

When I took ablution before doing shalat, I found an identity card on the floor of the ablution room. It was belong to someone from Thailand. So, when I saw a woman with dark blue veil, with the word " Thailand" written on her veil, I gave the identity card to her. I tried to explain how I found the card, but she did not understand English. She smiled when I used sign language, and she took the card, nodded at me and then she went away.

Well, It seemed that my English was not very useful, because many people here couldn't speak English. But I knew there was an universal language which could be understand by anyone. It was smile!