Jawatha Mosque (Arabic: مَسْجِد جَوَاثَا, romanized: Masjid Jawāthā), also incorrectly spelled Al-Jawan, is located in the historic Jawatha area, about 12 km (7.5 mi) northeast of Hofuf, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. It was the earliest known mosque built in eastern Arabia. Most of the original structure fell into ruins.[2] However, it was restored in 2007 by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, using a design similar to that of Masmak Fort in Riyadh.[3][unreliable source]
Construction
Sources give the date of the mosque's original construction as either 628 CE (7 AH)[4][1] or 635-636 CE.[2][4][5] It was built by the Bani Abd al-Qays tribe, which lived there before and during the early Islamic period.[1][4] This mosque is believed to be the first mosque built in Eastern Province and where the second Friday congregation prayer in Islam was offered, the first being held in the Prophet's Mosque in Medina.[1][4] According to legend, when the Hajr Al-Aswad (Black Stone) was stolen from Mecca by the Qarmatians, it was kept in this mosque for nearly 22 years.[3][unreliable source]
Before the 2007 restoration, most of the mosque's original structure had fallen apart, with only a small number of its arches surviving. These remains include two pointed keel arches from one arcade of the mosque and a part of the qibla wall consisting of three keel-arch niches, and probably dated to the 9th century AD.[5][4] The central niche of the qibla wall is larger than the other two and acts as the mihrab, which projects from the outer side of the wall.[6]
