Historical Masterpiece of Kairouan and The Great Mosque of Aqba in Tunisia

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“Republic of Tunisia” commonly known as Tunisia is the northern most country in the whole of Africa having its total population around 11million with Tunis as its capital. Official language of the country is Arabic while other languages include French and English. This country offers countless surprising attractions to the tourists on their first visit as Tunisia carries a vast history of ancient empires and dynasties. We find glimpse of some of the major dynasties even in today’s modern world. For instance, Roman Empire, Arabs, Ottoman Empire and French Empire.

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THE GREAT MOSQUE OF KAIROUAN

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When we talk about the Golden history of Tunisia, it is incomplete without highlighting the historical city of Kairouan along with “The Great Mosque of Kairouan”. These both are great gifts for humanity from the Great Arab General “Uqba-bin-Nafe” (May Allah be pleased with him) who was also a Great Companion & Companion of Companions of Holy Prophet ﷺ (Peace Be Upon Him). “The Great Mosque of Kairouan” was built in 670 CE (50^th Hijah, According to the Islamic Calendar)

History is witness that no one ever conquered North Africa from east to west within a short span of just one decade before “Uqba-bin-Nafe” (May Allah be pleased with him), this is the reason why Uqba-bin-Nafe (May Allah be pleased with him) is also known as The Conqueror of Africa. (Includes present day Tunisia, Algeria, Atlantic shores, Morocco and Libya.)

Uqba-bin-Nafe (May Allah be pleased with him) laid the foundation of a Grand Mosque just after establishing a new city of Kairouan. This new Grand Mosque quickly became center of scholars and the first Muslim institute of the continent. This Grand Mosque immediately gained fame all over as “The Great Mosque of Kairouan” or “The Mosque of Uqba”.

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The Great Mosque of Kairouan was not only a Mosque but a political capital, center of prestige and home of intellectuals along with center of commercial and educational life. The Mosque includes the surface area of 9,000 square meters and it is one of the few Mosques which are considered as most prestigious Mosques in the history of Islamic World.

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This Mosque also played a role of model for all the later Mosques built in the Maghreb. Its perimeter is almost equal to 405 meters. In addition, it also carries a prayer hall, a huge marble-paved courtyard and massive square minaret.

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Apart from that the minber of the Mosque is considered as one of the oldest surviving wooden minber. (Minbers are used by the prayer leader for Friday prayer to become more audible and visible to the people).

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Moreover, the Mosque of Uqba is one of the masterpieces of architecture of all time along with the Islamic Art. Many famous personalities also mentioned about this historical and prestigious masterpiece in their works. For instance, The Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke, in one of his works described his admiration for the impressive minaret. Apart from that The French writer Guy de Maupassant mentioned about this architectural masterpiece in his book La vie errante (The Wandering Life).

Even today, this Historical Mosque reflects the glimpse of its glorious past and one of the best architectures of all time. This Great Mosque is also included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Above all,

“The Great Mosque of Kairouan” is considered as a blessing for Muslim World while the city of Kairouan is considered as a blessing and one of the most attractive tourist destination for the rest of the world.

ACCORDING TO THE AUTHOR MUFTI DR S.M. ZUBAIR UL HAQUE

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ORIGINAL CONTENT BY THE AUTHOR IN URDU LANGUAGE:

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ENGLISH TRANSLATED VERSION:

Kairouan is a popular city in West Africa, had been the capital of Africa for so long and the residence of the Governor of Africa. It was founded in 50 AH by the Companions of Holy Prophet ﷺ.

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Hazrat Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) appointed Hazrat Aqaba bin Nafi ‘Fihri (may Allah be pleased with him) as the agent of Africa. The “Barbar” tribe was settled here. Most of these tribes converted to Islam at the hands of Hazrat Aqaba bin Nafi (may Allah be pleased with him) and shared in the conquest of African countries with them. African countries would have been conquered, but since there was no permanent cantonment of Lashkar-e-Islami (Islamic Army), when the Amir-e-Lashkar (Commander of the Army) returned, the “barbaric” nation would have broken its promises and inflicted heavy losses on the Muslims along with the enemies of Islam.

Hazrat Aqaba ibn Nafi ‘(may Allah be pleased with him) intended to set up a cantonment here for security reasons but the place he chose for it was a swampy and dense forest. Apart from human beings, animals and even snakes had to get out of the trees with difficulty.

The Commander of the Army, Hazrat Aqaba bin Nafi ‘was accompanied by 18 of Jalil-ul-Qadr Companions (18 Great Companions of Holy Prophet ﷺ). He took them with him and brought them to this forest where the military wanted to make a cantonment. There, He (may Allah be pleased with him) declared: We, the slaves(followers) of the Prophet ﷺ, want to settle here, so get out of here. If any of you see us here after this announcement, we will kill him.”

It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. Groups of animals began to emerge from here, so the eye of the beholder saw lions, wolves picking up their young, snakes were clearing the forest with their claws. The “Barbarians” who were well acquainted with this terrible forest were seeing it all with their own eyes. This enlightening argument of Islam was reaching their hearts through their eyes, so thousands of “Barbarians” became rich in faith on that occasion and accepted Islam as their religion.

Biologists and geologists were puzzled as to where the effect of the proclamation of Aqaba ibn Nafi ‘came from, which not only compelled but compelled the beasts and beasts to obey.

When all the wild animals cleared the forest and improved their destination, the Muslims established a capital there, and people built houses around it. At the same time, Hazrat Aqaba bin Nafi ‘laid the foundation of the Jama Masjid, but was quite hesitant about the direction of the Qibla (The direction of Holy Kaaba).

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For some time, Muslims used writing (dominant thinking) to perform prayers. One night he was sitting anxiously when suddenly a voice came to him: “When you enter the mosque tomorrow morning, you will hear the sound of takbeer. Go in whichever direction and place you go. When this sound ends, marking it and setting up the wall of the qiblah will be the direction of the qiblah and the wall of the qiblah. So it happened, the direction of the qiblah was determined and all the mosques of Qairawan were built accordingly.

Hazrat Aqaba ibn Nafi ‘(RA) once passed through an African region where there was no sign of water for a long time. The Lashkar-e-Islami was exhausted by intense thirst. The Muslims were lifeless. He turned to Allah and begged for supplications. You hadn’t even finished praying when your horse began to mow the ground. A short time later, a white rock was found, which started leaking water. Hazrat Aqaba ibn Nafi ‘(may Allah be pleased with him) called out to his companions in a loud voice, “People came running, they themselves were filled with water, they watered their horses and dug a pit to collect water.” The place where this stone appeared from which water came out is named as “Maa Al-Fars”.