Ajay Kumar at 19:51, 28 September 2023

2023-09-28T19:51:34Z

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{{for|the Abbasid palace in Baghdad|Palace of the Golden Gate}}
{{short description|Architectural dome on the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina, Saudi Arabia}}
{{Infobox religious building
| building_name = Green Dome <br> ''Al-Qubbah Al-Khaḍrāʾ''
| native_name = {{lang|ar|ٱَلْقُبَّة ٱلْخَضْرَاء}}
| native_name_lang = ar
| image = The Green Dome, Masjid Nabawi, Madina.jpg
| alt =
| caption = The Green Dome at the Prophet's Mosque and the Bab [[Al-Baqi Cemetery|Al-Baqi']] Minaret
| map_type = Saudi Arabia#Middle East#West Asia
| map_size =
| map_caption = Location of the Green Dome in Saudi Arabia
| relief = yes
| location = {{nowrap|[[Al-Masjid an-Nabawi]],}}<br> [[Medina]], [[Hejaz]], [[Saudi Arabia]]
| coordinates = {{coord|24|28|03.22|N|039|36|41.18|E|type:landmark_scale:5000_region:SA|display=title|name=Green Dome}}
| religious_affiliation = [[Islam]]
| rite = [[Ziyarat]]
| region = [[Medina Province (Saudi Arabia)|Al-Madinah Province]]
| municipality =
| leadership = ''President of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques'': [[Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais]]
| website =
| architecture = [[Islamic architecture|Islamic]]
| architect =
| architecture_type = Tomb
| established = 678 [[Hijri year|A.H.]] / 1279 [[Common Era|C.E.]]<ref name="Syed" /><ref name="archnet" />
| administration = The Agency of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques
| founded_by = [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]] [[Sultan]] [[Al Mansur Qalawun]]<ref name="archnet" />
| groundbreaking =
| year_completed = 678 A.H. / 1279 C.E.<ref name="Syed" /><ref name="archnet" />
| specifications =
| length =
| width =
| height_max =
| materials = [[Wood]],<ref name="peace" /> [[brick]]<ref name="Meinecke1993" />
}}

The '''Green Dome''' ({{lang-ar|ٱَلْقُبَّة ٱلْخَضْرَاء|al-Qubbah al-Khaḍrāʾ}}) is a green-coloured [[dome]] built above the tombs of the [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]] and the early [[Rashidun Caliphate|Rashidun Caliphs]] [[Abu Bakr]] ({{Reign|632|634}}) and [[Umar]] ({{Reign|634|644}}), which used to be [[Aisha]]'s chamber. The dome is located in the southeast corner of ''[[Al-Masjid al-Nabawi]]'' ("[[mosque]] of [[Muhammad in Islam|the Prophet]]") in [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref name="Peterson">{{Cite book |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0203203873 |last=Petersen |first=Andrew |title=Dictionary of Islamic Architecture |date=2002 |page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofisla00andr/page/183 183] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofisla00andr/page/183}}</ref> Millions visit it every year, since it is a tradition to visit the mosque after or before the [[Hajj|pilgrimage]] to [[Mecca]].

The structure dates back to 1279 [[Common Era|C.E.]], when an unpainted wooden [[cupola]] was built over the tomb. It was later rebuilt and painted using different colours twice in the late 15th century and once in 1817. The dome was first painted green in 1837, and hence became known as the "Green Dome".<ref name="Syed">{{Cite book |publisher=Penerbit UTM |isbn=978-9835203732 |last=Ariffin |first=Syed Ahmad Iskandar Syed |title=Architectural Conservation in Islam: Case Study of the Prophet's Mosque |year=2005 |pages=88–89, 109}}</ref>

==History==
{{see|Al-Masjid an-Nabawi}}
[[File:Burial of Muhammad.jpg|thumb|left|Wall of the Burial]]

Built in 1279 C.E. or 678 [[Hijri year|A.H.]], during the reign of [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]] [[Sultan]] [[Al Mansur Qalawun]],<ref name="archnet">{{cite web| url=http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=10061| title=Prophet's Mosque| publisher=[[ArchNet]]| access-date=2012-04-13| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323131933/http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=10061| archive-date=2012-03-23}}</ref> the original structure was made out of wood and was colourless,<ref name="peace">{{cite web| title=The history of Green Dome in Madinah and its ruling| url=http://peacepropagation.com/2009/06/the-history-of-green-dome-in-madinah-and-its-ruling/| publisher=Peace Propagation Center| date=4 June 2009| access-date=2012-04-13| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110824060013/http://peacepropagation.com/2009/06/the-history-of-green-dome-in-madinah-and-its-ruling/| archive-date=24 August 2011| url-status=dead}}</ref> painted white and blue in later restorations. After a serious fire struck the Mosque in 1481, the mosque and dome had been burnt and a restoration project was initiated by Sultan [[Qaitbay]] who had most of the wooden base replaced by a brick structure in order to prevent the collapse of the dome in the future, and used plates of lead to cover the new wooden dome. The building, including the Tomb of the Prophet, was extensively renewed through Qaitbay's patronage.<ref name="Meinecke1993">{{cite book |first=Michael |last=Meinecke |author-link=Michael Meinecke |title=Mamlukische Architektur |language=de |volume=2 |pages=396–442 |year=1993}}</ref> The current dome was added in 1818 by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[Ottoman Sultan|Sultan]] [[Mahmud II]].<ref name="Peterson" /> The dome was first painted green in 1837.<ref name="Syed" />

When [[Saud bin Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad bin Saud|Saud bin Abdul-Aziz]] took Medina in 1805, his followers, the [[Wahhabis]], demolished nearly every tomb dome in Medina based on their belief that the veneration of tombs and places claimed to possess supernatural powers is an offense against [[tawhid]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia | edition = 2nd| publisher = Brill Academic Publishers| volume = 11| pages = 40, 42| last = Peskes| first = Esther | title = Wahhābiyya | encyclopedia = [[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]| year = 2000 |isbn=9004127569}}</ref> The tomb was stripped of its gold and jewel ornaments, but the dome was preserved either because of an unsuccessful attempt to demolish its hardened structure, or because some time ago [[Ibn Abd al-Wahhab]] wrote that he did not wish to see the dome destroyed despite his aversion to people praying at the tomb.<ref name="Weston2008">{{cite book|author=Mark Weston|title=Prophets and princes: Saudi Arabia from Muhammad to the present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EEEFsVYLko4C&pg=PA102|year=2008|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|isbn=978-0470182574|pages=102–103}}</ref> Similar events took place in 1925 when the [[Ikhwan|Saudi militias]] retook—and this time managed to keep—the city.<ref name="Weston2008b">{{cite book|author=Mark Weston|title=Prophets and princes: Saudi Arabia from Muhammad to the present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EEEFsVYLko4C&pg=PA136|year=2008|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|isbn=978-0470182574|page=136}}</ref><ref name="Cornell2007">{{cite book|author=Vincent J. Cornell|title=Voices of Islam: Voices of the spirit|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8dNKFLJVvNkC&pg=PA84|year=2007|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0275987343|page=84}}</ref><ref name="Ernst2004">{{cite book|author=Carl W. Ernst|title=Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOWn22EkJsQC&pg=PA1173|year=2004|publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press|isbn=978-0807855775|pages=173–174}}</ref> Most of the famous Muslim scholars of the Wahhabi Sect support the decision made by Saudi authorities not to allow veneration of the tomb as it was built much later after the death of Muhammad and considered it as an "innovation".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kya gumbad e Khazra ko gira dena chahye Reply to Bol TV Ulamaa {{!}} Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza |via= YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=AOhOPI97BzQ&feature=youtu.be|access-date=2020-12-13|website=www.youtube.com}}</ref>

==Tomb of Muhammad and early caliphs==
[[File:Muhammad's tomb.png|thumb|left|The site under the green dome: Muhammad's burial according to various traditions. Right to left: Muhammad, Abu Bakr, Umar]]

Muhammad's grave lies within the confines of what used to be his and his wife [[Aisha]]'s house, during the Hijra. During his lifetime, it adjoined the mosque. The first and second Rashidun Caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar, are buried next to Muhammad. Umar was given a spot next to Abu Bakr by [[Aisha]], which had originally been intended for her. The mosque was expanded during the reign of [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad Caliph]] [[al-Walid I]] to include their tombs.<ref name="Syed" /> The graves themselves cannot be seen, as the area is cordoned off by a gold mesh and black curtains.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=2012-02-16|title=Important Sites: The Prophet's Mosque|language=en-US|work=Inside Islam|url=http://insideislam.wisc.edu/2012/02/important-sites-the-prophets-mosque/|access-date=2018-08-13}}</ref>

A fourth vacant spot is believed to be reserved for [[Isa ibn Maryam]] (Jesus) in the event of [[Second Coming|his return]].<ref>"Isa", Encyclopedia of Islam</ref>

The graves and what remains of Aisha's house are enclosed by a 5-sided wall, without doors or windows, built by caliph [[Umar II]]. The irregular pentagon shape was chosen deliberately, to make it look different from 4-sided [[Kaaba]], so to discourage people from performing [[tawaf]] around it. This enclosure was not entered since Qaitbay's reconstruction of 1481. Only this wall, draped in green cloth, can be seen through the grills of the outer wall, which was built several centuries later and is currently accessible to the public.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/AFVqSnE4_yE Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20210413045259/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFVqSnE4_yE Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFVqSnE4_yE| title = Grave and Tomb of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ inside Masjid Nabawi in Madinah | website=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Panorama==
[[File:Madina Haram at evening.jpg|center|thumb|777px|Green Dome and Prophet's Mosque at sunset, view from the east]]

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Raouda.JPG|View from the western side of the Hujra
File:'Madinah Sharif' Indian token.jpg|17th century bronze coin depicting Mamluk era dome which preceded the current dome
File:Burton Nabi.gif|The Green Dome, in [[Richard Francis Burton|Burton]]'s Pilgrimage, {{Circa|1850 CE}}
File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage Arc.pp-0254.11.jpg|The Dome, first photographed in 1880 by [[Muhammad Sadiq (photographer)|Muhammad Sadiq]]
File:Mrs Aisha room.jpg|The grave of Muhammad located inside the quarter seen here
</gallery>

==See also==
{{commons category}}
* ''[[Bayt al-Mawlid]]'', the [[Makkah Al Mukarramah Library|house]] where Muhammad is believed to have been born
* [[Burial places of founders of world religions]]
* [[Destruction of early Islamic heritage sites in Saudi Arabia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}

[[Category:Islamic buildings]]
[[Category:Mosques in Medina]]
[[Category:Mosque buildings with domes]]
[[Category:Al-Masjid an-Nabawi]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in the 13th century]]

Green Dome - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 19:51, 28 September 2023