Back to search

Is the Mosque of the Two Qiblahs the mosque that witnessed the change of the Qiblah during prayer, or was it named as such because the verses of the change of the Qiblah were revealed therein?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The Qibla was changed in more than one mosque, including Quba Mosque and Banu Harithah Mosque. As for the Mosque of the Two Qiblas (Masjid al-Qiblatayn), its name is due to the change of the Qibla within it during the prayer of the Prophet, peace be upon him, in Banu Salamah Mosque. Muhammad ibn Sa'd mentioned that the Prophet, peace be upon him, visited Umm Bishr, and the time for Dhuhr prayer arrived, so he was commanded to face the Kaaba and turned towards it. Ibn Kathir and others mentioned that the revelation regarding the change of the Qibla descended upon the Messenger, peace be upon him, while he was praying two rak'ahs of Dhuhr in Banu Salamah Mosque, thus it was named the Mosque of the Two Qiblas. As for the people of Quba, the news did not reach them until the Fajr prayer on the following day, so they turned towards the Kaaba. These are historical accounts from which no action is derived, and it is not recommended for a visitor to Medina to specifically intend to visit these sites.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy