City Spotlight

Mosque of Omar (Masjid Omar ibn Al Khattab)

This is where Umar (رضي الله عنه) performed salah after the conquest of Jerusalem by the Muslims in 638 CE. It is near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Patriarch of Jerusalem was showing Umar (رضي الله عنه) around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during which the time for salah occurred. The Patriarch offered a place for him to pray in the church but Umar (رضي الله عنه) refused, explaining to the Patriarch, “Had I prayed inside the church, the Muslims coming after me would take possession of it, saying that I had prayed in it.” Tradition has it that he picked up a stone, threw it outside and prayed at the spot it landed. The present Mosque of Umar (or Masjid-e-Umar) was built over this place by Salahuddin Ayyubi’s son Afdhal Ali in 1193 CE.