HERITAGE SITE | MUSJID AL JANAD

• Like Al-Jâmi’ Al-Kabîr in San’â, this Musjid also dates back to the lifetime of Muhammad PBUH. When the Prophets companion, Mu’adh Bin Jabal RA was sent to Yemen in 628 CE, he began teaching and propagating Islam from the settlement of Al Janad. He constructed a musjid and continued to preach form there and hence the Musjid is also known as the Mu’adh Musjid.

• The settlement of Al-Janad prospered due to its position on the caravan trade route that extended up to the Mediterranean from Southern Arabia, and also as a post on the Muslim, Aden-to-Mecca pilgrimage road later on. The Musjid therefore became an important landmark in the region. With the passage of time, it was renovated by a succession of rulers beginning probably in the tenth century.

• The Musjid that stands today is rectangular in design. It is organized around a central courtyard and features a minaret that dates to Ottoman rule in the seventeenth century. Its exterior walls are crenelated and constructed with whitewashed rubble stone. Inside, thick columns characteristic of the eighth and ninth centuries support the arcades that surround the court.