MUSJID KHALID IBN AL-WALID
How to get here:
The city of Hims is about a 2 hours’ drive north of Damascus. The musjid is a major landmark in the city and is situated on the main Fares Al Khouri Road.
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The Musjid was constructed during the Ottoman-era and is perhaps the most famous monument in the city. It houses the tomb of the great commander of Islam, Khalid Ibn al-Walid RA
Khalid RA was born in Mecca in 592 and passed away in Himsin 642. He was responsible for leading the Muslim armies to conquer much of modern-day Syria and the region along the Euphrates River in modern-day Iraq.
While lying on his deathbed he remarked, “I participated in over a hundred battles and there is no place on my body the sizeof a hand span that has not received a blow from a sword or been pierced by an arrow or spear. But here I am, dying on my bed as a camel dies. May the cowards never prosper… I sought death in the places where it may be sought, but it was only decreed that I should die on my own bed.”
The site of the Musjid was originally a cemetery, with a small Musjid constructed next to the tomb in the late 7th century. In 1265, during the Mamluk period, a larger Musjid was constructed at the site. That Musjid remained standing until the Ottoman governor Nazim Hussein Pasha ordered its demolition to begin construction of the present-day Musjid.