Table Of ContentDan Gibson
EARLY ISLAMIC QIBLAS
A survey of mosques built between
1AH/622 C.E. and 263 AH/876 C.E.
BY
DAN GIBSON
With maps, charts and photographs
VANCOUVER
Published by
INDEPENDENT SCHOLARS PRESS
2017
1
Early Islamic Qiblas
Early Islamic Qiblas (Updated edition)
Copyright Dan Gibson © 2017
Published by ISP (Independent Scholars Press is an imprint of CanBooks, Vancouver, Canada.)
All rights reserved. No part of this printed book may be reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic,
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system
without the written permission of the author except in the case of quotations embodied in critical articles
and reviews. This printed book may only be reproduced with the permission of the author.
This updated edition contains changes to the Cheraman Juma Mosque in India, and the Umayyad Mosque
on the Amman citadel to bring them in line with more recent research.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gibson, Daniel 1956 -
Early Islamic Qiblas: A survey of mosques built between 1AH/622 C.E. and 263 AH/876 C.E. / Dan
Gibson
p. cm. - (Studies in antiquity and early Islam)
Includes bibliographic references and index
ISBN: 978-1-927581-22-3
1. Islamic Empire - History 622-661
2. Islamic Empire - History 661-75- - Historiography
3. Middle East - Civilization - History 0 To 622 - Historiography
Other books by the same author:
The Nabataeans, Builders of Petra
Qur’ānic Geography
The author can be reached at: [email protected]
Contact Ingram to order copies
2
Dan Gibson
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Qiblas 3
Qibla Data 5
The Short List and Maps 8
Individual Mosques 11
Qubā Mosque 12
Mosque of the Prophet 15
Qiblatain Mosque 17
Janad Mosque 18
Guangzhou Grand Mosque 19
Jowatha Mosque 21
Cheraman Juma Mosque 22
‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb Mosque 23
Hama al’Kabīr Mosque 25
Mosque of the Prophet Yunus 27
Kūfa Mosque 28
‘Amr ibn -Al-As Mosque 30
Hala Sultan Tekke 31
Mosque of Sidi ‘Ukba 32
Dome of the Rock 33
Qaṣr Humeima 34
Ṣan’ā Grand Mosque 36
Khirbat al Minya 38
Wāsiṭ Great Mosque 41
Amman Umayyad Mosque 43
Tarik Khana Mosque 45
Mihrab introduced 46
Al-Aqṣa Mosque 47
Jāmi’ al-Umawi al-Kabīr 49
Khirbat al-Mafjar 51
‘Anjar Palace Mosque 53
al Umawi al Kabīr Mosque 55
al Khamis Mosque 56
Mosque of Boṣra 57
3
Early Islamic Qiblas
Mosque of Ruṣāfa 59
Grand Hussein Mosque 60
Qaṣr al Hayr al Gharbi 61
Banbhore Mosque 63
Qaṣr al- Hayr al Sharqi 65
Amman Umayyad Palace 67
al-Zaytūna Mosque 69
Ba’albeck Mosque 71
First mention of Mecca in literature 73
Huajuexiang Mosque 75
Mushatta Palace 76
Ḥarrān Mosque 78
Fenghuang Mosque 80
Shibām Palace 81
Mosque of Manṣūr 82
Qaṣr Ukhaydir 83
Ribāṭ Fortress 85
Be’er Ora Qiblatain 87
Sahī Ramdah Mosque 88
Suma’il Omani Mosque 89
Raqqa Mosque 91
Ishfan 92
Job’s Tomb Shrine 93
Bibi Samarkand 94
Córdoba Mosque 96
Shrine of Kazmiyya 98
Uqba Ibn Nafi’ Mosque 100
Great Mosque of Sāmarra 102
Great Mosque of Sūsa 103
Abu Dulaf Mosque 105
Mosque of the Three Doors 106
Shibām Aqyan Jāmi’ al Kabīr 107
Ibn Ṭūlūn 108
Ansaq Friday Mosque 109
Masjid i Jāmi’ Fahraj 110
Ṣalālah Al Balīd Mosque 111
Summary of Qiblas 113
iv 4
Dan Gibson
The Accuracy of Google Earth 115
Obtaining Qibla Calculations 121
The Qibla Misunderstanding 127
Could the Arabs accurately determine Qiblas 135
Examining an account 135
Arab and Chinese astronomy 136
Navigation by the stars likely developed on land, not on the seas 138
What Tools Were Available? 139
Using Qiyās 139
Some Basic Tools 142
The origins of western longitude 143
Distance, not time 144
Arabic poetry 146
The Arab Compass 147
Al-Jāh and Bashī values 150
Lunar Time 151
Lunar Mansions 153
Arab Calendar 156
The Astrolabe 158
Sun location 160
Nautical manuals 160
Compass 160
Mountain Peaks 160
Pythagorean Theorem 161
Getting into a navigator’s mind 162
Using ishārāt or “local guides” 163
Basic Information 165
The Portolan Method 167
Pigeons 168
Mathematical Solutions 169
Summary 170
When Did the Qibla Change? 172
Addendum 180
Supporting Evidence 183
The original Holy City had clay and loam 183
The Holy City is called Bacca in Qur’ān 184
Earthquakes may give the valley its name 188
5v
Early Islamic Qiblas
The well of Zamzam 188
The Qur’ān’s attention on northern Arabia 189
The Holy City’s high and low side 190
The Holy City could be entered by a crack in the rock 191
The Holy City had walls 193
The Holy City has a stream from one mountain to another mountain 193
The Zumurrud 194
The Petra region contains mention of gods found in the Qur’ān, hadiths and histories 195
Petra was the centre of a twice yearly pilgrimage 196
Petra is missing in all early Islamic literature 199
The sacred area was marked out by large stones 200
Games of chance 201
Battle for Medina (The Battle of the Trench) 202
Battle with the Banu Lihyan 203
Al-Ḥajjāj and the city of Khaybar 204
The order of the Battle for Mecca 205
The back way into the Holy City 206
The current location of the Quraysh tribe 208
The lack of evidence from north and south of Mecca 209
Khālid’s pilgrimage 210
Trebuchet Stones 215
The Cave of Ḥirā’ 215
More Supporting Evidence 219
The “Mother of All Cities” 219
Described as the “center of the trade route” 220
Mecca missing on early maps 221
The Holy City produced large armies 222
There is scarce rainfall in Mecca 222
The original Holy City had grapes growing in it 222
The original Holy City had trees 223
Grass grew in the original Holy City valley 223
The origins of the Black Stone 223
Cartographic evidence 226
The Abbasid writers 228
Literary Vacuum 230
The Abbāsid historians 234
The Petra origins of Arabic Language 237
v6i
Dan Gibson
What about Jerusalem and Al-Aqṣa Mosque? 238
Location of Al Bayḍā 241
Location of Aqaba 241
Location of Ṭā’if and nearby locations 249
Nakhlah and other locations 253
Public Baths 254
Arafah and Mīnā 255
Markets 260
Camping Spots 262
Islamic Petra 263
Qarmatian rebellion 270
Conclusion 271
Bibliography 273
Index 288
7
Early Islamic Qiblas
v8iii
Dan Gibson
Dedication and Acknowledgements
This book is dedicated to all the men and women who have endeavored to help me in my research
and the eventual publishing of this book.
First and foremost I must acknowledge Dr. George E. Kelsey who influenced my life in many ways.
Besides instilling in me a love and appreciation for the Arabic language, he influenced my thinking
in more ways than could be expressed here. One small event, however, will always stand out in my
mind. I was just over twenty two years of age when he tossed me his car keys and surprisingly asked
me to drive some visiting scholars to the ancient city of Petra. It was to be my first of over sixty visits
to this amazing city. Over the years I drove many of Dr. Kelsey’s friends to ancient sites and from
each of them I learned a great deal, never imagining that some years later I would be building on that
knowledge and uncovering some amazing facts about the history of Arabia.
Second, I must acknowledge Gerald Longjohn, who also influenced my life in many ways. In 1981 he
asked me if I wanted to go visiting with him. Those visits changed my life. During that year we visited
many of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates, and I ended up spending hours sitting with
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan who loved to tell stories of the old life in the desert before the
coming of oil. From Sheikh Shakhbut I learned the value of sitting with the older men and listening
to them account stories of the old days. Much has been lost during the last few decades, and there are
few who can recount the old stories any more.
Third I would like to acknowledge the advice and encouragement given by the late Dr. Andrew Rip-
pin. Always kind and considerate, he was quick to point out areas that needed improvement, and
resources that I had not yet discovered.
Last, I would like to dedicate this book to the many people who have enriched my research and influ-
enced my thinking over the years. I list their names below in alphabetical order:
Dr. Andrew G Bannister, Melbourne School of Theology
Prof. Juan Antonio Belmonte, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
Joseph P. Elacqua, Ph.D candidate at Leiden University
Prof. Dr. Saba Farès, Toulouse University - Jean Jaurès
Sébastien Garnier (EHESS-Paris)
Alain Jean-Mairet, Switzerland
9
Early Islamic Qiblas
Dr. Jeffrey Kotyk, Leiden University
Dr. Ahmed Amine Khelifa, Indpendent Researcher, France
Dr. Dietrich Kuhl MA, Chairman of the Board of the Institute of Islamic Studies of
the Evangelical Alliance of Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Duane Alexander Miller, PhD; Lecturer and Researcher in Muslim-Christian Rela
tions; The Christian Institute of Islamic Studies (San Antonio, Texas); author of Liv
ing among the Breakage and Two Stories of Everything: The Competing Metanarratives
of Islam and Christianity.
Dr. Andreas Neumann, author of Rechtsgeschichte, Rechtsfindung und Rechtsfortbil
dung im Islam (Hamburg 2012)
W. Richard Oakes, Jr., PhD from the University of Edinburgh
Abdurrahim Ozer, Instructor, History Department, Bilkent University, Turkey
Jerome Parker, Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne” History Dep. Alumnus, Independant
Scholar
Seth Vitrano-Wilson
I am sure there are many more names that I should include in this list, and I apologize
to anyone who was overlooked. Some scholars on this list provided support, some asked good
questions, and some worked long hours helping me proof the manuscript and address issues
that I had missed. I am sure there are still some errors in this book, and I full credit for hav-
ing slipped up on them. If you have any trouble, please email me, or visit my YouTube page
and ask the questions there.
Once again I want to thank so many people, including my own family who have been sup-
portive over the years and helpful during the long winter months that I worked on writing
up this project.
Dan Gibson
1x0
Description:A survey of mosques built between 1AH/622 C.E. and 263 AH/876 C.E.
