As-Sahabah Mosque | |
Native Name: | مسجد الصحابة |
Native Name Lang: | ar |
Map Type: | Libya |
Map Size: | 275 |
Coordinates: | 32.7614°N 22.6424°W |
Religious Affiliation: | Sunni Islam |
Location: | Derna, Libya |
Festivals: | --> |
Region: | Cyrenaica |
Organizational Status: | --> |
Religious Features: | Modern 20th-century mosque built next to a 7th-century Muslim cemetery |
Architecture Type: | mosque |
Architecture Style: | Modern |
Year Completed: | 1975 |
Date Destroyed: | --> |
Dome Quantity: | Many (uncountable) |
Minaret Quantity: | 1 |
Shrine Quantity: | 3 |
Elevation Ft: | --> |
The As-Sahabah Mosque (Arabic: مسجد الصحابة) is a mosque located at the Maydan Al-Sahaba Square in the city of Derna, Libya.[1] It was built in the 1970s on the site of a cemetery containing the graves of the Sahaba who were slain by the Byzantine armies during the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb.[2] Within the grounds of the mosque is an attached cemetery containing the tomb of Zuhayr ibn Qays al-Balawi and at least seventy Muslim soldiers involved in the Battle of Mamma.
After the Battle of Mamma in 688, Zuhayr ibn Qays al-Balawi was killed[3] along with his fellow generals (also Sahabah), Abdullah ibn Barr al-Qayisi and Abu Mansur al-Farsi, along with the rest of the returning Muslim forces. They were buried in what would be present day Derna.[4] During the Ottoman period, three shrines for Zuhayr, Abdullah and Abu Mansur were built. The cemetery was also called "Muhammad Bey Cemetery" but eventually the locals would change its name to "Sahaba Cemetery."In 1970, the people of Derna volunteered to fund a project for a construction of a new mosque next to the cemetery. Construction work started in 1970, and the mosque was eventually opened in 1975.
The cemetery of the Sahabah is attached to the mosque. Three domed tombs are present, and these tombs are built over the graves of Zuhayr ibn Qays al-Balawi, Abu Mansur al-Farsi and Abdullah ibn Barr al-Qayisi. At least seventy martyrs are buried in the cemetery, but it has all been plastered over, save for the three aforementioned tombs.
In 2012, a bomb was detonated in the As-Sahabah Mosque compound.[5] The explosion damaged the mosque[6] and completely destroyed the tomb of Zuhayr ibn Qays al-Balawi. The destruction of the shrine caused the body of Zuhayr to accidentally be uncovered, where it was found to have been almost uncorrupt.[7] The tombs of Abdullah ibn Barr and Abu Mansur were also attacked with bulldozers.[8]
The advent of Storm Daniel in 2023 resulted in two dams collapsing due to excessive rainfall.[9] The collapse of the two dams resulted in a huge flood, which ravaged the city of Derna.[10] The As-Sahabah Mosque was damaged by the flood and its surroundings were water-logged.