Masjid Al-Qiblatain (نﯾﺗﻠﺑﻘﻟا دﺟﺳﻣ) is one of the earliest mosques in Islamic history. Located in
the holy city of Medina, the sacred mosque is a unique landmark because of its distinctive
and outstanding history. Back in the day, Masjid Al-Qiblatain was the only mosque
consisting of two Mihrabs – one facing the direction of Ka’bah in Mecca whereas the other
opened up towards Bayt Al-Maqdis of Jerusalem. It can be described as a semi-circular
opening or niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of the
Qiblah. Therefore, the mosque was given the name Masjid Al-Qiblatain– the Mosque with
Two Qiblas.

During the initial years of Islam, Prophet Muhammad and all the Muslims used to pray
facing Bayt Al-Maqdis with the Ka’bah in front of them. Even after Prophet Muhammad
migrated to Medina, he prayed in the direction of Jerusalem for sixteen months. Even
during this time, Prophet Muhammad secretly believed and hoped for the direction of
prayer to be changed to Ka’bah. And then one day during the congregational prayer of
Dhuhr (or as mentioned in some references, Asar), the following Quranic verse of Surah
Al-Baqarah was revealed to Prophet Muhammad:

“Verily, We have seen the turning of your (Muhammad’s) face towards the sky (with the
hope that Jibra’il AS descends with a new revelation related to the Qiblah). Surely, We
shall turn you to a Qiblah (prayer direction) that shall please you, so turn your face in the
direction of Masjidil Haram (in Mecca). And wherever you people are, turn your faces (in
prayer) in that direction.” [Al-Baqarah, 2:144]