Mosque Bd Alrhmn Bn Wf

Abdul Rahman ibn Awf, may God be pleased with him, one of the ten companions to whom the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, gave the glad tidings of paradise during his lifetime and among the earliest converts to Islam in Mecca, lends his name to this mosque in the Balata quarter adjoining the Palestinian city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. Abdul Rahman is remembered across the Muslim world as a merchant whose astonishing wealth was matched only by his generosity, whose caravans are recorded as stretching along the horizon as they approached Medina, and whose endowments supported orphans, widows and those in need across the early community. Nablus itself, the ancient Shechem, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Palestine, renowned for its kunafa nabulsiyya, its olive oil soap manufactories and its historic mosques and madrasas threaded through the Qaryun old city. The Balata refugee camp, established in nineteen fifty to shelter families displaced during the nakba, adjoins the southern edge of Nablus and preserves the memory of villages such as Qastina, Jaffa and al Sawafir through the continuing community identities of its families. Architecturally Masjid Abdul Rahman ibn Awf follows a modest Palestinian village style, combining concrete framed walls clad in pale limestone, a single green tiled dome raised above the prayer hall, a short minaret and a forecourt paved in warm stone. Inside, the mihrab is framed by carved inscriptions referring to Abdul Rahman's generosity, the mimbar rises in three timber steps and the carpet is laid in deep green. Daily prayers gather worshippers from the surrounding lanes, the Jumu'ah sermon is delivered in classical Arabic with colloquial Palestinian passages and Ramadan evenings bring iftar of maftoul, musakhan, kunafa and sage tea. Eid mornings fill the camp with the takbirat, and families exchange visits through the narrow alleys. Visitors should dress modestly, remove shoes on the threshold and approach with respect for the enduring difficulties. Nearby stand the old city of Nablus with its covered souq, Jacob's well in the grounds of the Greek Orthodox monastery, the twin hills of Ebal and Gerizim and the ancient ruins of Sebastia crowned by a Crusader cathedral rising above its olive terraces.