جامع ومقام الخليفة عمر بن عبدالعزيز

Honoured across the Syrian city of Homs, Jami wa Maqam al Khalifah Umar ibn Abd al Aziz combines a mosque with the shrine of one of the most beloved rulers in all of Islamic history. Homs, known in antiquity as Emesa, was opened to Islam in 637 under the leadership of the companion Khalid ibn al Walid (may God be pleased with him), whose tomb still graces the city and draws pilgrims from every corner of the Muslim world. In the Umayyad period, Homs became a wealthy provincial capital, and successive generations raised mosques, madrasas, and shrines throughout its streets. The city's earth is soaked in the memory of companions, scholars, and pious rulers who lived, prayed, and were buried here.
Umar ibn Abd al Aziz (may God have mercy on him) ruled for only two years and five months during the Umayyad era, yet he is remembered as a ruler who broke with worldly extravagance, restored unjustly seized property to its rightful owners, lived in a simple house with his pious wife Fatimah bint Abd al Malik, and, according to the historians, brought the tax registers close to balance because the poor had become few. The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, taught that God will raise at the head of every century someone who will renew the faith, and many scholars have identified Umar ibn Abd al Aziz as the renewer of his time. The shrine at Homs marks the place where he was buried after his death in 720 in the nearby village of Dayr Sim'an.
Pilgrims arriving at this mosque enter through a modest stone gateway, remove their shoes, and pass into a calm prayer hall with arched niches and carpeted floors. The attached shrine chamber holds the tomb beneath a dignified cover, and visitors offer Fatihah for the noble caliph without any form of intermediation besides sincere remembrance. Daily prayer times for Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha at the mosque and shrine are listed on this page to serve pilgrims, local residents of Homs, and travellers crossing central Syria seeking the gentle light of this blessed place.