Saudi Post Qiblatayn Mosque

SAUDI POST - SPL  in 9 November 1988 issued two first day cover stamps of the Qiblatayn Mosque (مسجد القبلتين, literally Mosque of the Two Qiblas), or Masjid al-Qiblatain. The first day cover carried two postmark cancellations: one bearing the Hijrah date in Arabic, and the other bore the Gregorian date in Romanised script.

In circa 1988, during the reign of King Fahd, the mosque was completely torn down and rebuilt. In the course of the reconstruction, the old prayer niche facing Jerusalem was removed, and the one facing Mecca was left.  Hence, these stamps commemorate its reconstruction.

The mosque was originally built by Sawad ibn Ghanam ibn Ka'ab during the year 2 AH (623 CE) and was one of the few mosques in the world to have contained two mihrabs (niches indicating the qibla) in different directions -- from Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem to the Ka’bah in Makkah. Masjid al-Qiblatain remains historically important to Muslims as it is the location where the first congregational prayers were performed following the change; on that day, the Prophet Muhammed (saw) arrived in the afternoon and led his congregation in prayer facing the.Ka’bah in Makkah.

During his time in Makkah, the Prophet Muhammed (saw) used to pray towards Bait-al-Maqdis, with the Ka’bah in front of him. When he migrated to Madinah, he prayed towards Jerusalem for 16 months, but he hoped it would be changed to the Ka’bah. Eventually he received a revelation, as stated in the Quran, Surah al-Baqarah, verse 145, which states the final direction.

Besides the restoration work made in 1988, the mosque has received a number of structural changes  in its 1400 year history. During the reign of Ottoman caliph Sultan Suleiman the Great it was rebuilt. In 1931 (1350 AH) King Abdulaziz Al Saud ordered the restoration and  expansion of the mosque as well as the construction of a minaret and a wall around it. Lastly, in 2019 plans were afoot to enlarge the  mosque to accommodate more people.