As the earliest prophetic communities spread out to the lands beyond the blessed cities of Madinah and Makkah, they encountered other peoples, cultures and local sensitivities towards building.

Tasked with establishing themselves permanently and building places of worship in their new environments, they carried with them the principles of the Prophetic Mosque that had been built by the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah, and the guidance they had received.

The earliest communities reaching Syria took from the local Persian, Hellenistic and Byzantine styles and infused them with the light and beauty of Prophetic guidance, just as the Prophet ﷺ had done in Madinah with the local vernacular ways of building. This early endeavour developed much of what we now identify as Islamic architecture. The same took place when the Companions travelled as far as China and early communities entered West Africa.

The Rawḍah Mosque is a humble attempt to continue this Prophetic sunnah and establish a Prophetic mosque rooted in the land in which it is located. Under the guidance of Warwick Pethers, the UK’s pre-eminent architect in the style of the Gothic revival, and our beloved teacher Shaykh Ibrahim Osi-Efa, the mosque is to be established within the Emm Lane building on the Muṣṭafā Mount Site. The early Gothic revival building was built in an architectural style which arguably represents the highest form of spiritual architecture within the western world.

The mosque will form an authentic expression of western Islamic architecture and designed with a deep-rooted understanding from within the tradition. It will provide prayer spaces for over 550 worshippers, including a women’s gallery, library, wudhu facilities, a mortuary and body washing facilities. An outdoor paradise garden will form an extension to the mosque and mirror the main prayer space connecting worshippers to their Creator through the beauty of the natural world.