302. Rashadīya, ar- | الرشاديّة

aṭ-Ṭafīlah Governorate

Jāmi‘

JADIS no. 2101010

MEGA no. 9828

Coordinates: 30°42'07.0"N 35°37'49.0"E

30.701944, 35.630278

Plan: approximately square with door in the middle of the N wall, flanked on either side by a window; in axis to it miḥrāb in qibla wall S protruding to the exterior. A further door in the NE sector of the E wall, two additional windows open to the E courtyard with tomb of of the local leader in the Great Arab Revolution and parliamentarian since the Emirate: Ḥamad ibn ‘Irās bin Naṣr al-Ḥuwaydāt (born in 1886 - died 1962).

Measurements: 183.58 m²

Exterior: 15 x 15 m

Interior: 13.4 x 13.4 m

Building Materials: Limestone of local origin, most of them in reuse from ancient Roman or Byzantine structures of the site. Recently concrete skeleton technique has been applied for four pillars in the interior with steel cross beams.

Construction details: coarsely squared blocks; old mosque in two-sided masonry with rubble and earth fill, constructed in horizontal courses of irregular isodomic bondage.

Preservation: Intact but abandoned, not in use for prayer.

Inscription(s): Two belonging pseudo-Kufic inscription fragments of recent date have been placed at the W end of the stone-lined tomb of Ḥamad ibn ‘Irās ibn Naṣr al-Ḥuwaydāt. The larger one (1) is a long rectangular limestone slab with smooth frame, displaying the seven verses of Q.1 al-fātiḥa in flat relief:

Translation: “ The opening: In the name of Allāh, the entirely Merciful, the bestower of mercy (2). Praise be to Allāh, the Lord of the Worlds [mankind, jinn and all that exist] (3) The entirely Merciful, the bestower of mercy (4) Master of the Day of Judgment (5) Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek (6) Show us the straight path (7) The path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray. Amen” (Wikipedia) The smaller upper smaller slab (2) of broad rectangular shape mentions only the dates of the burial without giving any name (transcriptions and translations by NAt):

Translation: “2nd of Rājib in the year H(ijri) [...] 8th 12th in the year 1962 AD” (NAt).

Date: Ottoman? Tomb of Ḥamad ibn ‘Irās ibn Naṣr al- Ḥuwaydāt dated by the burial on December 8th, 1962.

Traveler Reports: none known.

Bibliography: published?