343. Sēla’ / Sila’ | السلع

aṭ-Ṭafīlah Governorate

Masjid

JADIS no. 200 2021

MEGA no. 9214

Coordinates: 30°46'18.5"N 35°35'03.0"E

30.771806, 35.584167

Plan: rectangular with miḥrāb in S wall facing the door in N wall; in the interior four free standing concrete pillars in square arrangement, carrying the concrete roof supported by skeleton concrete beams; in the N wall on both sides of the door high arched windows.

Measurements: unknown.

Exterior: unknown.

Interior: unknown.

Building Materials: local limestone.

Construction details: well-dressed ashlars in horizontal rows and isodomic bondage, in the joints use of mortar. The roof consists of a cast concrete slab.

Preservation: intact, daily used for Muslim prayer by the local community.

Inscription(s): Arabic inscription (1) in relief on a light brown limestone slab, on four lines: Q. 18 al-Jinn, 72 (Transcription and translation by NAt):

Translation: “In the name of Allāh the most Merciful, the most Compassionate. Indeed, the mosques are for Allāh (only), so do not pray to anyone except to Allāh.” 

Inscription (2) is worked in a similar manner in relief on a rectangular limestone slab. It runs on six lines and the letters show traces of a turquoise paint. It starts with the bismillah and quotes from Q. 9 al-Tawba, 18 (Transcription and translation by NAt):

Translation: “In the name of Allāh, the most Merciful, the most Compassionate: Those who maintain the mosques of Allāh are only those who believe in Allāh and the Last Day. (This mosque was) constructed in the days of his Royal Highness ‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Ḥussein in the year 1946 (AD) 1365 H(ijri).”

Date: 1365 H = 1946 AD.

Traveler Reports: none known.

Bibliography: unpublished