Mosque Hmzt Abn Bd Almtlb Yn Alabl

Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib, may God be pleased with him, uncle of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, and the martyr of Uhud whom the Prophet honoured with the title sayyid al shuhada, the lord of the martyrs, lends his name to this village mosque in the Djelfa province of the Algerian high plateau. Hamza embraced Islam in the year six of the prophetic mission after hearing of the harassment suffered by his nephew at the hands of Abu Jahl, and his conversion is remembered across the Muslim world as a turning point in the early Meccan period. His martyrdom on the battlefield of Uhud, his burial by the Prophet's own hands, and the Prophet's tears over his lifeless body are among the most moving passages of the early seerah. Djelfa province itself sits on the Algerian high plateau at an altitude of more than a thousand metres, its landscape one of stony steppe, scattered wadis and pastures grazed by flocks of sheep that supply the wool for the celebrated Djelfa rugs sold across North Africa. The village of Ain el Bell, whose name refers to a spring of fresh water, preserves a small rural character, its streets lined with low cement rendered houses and its fields producing wheat and barley. Architecturally the mosque follows a restrained Algerian village style, combining whitewashed plaster walls, a modest dome finished in pale cream, a single square minaret in the Maghrebi manner with a crenellated parapet and a forecourt paved in poured concrete swept clean each dawn. Inside, the mihrab is framed by painted plaster and geometric zellige, the mimbar rises in three timber steps and the carpet is laid in dark red. Daily prayers gather shepherds and farmers, the Jumu'ah sermon is delivered in classical Arabic with passages in Algerian darija and Ramadan evenings bring iftar of harira, chebakia, dates, mint tea and makrout prepared by rotating families. Eid mornings fill the sandy forecourt with families in fresh djellabas. Visitors should dress modestly, leave shoes on the tile threshold and respect the quiet. Nearby lie the Atlas mountain slopes, the Roman remains of Zaccar and the endless Saharan expanses stretching south through Ghardaia and Ouargla towards the Hoggar highlands beyond.