Mosque Albshayr, Askan Alrhmanyt

Known as Masjid al Bashair and located within the Rahmaniya housing estate in Jawa on the southern fringe of Amman, this mosque takes its name from the Arabic word bashair, meaning good tidings or glad news, one of the joyful terms used in the Qur'an to describe the revelations brought by the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family. The name is inspirational, reminding each worshipper who enters that the message of Islam is itself a bashara, a gift of glad tidings meant to guide and console. Jawa lies south of Amman city along the highway toward the Dead Sea, its Rahmaniya suburb developed in recent decades to accommodate the capital's growing population. Jordan's Muslim history connects back to the earliest years after the hijra, for the army of the companions under Khalid ibn al Walid and Abu Ubaydah ibn al Jarrah (God be pleased with him) with them, fought and prayed across these plains at the battle of Yarmouk, and the land contains the tombs of numerous companions including Muadh ibn Jabal at Shuneh and Jafar ibn Abi Talib at Mazar. Early Umayyad desert palaces and mosques such as Qasr al Hallabat continue to punctuate the eastern badia. The regional architectural tradition of Jordan favours pale limestone construction, rounded arches, compact domes over the qibla chamber, slender minarets with tiered balconies, and shaded courtyards cooled by stone paving. Five daily prayers gather the residents of the Rahmaniya suburb, Friday assemblies draw families walking from surrounding villas, tarawih prayers through Ramadan light the hall late into the cool desert evenings, and Eid mornings are followed by family visits and maamoul pastries. Qur'an and tafsir classes meet through the week, and women's study groups gather in the upper gallery. Travellers journeying from Amman's Citadel or the Roman Theatre downhill to the Dead Sea will find this mosque a hospitable point of rest along their route. Annual winter appeals raise significant sums for refugee neighbours arriving from the wider region, and the Rahmaniya management committee partners with Jordanian charitable societies to distribute blankets, heaters and hot meals as the cold Amman nights settle over the hillsides.