What does Masjid al-haram mean?

Islam > Glossary > Masjid al-haram

Discover the meaning of the term Masjid al-haram (مسجد الحرام) in Islamic vocabulary.

Definition Masjid al-haram

Masjid al-haram according to Mu'jam al-Mustalahat al-Fiqhiyya

The Sacred Mosque was so named for its surroundings’ inviolability: its game is not hunted, its trees not cut, so mentioned by Ibn al-Jouzi. Mousjid al-Khayf: al-Jouhari said: the khayf is what is taken of the mountain’s thickness, raised above the watercourse; a mosque at Mina, immense and very vast, with twenty gates; az-Zarqi detailed it, expanding its merit, its measure and what relates to it; its aims mentioned in the Manasik.

Masjid al-haram according to Mu'jam Lughat al-Fuqaha

The mosque encircling the Kaaba. The sacred Mosque.

Masjid al-haram according to At-Ta'rifat al-Fiqhiyya (Al-Barkati)

It is the Kaaba.

Masjid al-haram according to Al-Qamus al-Fiqhi

The venerated Kaaba; in the noble Quran: « from wheresoever you come, turn your face toward the Sacred Mosque’s half; and wheresoever you are, turn your faces toward it » (al-Baqara 105). The mosque encircling the Kaaba; in the noble hadith: « journey but to three mosques: this mosque of mine, the Sacred Mosque, and the Farthest Mosque ». Mecca whole; in the mighty Revelation: « glory to Him who journeyed His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose surrounds We blessed » (al-Isra 1). Mecca with its full sanctuary around; in the glorious Book: « O you who believe, the associators are unclean: let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this their year » (at-Tawba 28).