The Prophet’s Mosque (Historical Glance)

In 622 CE, when Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) immigrated to Madinah, he built a mosque next to his house. The mosque was an open-air building with a platform for reciting Qur'an. Since then, the mosque has been known as the Prophet's Mosque.

The mosque was first built with palm trunks and mud walls. At that time, it had three gates: one to the south in the direction of qiblah (direction of Prayer); Bab Al-Rahmah (Gate of Mercy) to the west; and Bab Jibril (Gate of Gabriel) to the east.

When the mosque was built, the qiblah had been facing Jerusalem, the first Muslims' qiblah. Later on, in 621 CE, the direction was changed to the south toward Makkah right after the Prophet's Al-Israa' and Al-Mi`raj (Night Journey and Ascension).

  Over time, the Prophet's Mosque witnessed many expansions to accommodate the growing number of Muslims who usually go there for visiting the Prophet's grave and complete their `Umrah and Hajj rituals. It is worthy to mention here that the first expansion operation of the Prophet's mosque was in 629 CE.

  At the Prophet's time, the mosque had an extensive role since it stood as the center of the city community. It was also considered a religious school and a court.

Source : http://www.onislam.net