and they had been forbidden to do so. He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is buried in ‘Ā’ishah’s chamber. Her chamber and the other chambers of his wives lay to the east of the mosque and on its qiblah side; they were not part of his mosque. Rather, he would leave the chamber to enter the mosque. During the caliphate of al-Walīd, however, the mosque was enlarged. He was fond of building mosques and undertook building work on the Sacred Mosque, the mosque of Damascus, and others. He therefore ordered his governor, ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz, to purchase the chambers from their owners, who had inherited them from the Prophet’s wives, and incorporate them into the mosque.

It was from that time that the chambers became part of the mosque. This occurred after the deaths of the Companions: after the deaths of Ibn ‘Umar, Ibn ‘Abbās, Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī, and ‘Ā’ishah—indeed, after the deaths of the great majority of the Companions, none of whom remained in Medina. It is reported that Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib disapproved of this. Many of the Companions and their successors had disapproved of ‘Uthmān’s construction of the mosque using stone, plaster, and teak, may Allah be pleased with him; these people were even more averse to what al-Walīd did.

As for ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, he enlarged the mosque but retained its original manner of construction: mud bricks, palm-trunk pillars, and a roof of palm fronds. It is not reported that anyone disapproved of what ‘Umar did. The disagreement concerned only what ‘Uthmān and al-Walīd did.

During the time of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, anyone wishing to offer the Prophet salutations of peace would approach him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, from the western side of the chamber and offer salutations, either facing the chamber