Prophet Daniel Shrine

The Mosque of Prophet Daniel is located in the Hudayra Al Sada area in Mosul, specifically in a neighborhood historically known as the Jewish Quarter.

It is one of the oldest mosques in the city, dating back hundreds of years. It is recounted that it was originally a church before being converted into a mosque in the Islamic era, and it is officially registered in Mosul's real estate and municipal records under the name of the Mosque of Prophet Daniel.

The mosque is associated with the name of Prophet Daniel, a prophet sent to the Children of Israel and a descendant of Prophet David. He lived in the seventh century BC, when he was taken captive by the soldiers of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar and placed in his court. There he mastered the sciences and language of the Chaldeans and excelled in interpreting dreams until he gained a special position with the king.

Multiple accounts exist regarding his burial place, one pointing to the city of Susa in Iran, another to Cyprus, and a third connecting his resting place to the city of Mosul, whose famous mosque bears his name to this day. Islamic narrations report that the Prophet Muhammad said: "Whoever guides Daniel, give him glad tidings of paradise", reflecting the lofty station this noble prophet holds in the Islamic conscience.

It was originally a Jewish temple, then a Christian church, before being converted into a mosque in the Islamic era. It contains two domes, three minarets, and four shrines attributed to Daniel, Hananiah, Ezra, and Michael, prophets of the Children of Israel. Its minaret, built from brick during the Ottoman era, rises as a navigational landmark visible from all parts of the citadel, and it is surrounded by arches and vaults whose style dates to the late Mongol or early Timurid era in the ninth Hijri century.

The Mosque of Prophet Daniel in Mosul is frequented by many visitors from the city, neighboring governorates, and surrounding countries, confirming the spiritual standing this ancient name holds in the conscience of the region. The Jewish Quarter in which it stands also bears witness to accumulated layers of history and civilizational diversity that Mosul has known through the centuries, as this area gathered simultaneously temples, mosques, and churches, just as the city in its life gathered the sons of different religions and cultures who together shaped Mosul's authentic civilizational face.