ʿItbān ibn Mālik ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAjlān al-Khazrajī al-Sālimī al-Anṣārī was a noble Companion, present at Badr. He passed away in the caliphate of Muʿāwiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, in the year 50 AH.
The mosque is called Masjid ʿItbān ibn Mālik because the Prophet ﷺ prayed in a corner of the house of ʿItbān ibn Mālik, so ʿItbān then took that place as his musallā (prayer-place).
It lies to the north of Masjid al-Jumuʿah, in the courtyard facing Masjid al-Jumuʿah.
The Prophet’s ﷺ prayer there
Al-Bukhārī narrates from Maḥmūd ibn al-Rabīʿ al-Anṣārī that ʿItbān ibn Mālik – who was one of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and who had witnessed Badr among the Anṣār – said:
O Messenger of Allah, my eyesight has become weak, and I lead my people in prayer. When the rain falls, the valley between me and them floods, and I am unable to go to their mosque to lead them in prayer. I very much wish, O Messenger of Allah, that you would come and pray in my house so that I may take it as a place of prayer.
He ﷺ said: I will do that, if Allah wills.
ʿItbān continues: So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Abū Bakr came to me when the day had become bright. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sought permission to enter and I gave him permission. He did not sit down when he entered the house and said, ‘Where would you like me to pray in your house?’ I pointed to a corner of the house, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood, and we formed rows behind him. He led us in two rakʿahs, then he gave salām.
