This study undertakes a typological and historical analysis of the evidence concerning the presence of non‑Muslims or the prohibition of their entry into prominent mosques during the Umayyad era (41–132 AH). The central problem of the research is to determine at what levels, with which functions, and under the influence of what political and social contexts such presence occurred, and how it relates to later jurisprudential formulations regarding the sanctity and boundaries of mosques. Accordingly, the main research question is formulated as follows: What pattern do the historical sources reveal with regard to the presence of, or restrictions on, non‑Muslims in prominent Umayyad mosques?

The study adopts a descriptive–analytical method, drawing on data collected from primary historical, narrative, geographical, and architectural sources. After assessing the reliability of the sources and their historical contexts, the evidence is analyzed through a fourfold typology comprising technical–architectural, administrative–bureaucratic, scholarly–discursive, and military forms of presence.

The findings indicate that throughout most of the Umayyad period, the presence of non‑Muslims in prominent mosques was largely realized through the first three types, whereas military presence was coercive, exceptional, and normatively condemned. This pattern reflects the fluid and pragmatic nature of historical practice in the Umayyad era, without implying jurisprudential authority for that period. By contrast, an examination of developments from the late first century AH onward shows that, particularly through the policies of ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al‑ʿAzīz, a normative framework prohibiting entry gradually emerged and became institutionalized in mosque jurisprudence.