A tiny hamlet known as Hantous once stood by the seaside in
Beirut's southern suburbs. Today all that remains of this
settlement is a small 8th century mosque built in the Abbasid
era.
The mosque itself is very simple, with an
elongated design built in two different periods. The older
part, which bears the marks of relatively recent
remolding, has a prayer hall with a marble
plaque
dated 1902 set above the mihrab. The plaque bears the name of
Imam Abdul-Rahman al Ouzai, who was born in Baalbeck in 706
and died in Beirut 774. Imam Ouzai was a personage celebrated
for his piety as well as his knowledge of theology and law. To
the west of the prayer hall is another square room which has a
raised floor and is covered with a cupola.
The modern part of the mosque, built in the
mid-19th century, has a small prayer hall and the marble tomb
of the Imam surrounded by a wooden enclosure. The simple
cylindrical minaret was built in 1939
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