[4] The mosque was reportedly built in part from spolia from the Himyarite-era Ghumdan Palace and from the Axumite Christian Church of al-Qalis that formerly occupied the site.

[3] The mosque, commissioned by Muhammad, who instructed for its construction within the garden of the Persian governors,[6] was built upon the ruins of Sheba's Ghumdan Palace,[1] between the two areas of Sana'a at the time: al-Qati and al-Sirar.

Many of the archaeological finds discovered in the Great Mosque substantiate an argument for its construction to the era when Muhammad was alive, including several spolia from the Axumite Cathedral as well as from the Sabaean Ghumdan Palace.

[4] During the 7th century, the remains of pre-Islamic Sana'a were largely destroyed[5] when it became the center for the spread of the Islamic faith during the early years of the Hijrah.

[4] It is an Ottoman building that resembles the Ka'ba in Mecca, however, it is argued that the two are not connected due to the alternating layers of colored materials, which is an ablaq technique, predating Islam within the region.

[4] Further evidence of this relation is an inscription in the pre-Islamic language of the region, Sabaic,[3] in a reused stone arch support implies it is connected to Byzantine architecture.

[9] Four thousand rare Arabic manuscripts were also uncovered that are linked to the start of Islam, the Umayyad period, and Sheba's Palace of Ghamdan and its destruction.

Other archaeological finds at the Great Mosque are remnants of vaults and old buildings connected to the capital when it contained the Axumite Church of al-Qalis, unearthed in 2006.

[5] Preservation of the Great Mosque, which is of exceptional religious and historical value, has been supported by UNESCO's World Heritage Institute of Training and Research-Asia and Pacific (Shanghai).

Other improvements have been made to the water supply and sewerage systems, as well as the removal of old buildings that do not match the historical and architectural features of the mosque.