It is named after Muhammad Daniyal al-Mawsili, a Kurdish Muslim scholar of the Shafi'i school of thought who was buried in the mosque.

Monuments made of granite ending with an angular summit[7] were found in the basement.

The prayer hall itself is a rectangular area with eight corridors through seven marble columns bearing semicircular arches.

[13] Local traditions relate that the tomb of the Prophet Daniel was found at the site of the mosque.

The Caliph Umar affirmed the body to be that of Daniel, and ordered that it be reburied with full security.

[15] However, archaeologists disputed and debunked this story, saying that the entombed was the scholar Muhammad Daniyal al-Mawsili and not the Prophet.