Today it serves as the Islamic Calligraphy Museum of Tlemcen.

The mosque was founded in 1296 by the emir Abi Ibrahim ibn Yahya during the Zayyanid era as inscribed on the plank of the western wall in the prayer hall, as well as the two groves made of gypsum on top of the mihrab.

The current name of the mosque is considered derived from the name of the local qadi and ulama Abi al-Hassan who served under the rule of the Sultan Abi Sayeed Uthman (1283-1303).

The mosque has no sahn and uses similar tiles for the floor and the qibla wall.

The ceiling was consisted of interlocking logs made of cedar trees, which is the first of its kind in Algeria and predates three or four centuries the style employed in the Andalusian Moorish architecture.