The mosque was primarily used as a religious building, more specifically for the Islam faith. It was built with the intention of receiving the Caliph, who was said to have ridden a white Egyptian donkey up the outer staircase of the minaret.

The muezzin would stand at the top of the Malwiya Tower (the minaret) and call all the Islam faithful to prayer five times a day. The building was built without the structured pews of Christian churches to encourage everyone to stand together, pray together, and ultimately be on equal ground with the rest of the faithful.