According to an ancient lore, Moulay El-Mekki, whose name the mosque now bears, moved to Rabat after leaving his family – the Shorfa of Ouezzane – following a dispute with his brothers. According to this lore, Moulay El Mekki treated a wealthy merchant of Andalusian origin from an incurable disease, and in gratitude, he gave him his house. It was next to a small sanctuary where Moulay El Mekki usually went to pray and where he was buried when he died in 1731. This oratory, which was then named after him, later served as Zaouïa to the brotherhood of the Touhamiyin and became a mosque in which sermons are given in 1907.