The Prophet's Mosque
Madinah, Saudi Arabia · Where the Prophet ﷺ built the first Muslim state
The second holiest place in Islam, founded by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. It contains the Rawdah, a garden from the gardens of Paradise.
Did you know?
- The Prophet ﷺ built it with his own hands alongside his Companions, from mud bricks and palm trunks, with a roof of palm fronds.
- The Green Dome rises above the noble chamber; it was first built in the Mamluk era and later painted green in Ottoman times.
- It contains the noble Rawdah between the Prophet's ﷺ house and his minbar, where visitors hasten to pray.
- Its courtyards are shaded by giant umbrellas that open and close automatically to protect worshippers from the sun.
History and architecture
When the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Madinah as an emigrant, his camel knelt on a plot of land belonging to two orphans. He bought it and began building the mosque with his own blessed hands, carrying bricks with his Companions as they chanted. It was a simple building: mud walls, pillars of palm trunks and a roof of palm fronds. Yet it was the seat of government, a school of knowledge, a council for consultation and a shelter for the poor of Ahl al-Suffah. After his death ﷺ he was buried in the chamber of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) beside the mosque, and later his two Companions Abu Bakr and Umar were buried next to him. Expansions followed under caliphs and dynasties until the noble chamber was enclosed within the mosque, the Green Dome rose above it, and today the mosque holds hundreds of thousands of worshippers. In the Rawdah stand pillars with historic names, such as the Pillar of Repentance and the Pillar of Aisha, where visitors seek to pray.
Founded: 1 AH / 622 CE
Religious significance
The Prophet ﷺ said: “A prayer in this mosque of mine is better than a thousand prayers elsewhere, except al-Masjid al-Haram” (Bukhari and Muslim).
The Prophet ﷺ said: “What lies between my house and my minbar is a garden from the gardens of Paradise” (Bukhari and Muslim).
It is the second of the three mosques to which people may set out on a special journey (Bukhari and Muslim).
It is Sunnah for the visitor to greet the Prophet ﷺ with salam, then his two Companions Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), with courtesy and calm.
Visiting tips
- Best time: After the Fajr prayer or between Isha and midnight. A visit to the Rawdah must be booked in advance through the official approved app.
- Photography: From the outer courtyards when the umbrellas open at sunrise or sunset, with the Green Dome and the minarets in the background.
- Nearby: Quba Mosque, Mount Uhud and the Martyrs of Uhud Cemetery, Al-Baqi Cemetery, Masjid al-Qiblatayn
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Where is The Prophet's Mosque?
The Prophet's Mosque is in Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
When was The Prophet's Mosque founded?
1 AH / 622 CE