The Prophet's Mosque

Under Muhammad and the Rashidun (622–660)

The mosque was built by Muhammad in 622 after his arrival in Medina. Riding a camel called Qaswa, he arrived at the place where this mosque was built, which was being used as a burial ground. Refusing to accept the land as a gift from the two orphans, Sahl and Suhayl, who owned the land, he bought the land which was paid for by Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, and it took seven months to complete the construction of the mosque. It measured 30.5 m × 35.62 m (100.1 ft × 116.9 ft). The roof which was supported by palm trunks was made of beaten clay and palm leaves. It was at a height of 3.60 m (11.8 ft). The three doors of the mosque were the Bāb ar-Raḥmah (بَاب ٱلرَّحْمَة, "Gate of the Mercy") to the south, Bāb Jibrīl (بَاب جِبْرِيْل, "Gate of Gabriel") to the west, and Bāb an-Nisāʾ (بَاب ٱلنِّسَاء, "Gate of the Women") to the east. At this time point in the history of the mosque, the wall of the qibla was facing north to Jerusalem, and the Suffah was along the northern wall. In the year 7 AH, after the Battle of Khaybar, the mosque was expanded to 47.32 m (155.2 ft) on each side, and three rows of columns were built beside the west wall, which became the place of praying. The mosque remained unaltered during the reign of Abu Bakr.

Umar demolished all the houses around the mosque, except those of Muhammad's wives, to expand it. The new mosque's dimensions became 57.49 m × 66.14 m (188.6 ft × 217.0 ft). Sun-dried mud bricks were used to construct the walls of the enclosure. Besides strewing pebbles on the floor, the roof's height was increased to 5.6 m (18 ft). Umar constructed three more gates for entrance. He also added Al-Buṭayḥah (ٱلْبُطَيْحَة) for people to recite poetry.

The third Rashidun caliph Uthman demolished the mosque in 649. Ten months were spent in building the new rectangular shaped mosque whose face was turned towards the Kaaba in Mecca. The new mosque measured 81.40 m × 62.58 m (267.1 ft × 205.3 ft). The number of gates as well as their names remained the same. The enclosure was made of stones laid in mortar. The palm trunk columns were replaced by stone columns which were joined by iron clamps. Teakwood was used in reconstructing the ceiling filza.

Umayyad era

In 706 or 707, the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I (r. 705–715) instructed his governor of Medina, the future caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, to significantly enlarge the mosque and carried out the fourth and most monumental expansion of the mosque. According to the architectural historian Robert Hillenbrand, the building of a large scale mosque in Medina, the original center of the caliphate, was an "acknowledgement" by al-Walid of "his own roots and those of Islam itself" and possibly an attempt to appease Medinan resentment at the loss of the city's political importance to Syria under the Umayyads.

Abbasid era

The Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi (r. 775–785) extended the mosque to the north by 2,450 square metres (26,400 sq ft), the fifth expansion of the mosque which took four years to complete. His name was also inscribed on the walls of the mosque. He also planned to remove six steps to the minbar, but abandoned this idea, fearing damage to the wooden platforms on which they were built. The project required the demolition of the two northern minarets of al-Walid's time but they were replaced by two new towers at the northern corners of the new expansion. According to an inscription of Ibn Qutaybah, the caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833) did "unspecified work" on the mosque. Al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861) lined the enclosure of Muhammad's tomb with marble. In 1257–58 Al-Musta'sim wanted to carry out a renovations program of the mosque but the renovation was interrupted by the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258.

The modern-day mosque is situated on a rectangular plot and is two stories tall. The Ottoman prayer hall, which is the oldest part of the mosque, lies towards the south. It has a flat paved roof topped with 27 sliding domes on square bases. Holes pierced into the base of each dome illuminate the interior when the domes are closed. The sliding roof is closed during the afternoon prayer (Dhuhr) to protect the visitors. When the domes slide out on metal tracks to shade areas of the roof, they create light wells for the prayer hall. At these times, the courtyard of the Ottoman mosque is also shaded with umbrellas affixed to freestanding columns. The roof is accessed by stairs and escalators. The paved area around the mosque is also used for prayer, equipped with umbrella tents. The sliding domes and retractable umbrella-like canopies were designed by the German Muslim architect Mahmoud Bodo Rasch, his firm SL Rasch GmbH, and Buro Happold.

The Rawda

Al-Rawḍah Al-Sharīfah (Arabic: ٱلرَّوْضَة ٱلشَّرِيْفَة, lit. 'The Noble Garden') is an area between the minbar and the burial-chamber of Muhammad (under the Green Dome). It is regarded as one of the Riyāḍ al-Jannah (Arabic: رِيَاض ٱلْجَنَّة, lit. 'Gardens of the Paradise'). The area is distinguished by its marked columns and a green carpet, which historically contrasted with the red carpet used throughout the rest of the mosque. This distinction was eliminated when the carpeting throughout the mosque was later replaced with green. The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah lists the digital application Nusuk as the channel for booking appointments and issuing permits to visit Al-Rawda Al-Sharifah.

The Green Dome

The Sacred Prophetic Chamber adjacent to the Rawda holds the tombs of Muhammad and two of his companions and fathers-in-law, Abu Bakr and Umar. A fourth grave is reserved for ʿĪsā (Jesus), as Muslims believe that he will return and will be buried at the site. The site is covered by the Green Dome, which was originally built as a wooden dome by Mamluk sultan Qalawun in 1279 and then replaced by a stone dome by Mamluk sultan Qaitbay in 1467. It was replaced by a new dome again in 1817, during the reign of the Ottoman sultan Mahmud II. This version was built in brick, covered in lead, and painted green in 1837.

Mihrabs

In the early years of the mosque, there were two mihrabs, one was added by Muhammad (Nabawi Mihrab) and another was added after by Uthman (Uthmani Mihrab) after the expansion of the mosque in the qibla wall . The latter was larger than that of Muhammad's, and acted as the functional mihrab, whereas Muhammad's mihrab became a "commemorative" mihrab. The first concave mihrab niche was added to the qibla wall during the Umayyad renovation of the early 8th century. The plate behind the current Nabawi mihrab indicates that the mihrab was built in 1484 by the Mamluk sultan Qaitbay (r. 1468–1496).

Minbars

The original minbar (مِنـۢبَر) used by Muhammad was a block of date palm wood. This was replaced by him with a tamarisk one, which had dimensions of 50 cm × 125 cm (20 in × 49 in). In 629, a three staired ladder was added to it. Abu Bakr and Umar did not use the third step as a sign of respect to Muhammad, but Uthman placed a fabric dome over it, and the rest of the stairs were covered with ebony.

Source:

Ali ibn Abdur-Rahman al Hudhaify – chief of imams at Prophet's Mosque

Salah Al Budair – deputy chief of imams at the Prophet's Mosque

Abdulbari ath-Thubaity

Saleh Al-Maghamsi

Abdulmohsen Al-Qasim

Abdullah bin Abdurahman al-Baijan

Ahmad bin Ali al-Hudhaify, son of Ali ibn Abdur-Rahman al Hudhaify

Muhammad Barhaji, guest imam in Ramadan 2024, appointed permanent imam in October 2024

Abdullah Qarafi, appointed in October 2024