Prophet's Mosque

The Prophet’s Mosque (Al-Masjid an-Nabawi) in Medina is one of Islam’s holiest sites, established by the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century and centered on his burial place under the Green Dome. It is a major pilgrimage destination after the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

The complex contains extensive covered prayer halls, courtyards and the revered Rawdah, a compact area between the Prophet’s tomb and the pulpit regarded as especially sacred. Large modern expansions with shaded colonnades and minarets have increased capacity for worshippers year-round.

Founded by the Prophet Muhammad in 622 CE as a community mosque and burial place, the structure has been expanded and rebuilt repeatedly over Islamic history. Ottoman and modern Saudi-era enlargements are among the most significant changes to its current form.

The mosque sits in the city center of Medina in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia and is the city’s primary religious and social focal point.

• Access restriction: Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter Medina’s city limits or the Prophet’s Mosque precincts; visitation and prayer inside are reserved for Muslims.
• Visitation constraints: The Rawdah area is considered particularly sacred and normally supervised with timed or limited access during busy periods; it can be extremely crowded on major Islamic dates.

What to See#

• Rawdah: The Rawdah, a small interior area between the Prophet’s tomb and the pulpit that is regarded as especially venerable and often managed with crowd-control arrangements for limited-capacity visitation.
• Prophet’s tomb and Green Dome: The Prophet’s tomb under the Green Dome, which contains the graves of Muhammad and two of his companions and is a focal point within the mosque complex.

• Access to the Prophet's Mosque area is restricted to Muslims; if you are eligible, aim for early morning (after Fajr) for a quieter experience and shorter waits to visit the Rawdah area.
• Expect queues and crowd-control measures for entry to the Rawdah and other special areas-follow mosque staff instructions and posted timetables, and allow extra time if you want to enter those zones.
• Plan around prayer peak times (Friday and evening prayers) when movement inside the mosque is most congested; visiting between prayer periods makes it easier to move between the courtyards and the Rawdah entrances.