Visiting the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah

Why visit the Prophet ﷺ

To visit the Prophet ﷺ is among the noblest acts a believer can perform. It is reported that he ﷺ said that whoever visits him in Madinah for the sake of Allah will be near him, and that he will intercede for that person on the Day of Rising. Scholars of the Hanafi school count the visit among the most recommended acts for those who reach the Haramain.

The visit is separate from Umrah. You do not need it for your Umrah to be valid, and you may make it before or after Makkah, whichever your journey allows.

Entering the Masjid an-Nabawi

• Free your mind of every distraction and go to the blessed Masjid with full attention and humility.
• When the sanctuary comes into view, bow your head and lower your gaze.
• When the green dome comes into view, increase your salutations on him ﷺ.
• At the door, greet, pause as if asking permission, say Bismillah and enter with your right foot.
• Lower your voice, avoid idle talk, and do not let the beauty of the building take your heart from its purpose.
• If the congregational prayer is about to begin, join it, and it will count as your greeting of the masjid. Otherwise, if it is not a disliked time, pray two rak'ahs of Tahiyyat al-Masjid.

Greeting the Prophet ﷺ

Enter from Bab al-Salam if you can. Stand about four hand spans from the gates with your hands folded as in prayer, your back to the qiblah and your face towards the blessed shrine.

• Know that he ﷺ is aware of you, hears your salam and says ameen to your dua.
• Greet him in a measured voice, neither loud nor too soft, and let the words come from the heart.
• After the salam, recite Salat al-Ibrahimiyyah and ask for his intercession, saying that you seek the intercession of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
• Bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that he ﷺ is His final Messenger, who conveyed the message and fulfilled the trust. Thank him, and ask Allah to reward him on our behalf, and on behalf of our parents, children, teachers and all Muslims.
• Do not read your greeting from a book. Decide what you will say before you arrive, in any language, for what matters is the heart.
• Convey the salam of those who asked you to, ideally by name, for this is a trust. Then make dua again.

Greeting Abu Bakr and Umar

Move one arm's length to your right to stand in line with Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, the companion of the cave. Greet him and make dua through his rank. Then move one more arm's length to your right, in line with Sayyiduna Umar al-Faruq, and greet him in the same way. Then move a hand span to your left so that you stand between the two, and greet them together, saying peace be upon you both, who rest beside the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, his two companions and ministers, and may Allah reward you with the best reward. Ask the two caliphs to be a means for you to the Prophet ﷺ, then move another hand span to your left to face him ﷺ and make dua again.

Al-Rawdah

The Prophet ﷺ said that the space between his house and his mimbar is a garden from the gardens of Paradise (Bukhari and Muslim). If you can find room, recite some Qur'an there, pray two rak'ahs of thanks (shukr) to Allah for allowing you to enter the Masjid of His beloved ﷺ, and finish with dua, for it is a place of acceptance. It is often crowded, so do not push anyone to reach it. There is reward in every prayer in the Masjid.

Other blessed places in Madinah

• Jannat al-Baqi. The blessed cemetery beside the Masjid, where many of the Sahaba and the family of the Prophet ﷺ are buried. Sayyiduna Uthman, Sayyiduna Abbas and Imam Hasan are among those buried here. After visiting the Prophet ﷺ, visit Sayyiduna Uthman and the rest of the Sahaba, greet them and make dua for them.
• Masjid Quba. The first masjid built in Islam. Two rak'ahs there carry the reward of an Umrah (Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah), and the Prophet ﷺ used to visit it on Saturdays. The sunnah time to visit is Saturday after Fajr.
• Mount Uhud. About three miles (five kilometres) north of the city, the site of the battle and the resting place of Sayyiduna Hamza and the martyrs. Visit Sayyiduna Hamza first. It is desirable to go to Uhud every Thursday and make dua there.
• The plains of Badr. About twenty miles south west of Madinah, where the first battle of Islam took place.
• Masjid al-Dir. Where the Prophet ﷺ stopped on his way to Uhud to pray Maghrib and Isha.
• The well of Rawmah. Which Sayyiduna Uthman bought for the Muslims when the Prophet ﷺ asked who would buy it in return for a home in Paradise.

For the full list of places across both cities, with distances from where you stand, see places in Makkah and Madinah.

The farewell visit

When you leave Madinah, present yourself again at the blessed station with the same adab and make dua with sincerity. The guide this page is based on gives this dua to end with: O Allah, grant me death in the state of iman and according to the sunnah in the city of Madinah, and let me be buried in Baqi. While you are in Madinah, stay in the blessed Masjid in wudu as much as you can, and do not waste a breath.

Questions about visiting Madinah

This guide follows the Hanafi method and is based on Shaykh Mufti Wajid Iqbal's Umrah book, Essential Islam. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar.