Masjid an-Nabawi (Prophet's Mosque)

Masjid an-Nabawi began as a courtyard of mud brick and palm trunks built by the Prophet Muhammad after the Hijrah in 622 CE, beside his house. It was enlarged by the caliph Umar and by Uthman in 649, and by the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I around 706 to 707, who brought the Prophet's chambers and tomb inside the mosque. The Mamluk sultan Qalawun built the first dome over the tomb in 1279, and Sultan Qaitbay rebuilt it in stone after a fire in the late 15th century. The Ottomans carried out major works from 1849 and painted the dome green in 1837. Saudi expansions began under King Abdulaziz in 1951 and continued under King Faisal in 1974 and King Fahd from 1985, adding ten minarets and large marble courtyards with retractable umbrellas. A Saudi Press Agency report in March 2026 gives the present capacity as about 1.8 million. The mosque and its precinct are restricted to Muslims; non-Muslims can view it from outside the signposted perimeter. Visitors who are Muslim book a Rawdah slot through the Nusuk app.