Reward of Praying in Masjid Nabawi: 5 Authentic Hadith
Contents
What is the reward of praying in Masjid Nabawi? The Prophet ﷺ answered it himself: one prayer in his mosque in Madinah is better than a thousand prayers anywhere else, except Masjid al-Haram in Makkah. Below are 5 authentic hadith on the reward of praying in Masjid Nabawi, the Rawdah inside it, and why it is one of only three mosques worth a special journey.
I have been to Madinah. I tend to avoid crowded places, yet even with a sea of people around me, the place felt very calming. These hadith remind us what makes this mosque so special.
At a glance
- Hadith: 5 authentic hadith
- Collections: Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Ibn Majah
- Grade: All Sahih (Ibn Majah 1406: Sahih, Darussalam)
- Topic: Salah, Masjid Nabawi, Masjid al-Haram
- One thing to do today: Make the intention to pray in Masjid Nabawi one day, and ask Allah to make the journey easy
1. One prayer, better than a thousand
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
صَلاَةٌ فِي مَسْجِدِي هَذَا خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَلْفِ صَلاَةٍ فِيمَا سِوَاهُ إِلاَّ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ
“One prayer in my mosque is better than one thousand prayers in any other mosque, except al-Masjid al-Haram.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 1190 · Narrated by Abu Hurairah · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
This is the clearest answer to the question of reward. The Prophet ﷺ said it about “this mosque of mine”, the mosque he built in Madinah. The same words are also narrated in Sahih Muslim 1394a.
In its explanation of this hadith, HadeethEnc notes that it shows the special merit of the Prophet’s ﷺ mosque, and that prayers there carry a greater reward than prayers elsewhere. Masjid al-Haram is the one exception, as the next hadith explains.
Try this: if you are in Madinah, plan your day around the five prayers in the mosque, instead of fitting the prayers around shopping and sightseeing.
2. Masjid al-Haram: better than a hundred thousand
Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
صَلاَةٌ فِي مَسْجِدِي أَفْضَلُ مِنْ أَلْفِ صَلاَةٍ فِيمَا سِوَاهُ. إِلاَّ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ. وَصَلاَةٌ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ مِائَةِ أَلْفِ صَلاَةٍ فِيمَا سِوَاهُ
“One prayer in my mosque is better than one thousand prayers elsewhere, except the Sacred Mosque, and one prayer in the Sacred Mosque is better than one hundred thousand prayers elsewhere.”
Sunan Ibn Majah 1406 · Sahih (Darussalam) · Narrated by Jabir · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
This hadith gives both numbers side by side. Masjid al-Haram in Makkah comes first, with a reward better than a hundred thousand prayers. Masjid Nabawi comes second, with a reward better than a thousand.
Masjid al-Haram holds the Kaaba, the qiblah that every Muslim faces in salah. Before it, the Muslims faced Masjid al-Aqsa, and Allah turned the qiblah to Masjid al-Haram:
قَدْ نَرَىٰ تَقَلُّبَ وَجْهِكَ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ ۖ فَلَنُوَلِّيَنَّكَ قِبْلَةً تَرْضَىٰهَا ۚ فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ ۚ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنتُمْ فَوَلُّوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُۥ ۗ وَإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ لَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ ٱلْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ ۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَـٰفِلٍ عَمَّا يَعْمَلُونَ
“We have certainly seen the turning of your face, [O Muḥammad], toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face [i.e., yourself] toward al-Masjid al-Ḥarām. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces [i.e., yourselves] toward it [in prayer]. Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture [i.e., the Jews and the Christians] well know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allāh is not unaware of what they do.”
Surah al-Baqarah 2:144 · Translation: Saheeh International, from Quran.com
Try this: if Allah grants you Umrah or Hajj, keep both numbers in mind, and don’t let a single prayer in either mosque slip by.
3. The Rawdah: a garden of Paradise
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) also narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
مَا بَيْنَ بَيْتِي وَمِنْبَرِي رَوْضَةٌ مِنْ رِيَاضِ الْجَنَّةِ، وَمِنْبَرِي عَلَى حَوْضِي
“Between my house and my pulpit there is a garden of the gardens of Paradise, and my pulpit is on my fountain tank (i.e. al-Kauthar).”
Sahih al-Bukhari 1196 · Narrated by Abu Hurairah · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
The Rawdah is the small area inside Masjid Nabawi between the Prophet’s ﷺ house and his minbar (pulpit). We keep to what the hadith says: this area is a garden of the gardens of Paradise. The hadith does not mention a special prayer or dua for it, so pray and make dua there as you would anywhere in the mosque.
Because so many visitors want to pray there, entry to the Rawdah is usually arranged by time slots. Check the latest arrangements before your trip.
Try this: if you get a slot in the Rawdah, keep it calm and gentle: pray, make dua, and leave room for the next person.
4. The mosque founded on taqwa
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet ﷺ which mosque was the one founded on taqwa (piety):
يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَىُّ الْمَسْجِدَيْنِ الَّذِي أُسِّسَ عَلَى التَّقْوَى قَالَ فَأَخَذَ كَفًّا مِنْ حَصْبَاءَ فَضَرَبَ بِهِ الأَرْضَ ثُمَّ قَالَ هُوَ مَسْجِدُكُمْ هَذَا
“Messenger of Allah, which of the two mosques is the one founded on piety?” He took a handful of pebbles, struck the ground with it, and then said: “It is this mosque of yours” (the mosque of Madinah).
Sahih Muslim 1398 · Narrated by Abu Sa’id al-Khudri · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
The Quran praises a mosque “founded on righteousness” in Surah at-Tawbah 9:108. In this hadith the Prophet ﷺ pointed to his own mosque. Tafsir Ibn Kathir explains the verse as referring to Masjid Quba’ as well, so both mosques were built on taqwa. You can read more in The Virtue of Praying in Quba’ Mosque.
Try this: before you enter any mosque, check your intention. We come for Allah, not to be seen.
5. A journey worth making
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
لاَ تُشَدُّ الرِّحَالُ إِلاَّ إِلَى ثَلاَثَةِ مَسَاجِدَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ، وَمَسْجِدِ الرَّسُولِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى
“Do not set out on a journey except for three mosques: al-Masjid al-Haram, the Mosque of the Messenger ﷺ, and the Mosque of al-Aqsa (in Jerusalem).”
Sahih al-Bukhari 1189 · Narrated by Abu Hurairah · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
Only three mosques are named as worth a special journey for worship, and Masjid Nabawi is one of them. Scholars have explained in detail what this hadith covers. If you are planning a trip mainly to visit another mosque, ask a scholar you trust.
Try this: make dua to visit all three, al-Aqsa included, even if it feels far away today.
Bringing it together: the reward of praying in Masjid Nabawi
Put together, these hadith show the reward of praying in Masjid Nabawi from several sides: its prayers are multiplied, it holds a garden of Paradise, it was founded on taqwa, and it is worth a journey of its own.
Reflection: reading these hadith together, I notice that the reward is tied to the prayer, not to simply being there. A trip to Madinah full of shopping and photos but with few prayers in the mosque misses the point. And for those of us who are not there yet, a great reward is still within reach today: the Prophet ﷺ said that prayer in congregation is twenty-seven times better than praying alone (Sahih al-Bukhari 645). More on that in Praying in Congregation: 6 Authentic Hadith.
Questions people ask
What is the reward of praying in Masjid Nabawi?
One prayer there is better than one thousand prayers in any other mosque, except Masjid al-Haram (Sahih al-Bukhari 1190; Sahih Muslim 1394a).
Is a prayer in Masjid Nabawi worth 50,000 prayers?
The 50,000 figure comes from Sunan Ibn Majah 1413, graded Da’if (Darussalam), so we don’t use it. The authentic wording is “better than one thousand” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1190).
Do I have to pray 40 prayers in Masjid Nabawi?
A narration in Musnad Ahmad says whoever prays forty prayers there without missing one is freed from the Fire and from hypocrisy. Al-Albani graded it weak (munkar) in Silsilah ad-Da’ifah 364, and Shu’ayb al-Arna’ut graded its chain weak, though some earlier scholars considered its narrators reliable. We don’t use it here (details). The authentic hadith set no number of prayers or days for a visit: pray as many as you can.
What is the Rawdah in Masjid Nabawi?
It is the area between the Prophet’s ﷺ house and his pulpit. He said: “Between my house and my pulpit there is a garden of the gardens of Paradise” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1196).
Which three mosques did the Prophet ﷺ mention for journeys?
Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, his own mosque in Madinah, and Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem (Sahih al-Bukhari 1189).
Key lessons
- One prayer in Masjid Nabawi is better than 1,000 prayers elsewhere (Bukhari 1190).
- One prayer in Masjid al-Haram is better than 100,000 (Ibn Majah 1406).
- The area between the Prophet’s ﷺ house and pulpit is a garden of Paradise (Bukhari 1196).
- The Prophet ﷺ pointed to his own mosque as the one founded on taqwa (Muslim 1398).
- Only three mosques are named as worth a special journey for worship (Bukhari 1189).
Let’s make it a goal to pray in Masjid al-Haram and Masjid Nabawi, at least once in our lifetime. The rewards on the table are enormous, and we should not let them pass by. May Allah grant all of us the chance to pray in both masjids, and make the journey easy for us.
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