PART 4 · THE MADINAN PERIOD · الْعَهْدُ الْمَدَنِيُّ
STAGE 1 · BUILDING THE COMMUNITY
الْمَسْجِدُ النَّبَوِيُّ وَالْمُؤَاخَاةُ
Chapter 18: The Prophet’s Masjid and the Brotherhood
A house of Allah, a call to prayer — and strangers who became brothers
Sheikh Mohamed Fawzyالشيخ محمد فوزي
© 2026 Sheikh Mohamed Fawzy. All rights reserved. Version 1.7
A new home فِي دَارِ أَبِي أَيُّوبَ
“Until he stopped in the courtyard of Abū Ayyūb”
عَنْ أَنَسٍ قَالَ: قَدِمَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْمَدِينَةَ فَنَزَلَ أَعْلَى الْمَدِينَةِ، فِي حَيٍّ يُقَالُ لَهُمْ بَنُو عَمْرِو بْنِ عَوْفٍ. فَأَقَامَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِيهِمْ أَرْبَعَ عَشْرَةَ لَيْلَةً، ثُمَّ أَرْسَلَ إِلَى بَنِي النَّجَّارِ فَجَاءُوا مُتَقَلِّدِي السُّيُوفِ، كَأَنِّي أَنْظُرُ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَى رَاحِلَتِهِ، وَأَبُو بَكْرٍ رِدْفُهُ، وَمَلَأُ بَنِي النَّجَّارِ حَوْلَهُ، حَتَّى أَلْقَى بِفِنَاءِ أَبِي أَيُّوبَ ...
Anas said: “The Prophet ﷺ came to Madinah and stopped in the upper part of Madinah, among a clan called Banū ‘Amr ibn ‘Awf. The Prophet ﷺ stayed among them fourteen nights. Then he sent for Banū al-Najjār, and they came wearing their swords. It is as if I can still see the Prophet ﷺ on his camel, with Abū Bakr riding behind him, and the leaders of Banū al-Najjār around him, until he stopped in the courtyard of Abū Ayyūb…”
Sahih al-Bukhari 428Sahih
How long in Qubā’? Ar-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm: four days (following Ibn Isḥāq); Anas in al-Bukhari: fourteen nights — the view Ibn al-Qayyim preferred.
He stayed as Abū Ayyūb’s guest until his own rooms beside the Masjid were ready.
The first project بِنَاءُ الْمَسْجِدِ
“We seek its price only from Allah”
عَنْ أَنَسٍ قَالَ: ... وَأَنَّهُ أَمَرَ بِبِنَاءِ الْمَسْجِدِ، فَأَرْسَلَ إِلَى مَلَإٍ مِنْ بَنِي النَّجَّارِ فَقَالَ «يَا بَنِي النَّجَّارِ ثَامِنُونِي بِحَائِطِكُمْ هَذَا». قَالُوا لَا وَاللَّهِ، لَا نَطْلُبُ ثَمَنَهُ إِلَّا إِلَى اللَّهِ. فَقَالَ أَنَسٌ فَكَانَ فِيهِ مَا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ، قُبُورُ الْمُشْرِكِينَ، وَفِيهِ خَرِبٌ، وَفِيهِ نَخْلٌ، فَأَمَرَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِقُبُورِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ فَنُبِشَتْ، ثُمَّ بِالْخَرِبِ فَسُوِّيَتْ، وَبِالنَّخْلِ فَقُطِعَ، فَصَفُّوا النَّخْلَ قِبْلَةَ الْمَسْجِدِ، وَجَعَلُوا عِضَادَتَيْهِ الْحِجَارَةَ، وَجَعَلُوا يَنْقُلُونَ الصَّخْرَ، وَهُمْ يَرْتَجِزُونَ، وَالنَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَعَهُمْ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ «اللَّهُمَّ لَا خَيْرَ إِلَّا خَيْرُ الْآخِرَهْ فَاغْفِرْ لِلْأَنْصَارِ وَالْمُهَاجِرَهْ»
Anas said: “…He gave the order to build the Masjid. He sent for the leaders of Banū al-Najjār and said: ‘O Banū al-Najjār, name me a price for this walled garden of yours.’ They said: ‘No, by Allah! We seek its price only from Allah.’ Anas said: In it there was what I tell you: graves of the idolaters, ruins, and palm trees. The Prophet ﷺ ordered that the graves of the idolaters be dug up, then the ruins levelled, and the palm trees cut down. They set the palm trunks in a row as the qiblah wall of the Masjid, and made its two door-posts of stone. They carried the stones, chanting verses — and the Prophet ﷺ was with them, saying: ‘O Allah, there is no good except the good of the Hereafter, so forgive the Anṣār and the Muhājirūn.’”
Sahih al-Bukhari 428Sahih
Bought, not taken as a gift: the land was a date-drying yard of two orphan boys, Sahl and Suhayl. They offered it as a gift, but he refused to take it as a gift and bought it from them (‘Urwah’s report in al-Bukhari 3906; Ar-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm).
‘Urwah’s report in al-Bukhari 3906 (mursal) says the two boys offered the land as a gift, but he refused until he bought it from them; Ar-Raḥīq says the same. (This sentence is in the standard printed text of al-Bukhari; some digital copies leave it out.) Anas (al-Bukhari 428) says Banū al-Najjār refused a price. Ibn Ḥajar (Fatḥ al-Bārī) reconciles the two reports.
Think تَأَمَّلْ
The leader carried stones with them
Working together
Muhājirūn and Anṣār built side by side — in the city, after Masjid Qubā’, the first thing they built together was a house of Allah.
A humble leader
The Prophet ﷺ did not just give orders: he carried stones himself.
Eyes on the Hereafter
His chant: “There is no good except the good of the Hereafter.”
A good leader serves with his own hands.
A simple building بُنْيَانُ الْمَسْجِدِ
Mud bricks, palm trunks, palm branches
عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ: أَنَّ الْمَسْجِدَ كَانَ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَبْنِيًّا بِاللَّبِنِ، وَسَقْفُهُ الْجَرِيدُ، وَعُمُدُهُ خَشَبُ النَّخْلِ ...
‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar said: “In the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the Masjid was built of mud bricks; its roof was of palm branches, and its pillars were of palm-tree trunks…”
Sahih al-Bukhari 446Sahih
The heart of the city رِسَالَةُ الْمَسْجِدِ
More than a place of prayer
The Masjid became the centre of the new community. Tap each card:
Prayer
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The five daily prayers in congregation, and the Friday prayer.
School
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The Prophet ﷺ taught the Qur’an and the religion in its circles.
Meeting place
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Here the Muslims consulted, met visitors and delegations, and heard the news.
Shelter
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Poor Muslims with no home lived in the Ṣuffah at its back (Chapter 19).
The call to prayer بَدْءُ الْأَذَانِ
“O Bilāl, get up and call out for the prayer”
عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ: كَانَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ حِينَ قَدِمُوا الْمَدِينَةَ يَجْتَمِعُونَ فَيَتَحَيَّنُونَ الصَّلَاةَ، لَيْسَ يُنَادَى لَهَا، فَتَكَلَّمُوا يَوْمًا فِي ذَلِكَ، فَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ اتَّخِذُوا نَاقُوسًا مِثْلَ نَاقُوسِ النَّصَارَى. وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ بَلْ بُوقًا مِثْلَ قَرْنِ الْيَهُودِ. فَقَالَ عُمَرُ أَوَلَا تَبْعَثُونَ رَجُلًا يُنَادِي بِالصَّلَاةِ. فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ «يَا بِلَالُ قُمْ فَنَادِ بِالصَّلَاةِ».
Ibn ‘Umar said: “When the Muslims came to Madinah, they used to gather and estimate the time of the prayer; no one called out for it. One day they talked about this. Some of them said: ‘Use a bell like the bell of the Christians.’ Others said: ‘No — a horn like the horn of the Jews.’ ‘Umar said: ‘Why not send a man to call out for the prayer?’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘O Bilāl, get up and call out for the prayer.’”
Sahih al-Bukhari 604Sahih
The words of the adhān: ‘Abdullāh ibn Zayd al-Anṣārī saw in a dream a man teaching him the words of the adhān. The Prophet ﷺ said it was a true dream and told him to teach the words to Bilāl, whose voice was stronger. — Sunan Abī Dāwūd (499); al-Bukhari called it ṣaḥīḥ (reported by al-Bayhaqī, Ma‘rifat al-Sunan); ṣaḥīḥ by al-Nawawī (al-Majmū‘ 3/76); ḥasan by al-Albānī (Irwā’ al-Ghalīl 246).
The brotherhood الْمُؤَاخَاةُ
“The Prophet ﷺ made an alliance in my house”
The Muhājirūn had left their homes, wealth and families in Makkah. The Prophet ﷺ paired Muhājirūn with Anṣār as brothers.
قَالَ عَاصِمٌ الْأَحْوَلُ: قُلْتُ لِأَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَبَلَغَكَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ «لَا حِلْفَ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ». فَقَالَ قَدْ حَالَفَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بَيْنَ قُرَيْشٍ وَالْأَنْصَارِ فِي دَارِي.
‘Āṣim said: “I said to Anas: ‘Has it reached you that the Prophet ﷺ said: «There is no alliance (ḥilf) in Islam»?’ He said: ‘The Prophet ﷺ made an alliance between Quraysh and the Anṣār in my house.’”
Sahih al-Bukhari 2294Sahih
Ar-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm: the brotherhood was made in the house of Anas ibn Mālik, between ninety men — half Muhājirūn, half Anṣār (some reports say a hundred).
At first these brothers even inherited from each other; later Allah revealed “And for all, We have made heirs…” (al-Nisā’ 4:33), and inheritance went back to relatives, while help, support and good advice remained (al-Bukhari 2292, from Ibn ‘Abbās).
A true brother سَعْدٌ وَعَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ
“Show me the way to the market”
عَنْ أَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَدِمَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عَوْفٍ الْمَدِينَةَ فَآخَى النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ سَعْدِ بْنِ الرَّبِيعِ الْأَنْصَارِيِّ، وَكَانَ سَعْدٌ ذَا غِنًى، فَقَالَ لِعَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ أُقَاسِمُكَ مَالِي نِصْفَيْنِ، وَأُزَوِّجُكَ. قَالَ بَارَكَ اللَّهُ لَكَ فِي أَهْلِكَ وَمَالِكَ، دُلُّونِي عَلَى السُّوقِ. فَمَا رَجَعَ حَتَّى اسْتَفْضَلَ أَقِطًا وَسَمْنًا، فَأَتَى بِهِ أَهْلَ مَنْزِلِهِ، فَمَكَثْنَا يَسِيرًا أَوْ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ فَجَاءَ وَعَلَيْهِ وَضَرٌ مِنْ صُفْرَةٍ، فَقَالَ لَهُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ «مَهْيَمْ». قَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ تَزَوَّجْتُ امْرَأَةً مِنَ الْأَنْصَارِ. قَالَ «مَا سُقْتَ إِلَيْهَا». قَالَ نَوَاةً مِنْ ذَهَبٍ، أَوْ وَزْنَ نَوَاةٍ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ. قَالَ «أَوْلِمْ وَلَوْ بِشَاةٍ».
Anas said: “‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ‘Awf came to Madinah, and the Prophet ﷺ made him a brother of Sa‘d ibn al-Rabī‘ al-Anṣārī. Sa‘d was rich, and he said to ‘Abd al-Raḥmān: ‘I will divide my wealth with you into two halves, and I will get you a wife.’ He said: ‘May Allah bless you in your family and your wealth. Show me the way to the market.’ He did not come back until he had made a profit of some dried yoghurt and butter, which he brought to the people of his house. We waited a little while — or as long as Allah willed — then he came with a trace of yellow perfume on him. The Prophet ﷺ said to him: ‘What is this?’ He said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I have married a woman of the Anṣār.’ He said: ‘What did you give her as a dowry?’ He said: ‘A date-stone of gold’ — or ‘the weight of a date-stone in gold’. He said: ‘Give a wedding feast, even if only with one sheep.’”
Sahih al-Bukhari 2049Sahih
Sa‘d’s generosity
He offered half of everything he owned to a brother he had just met.
‘Abd al-Raḥmān’s dignity
He thanked him, made du‘ā’ for him — and went to work to earn his own living.
The Anṣār إِيثَارُ الْأَنْصَارِ
“Divide the palm trees between us and our brothers”
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَتِ الْأَنْصَارُ لِلنَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ اقْسِمْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ إِخْوَانِنَا النَّخِيلَ. قَالَ «لَا». فَقَالُوا تَكْفُونَا الْمَئُونَةَ وَنُشْرِكُكُمْ فِي الثَّمَرَةِ. قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا.
Abū Hurayrah said: “The Anṣār said to the Prophet ﷺ: ‘Divide the palm trees between us and our brothers.’ He said: ‘No.’ So they said [to the Muhājirūn]: ‘Then you do the work for us, and we will share the fruit with you.’ They said: ‘We hear and we obey.’”
Sahih al-Bukhari 2325Sahih
وَٱلَّذِينَ تَبَوَّءُو ٱلدَّارَ وَٱلۡإِيمَٰنَ مِن قَبۡلِهِمۡ يُحِبُّونَ مَنۡ هَاجَرَ إِلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا يَجِدُونَ فِي صُدُورِهِمۡ حَاجَةٗ مِّمَّآ أُوتُواْ وَيُؤۡثِرُونَ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمۡ وَلَوۡ كَانَ بِهِمۡ خَصَاصَةٞۚ وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفۡسِهِۦ فَأُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُفۡلِحُونَ ٩
And [also for] those who were settled in al-Madinah and [adopted] the faith before them. They love those who emigrated to them and find not any want in their breasts of what the emigrants were given but give [them] preference over themselves, even though they are in privation. And whoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul - it is those who will be the successful.
Surat al-Ḥashr 59:9سورة الحشر: ٩
Lessons دُرُوسٌ وَعِبَرٌ
What we learn
1
A house of Allah first
The first thing he built in the city, after Masjid Qubā’, was the Masjid — the heart of the community.
2
Brothers in faith
Faith made strangers into brothers who shared their homes and wealth.
3
Give — and work
The Anṣār gave generously; the Muhājirūn worked hard and did not depend on others.
Review مُرَاجَعَةٌ
Quick quiz
Score: 0 / 4
1.Who hosted the Prophet ﷺ when he first arrived in the city?
Correct (al-Bukhari 428).
Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī.
2.What were the pillars of the first Masjid made of?
Right (al-Bukhari 446).
Palm-tree trunks; the roof was palm branches and the walls mud brick.
3.Who did the Prophet ﷺ ask to call out for the prayer?
Yes (al-Bukhari 604).
Bilāl.
4.What did ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ‘Awf ask his brother Sa‘d for?
Correct — he preferred to earn his own living.
“Show me the way to the market.”
The Masjid was built — and so was a brotherhood
ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam ﷺ
NEXT · Chapter 19: The New Society in Madinah · الْمُجْتَمَعُ الْجَدِيدُ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ