Madinah - Ziyarah

Madinah is full of Islamic history and there are plenty of places to visit. However there is no religious merit in visiting other mosques or historical sites except for Quba mosque and the gravesites.

As in Makkah, if the visit to any place means missing salah in the Haram, avoid it.

As mentioned before, people save for a lifetime to come to Hajj and to Madinah and wish to visit some of the historical places. It is acceptable to do so merely out of interest without considering it an act of worship

It is sunnah to visit the graveyards:

The Prophet (saw) said:

"Visit graves in that these remind you of the Hereafter." (Muslim)

Al-Baqee Cemetery

Many of the companions and family members of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) are buried in Al-Baqee cemetery. There are no marked gravestones to indicate specific graves. It is not necessary to concern oneself or to dwell over any particular gravesite.

The sunnah dua one should recite at any graveyard:

السَّلامُ عَلَيكُمْ دَارَ قَومٍ مُؤْمِنِينَ، وَ إِنَّا إِنْ شَاءَ اللهُ بِكُمْ لاحِقُونَ

"Asalaamu alaykum daara qominmu'minin wa innaa insha-allahu bikum laahiqoona."

 “Peace be upon the Muslim people of these dwellings.

And we will be joining you soon, if Allah wills."

Women are not allowed to enter the graveyard. You will notice at the entrance a big sign warning women against the visiting of the graves. Most women stand outside at the fence and supplicate the above.

The cemetery gates are locked and are open only at certain times. Normally it is open after Salatul-Fajr and Asr.

If you wish to enter the cemetery and see how a burial is performed in Madinah, we suggest you follow (help carry) the bier (janazah) from the mosque. As in Makkah there are many burials in Madinah during the Hajj period. Word of caution though; be ready to carry the bier all the way.

Many groups also visit the gravesite of Hamzah who was martyred at the battle of Uhud, and the other companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and make various supplications there. If you do visit this site, refrain from facing the graves and making the wrong supplications. The only supplication to make is the one mentioned before.

Quba Mosque       

There is no specific supplication for the Quba mosque, but it is one of the few places recommended to visit, while you are in Madinah:

Sahl bin Haneef (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) said:

"One who does wudhu at home, then offers prayers in Quba mosque is entitled to the reward of an Umrah."  (Ahmad, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah & Hakim)

Other       

Many groups visit the “Seven Mosques” and people push and fight to perform salah inside these small mosques. There is no need.

If you have a good guide he will show you the area where the battle of the trench happened. The location of the actual trench is now a road, so there is not much to see, but merely standing in places of such historical significance is a great feeling. Also at Uhud let him show you and take you on the hill where the archers stood.

You may ask about Badr. Well it is not as close to Madinah as you may have thought. It is actually about 150km from Madinah and there are generally no trips to it.

A place of interest to visit is the King Fahd Qur'an printing press where they print the Qur'ans you find inside the mosques. You need to make an appointment to visit this facility. Most agents know the procedures to follow in order to obtain permission for a visit.