Arrival at Quba and Building of Quba Mosque

The Prophet ﷺ entered the Medinan region not through the city but through Quba, a settlement approximately three miles south, inhabited by the Banu Amr ibn Awf clan. He arrived on a Monday in Rabi al-Awwal 1 AH, having traveled approximately two weeks via the coastal route to avoid the Quraysh search parties. He stopped at the home of Kulthum ibn Hidm and remained at Quba for approximately fourteen days — some sources say four days, Ibn Hisham suggests longer — waiting also for Ali, who had remained behind in Mecca to return property the Prophet ﷺ had held in trust. During this stay, the Prophet ﷺ personally laid the first stone of Masjid Quba — the first mosque founded in Islam. The Quran references it in Surah al-Tawbah (9:108): 'A mosque founded on piety from the first day is worthier for you to stand in.' The Prophet ﷺ later said: 'Whoever purifies himself at home and comes to Masjid Quba and prays, he will have the reward of an Umrah' (Ibn Majah). During his Medinan years he visited it every Saturday morning and prayed two rak'at there. The founding of the mosque before any other act upon entering the region established the pattern of the entire Medinan mission: prayer and worship first, politics and governance second. When the Prophet ﷺ finally departed for the main city, his camel al-Qaswa was given free rein. Every clan tried to stop the camel and host him; he told them it was commanded where to go. Al-Qaswa stopped, knelt, rose, moved, and knelt again at the land of two orphan boys used as a date-drying ground near the Banu Najjar. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'This, if Allah wills, is the abode.' It became the site of Masjid al-Nabawi. The women and children of the Ansar sang as he entered: 'Tala'a al-badru alayna' — 'The full moon has risen over us, from the valley of Wida'.' This song has been sung in Muslim communities across the world ever since — a communal memory of the day the city became al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, the Illuminated City, and the mission found its permanent home.