Prayer times in Madinah (Masjid an-Nabawi)

Today, Sunday, 25 October 2026, Isha in Madinah (Masjid an-Nabawi) is calculated at 7:17 PM, with Maghrib at 5:47 PM. By the Umm al-Qura method, the standard in Saudi Arabia, Isha starts 90 minutes after Maghrib, and 120 minutes after it during Ramadan. At the mosque, the iqamah follows the adhan after a set interval and can differ by a few minutes from a calculated time, so treat these times as a guide and follow the mosque's adhan. If you switch the calculation method above, the times change.

Yes. The mosque is open to worshippers day and night: Visit Saudi, the official tourism site, lists its opening hours as daily, 12:00 AM to 12:00 AM, and the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque reports teams working around the clock to receive worshippers. Some areas have set visiting times. Al-Rawdah Al-Sharifah is open in separate periods for men and women, which differ on weekdays and Fridays, and visitors book an appointment through the Nusuk app. The Authority announces the current times, which change during Ramadan and the Hajj season.

Not inside the mosque or in its courtyards. In May 2026 the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque asked visitors not to sleep or lie down in the Prophet's Mosque, its courtyards and its facilities, so that worshippers can pray in peace and comfort. Resting in a mosque is not forbidden in itself: Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he slept in the Prophet's mosque as a young, unmarried man (Sahih al-Bukhari 440). For visitors today, though, the mosque's own rules apply. Worshippers who observe i'tikaf in Ramadan stay in the areas the Authority assigns for it. For a night's rest, a hotel close to the mosque keeps the prayers within a short walk. Hotels within walking distance of Masjid an-Nabawi

The Prophet ﷺ said that one prayer in his mosque is better than a thousand prayers in any other mosque, except al-Masjid al-Haram in Makkah (Sahih al-Bukhari 1190 and Sahih Muslim 1394, narrated by Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him).

No. The five daily prayers are obligatory at their appointed times (Quran 4:103). Sunan Abi Dawud 393 describes how Jibril (peace be upon him) led the Prophet ﷺ at the beginning and at the end of each time, then said that the time is between the two. Scholars agree that an obligatory prayer offered before its time has begun is not valid and has to be repeated once the time comes. If you are not sure whether the time has begun, wait for the adhan.

Scholars have two views, and the best step is to ask a scholar you trust. The majority of scholars, including the four Sunni schools, hold that a woman in her period should not stay in a mosque, in Madinah or anywhere else. They rely on Quran 4:43, which speaks of those in a state of major impurity ('except those passing through'), and on the hadith in Sunan Abi Dawud 232, 'I do not make the mosque lawful for a menstruating woman or for one in a state of janabah', whose authenticity scholars discuss. Sheikh Ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) advised accordingly for the Prophet's Mosque, allowing only passing through when there is a need. Another view, held by Ibn Hazm, al-Muzani and, in one narration, Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on them), and preferred by al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) in Tamam al-Minna, permits entering, since they find no sound text that forbids it. They point to Sahih Muslim 298, where the Prophet ﷺ asked A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) to bring him the prayer mat from the mosque and, when she said she was menstruating, replied, 'Your menstruation is not in your hand.' A woman does not pray while she is menstruating, wherever she is, and she remains welcome in Madinah itself.

Asr begins when an object's shadow reaches its own length plus its noon shadow in the standard calculation (Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali), and twice its length in the Hanafi calculation, so Hanafi Asr is later. Today in Madinah, standard Asr is 3:22 PM and Hanafi Asr is 4:10 PM. Both come from the hadith of Jibril (peace be upon him) in Sunan Abi Dawud 393, where the first Asr is when the shadow equals the object and the second when it is twice as long. Use the Asr selector above to switch.