The Hijrah Entry Route: The Last Few Kilometres, and the Walk You Can Do

The last few kilometres of the Hijrah are the part nobody maps. Everyone knows the cave, the pursuit and the arrival. Far fewer people know how he actually came into the city, or that you can walk a version of it today.

What the sources establish

The shape of the arrival is well documented in the hadith and seerah literature, and it runs like this.

1. He came up from the south and stopped at Quba, on the edge of the settled area, among the Banu Amr ibn Awf.
2. He stayed there several days and built the first mosque in Islam.
3. Moving on towards the city, the time for Jumu'ah came in the valley of Ranuna and he prayed it there, at what is now Masjid al-Jumu'ah.
4. Entering Madinah proper, clan after clan came out asking him to stay with them.
5. He would not choose. He told them to let the camel go, because it was under orders.

That last point is the one to hold onto. Every household in the city wanted the honour, and any choice he made would have created a ranking. So he made none. The animal knelt where it knelt, and the mosque was built on that ground.

About the road names

You will see the entry route referred to by specific names, including al-Dhabi and al-Jassah.

We were not able to verify those names against a source we would rely on. That does not mean they are wrong; Madinah's historical geography is deep and much of it sits in Arabic works that are not online. It means we are not going to state them as established, and neither should anyone else without a citation.

What is established: the approach from the south, through Quba, through Ranuna, into the settled quarters.

What we could not verify: the specific road names, and any precise surviving line of the route through what is now a rebuilt city.

The part you can actually walk

Here is the useful bit, and it is genuinely worth planning for.

Sahih al-Bukhari records that the Prophet ﷺ used to go out to Quba every Saturday, sometimes walking and sometimes riding.

The Madinah authorities have built a dedicated pedestrian route along that line. The Quba Walking Trail runs roughly three kilometres from the southern gates of Masjid an-Nabawi to Masjid Quba, on a broad landscaped boulevard reported at around 200 metres wide, with shaded sections, palms, benches and lighting for the evening.

So the walk he made a habit of is now a maintained, shaded, safe path that any visitor can do.

That is a rarer thing than it sounds. Most Ziyarat is looking at places. This is doing something he did, on the ground he did it on, in roughly the time it took him.

How to walk it

• Three kilometres each way. Allow forty minutes at an easy pace, more with children.
• Go after Fajr if you want it cool and quiet, or after Isha if you want it busy and lit.
• Do your wudu before you leave. The hadith on the reward at Quba specifies purifying yourself in your house first. Walking there is the perfect way to do that.
• Walk one way, ride back if the heat or the distance is a problem. Nothing requires you to do both legs.
• Take water. Even shaded, this is Madinah.

The full Hijrah route

Saudi Arabia has announced work on a heritage route retracing the whole journey from Makkah to Madinah, reported in the Saudi press under names including Darb al-Hijrah and "In the Prophet's Steps".

Details and access arrangements for projects like that change as they develop, so treat any specific claim about it as provisional and check current information rather than relying on this page. Our article on the Hijrah route covers the journey itself stage by stage.

Is any of this part of Hajj or Umrah?

No. Walking to Quba is not a rite. What does carry a reported reward is the prayer at Quba itself, with the condition of purifying yourself beforehand, and that is in a sound hadith.

Related

• The Hijrah route — the whole journey from Makkah.
• Masjid Quba — the end of the walk.
• Masjid al-Jumu'ah — where the first Friday prayer was held on the way in.
• Bir Adhq — near where the welcome is placed by the sources.

Getting there

Madinah's historic sites are scattered across the city, and reaching them one taxi at a time turns a short list into a whole morning. Our Madinah Ziyarat private car covers the round on one fixed fare for the whole vehicle with the driver waiting at every stop, and the Madinah Ziyarat tour is the guided version. For arrival, the Madinah airport transfer has fixed fares.

Accuracy note

The approach to Madinah from the south, the stop at Quba among the Banu Amr ibn Awf, the building of the first mosque, the first Friday prayer in the valley of Ranuna, the clans competing to host him and the camel being let go because it was under orders, are established in the hadith and seerah literature. The report that the Prophet ﷺ went out to Quba every Saturday, walking and riding, is in Sahih al-Bukhari. We could not verify the specific entry-route names al-Dhabi and al-Jassah against a source we would rely on, and have not stated them as established; Madinah's historical geography is deep and much of it sits in Arabic works that are not available online. The Quba Walking Trail, running roughly three kilometres from the southern gates of Masjid an-Nabawi to Masjid Quba on a landscaped boulevard reported at around 200 m wide with shaded sections, benches and lighting, follows Madinah destination information and the Madinah Development Authority's published programme; figures vary slightly between sources. Saudi press has reported work on a heritage route retracing the whole Hijrah journey under names including Darb al-Hijrah; details and access for such projects change and should be checked rather than taken from this page. Walking to Quba is not a rite of Hajj or Umrah; the reported reward attaches to the prayer at Quba after purifying oneself at home, which is in a sound hadith. Content verified August 2026. If you hold a sourced reference for the entry-route names, please send it.