Masjid al-Sajdah: The Mosque of the Long Prostration

Masjid al-Sajdah stands about 800 metres north of Masjid an-Nabawi. It is small, easy to miss, and named after a prostration.

You will also see it called Masjid al-Shukr, the mosque of thanks, and Masjid al-Aswaf, after the area.

What happened here

The account preserved in the hadith literature is this. The Prophet ﷺ went into a palm garden and prostrated, and stayed down so long that those with him feared something had happened to him.

When he raised his head he told them that Jibril had come to him with news from Allah: that whoever sends blessings upon him, Allah blesses that person in return, and whoever gives him salam, Allah returns the greeting.

He had prostrated in thanks.

The report is recorded in the hadith literature, narrated from Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, may Allah be pleased with him. It is not in Bukhari or Muslim, and its grading is discussed by hadith scholars, though the practice of prostrating on receiving good news is itself well established.

The part you can act on

Look at what the news actually was.

It was not about a battle or a conquest. It was that every salawat you send on the Prophet ﷺ comes back to you, and every salam you give him is returned.

That costs nothing, needs no travel, no permit and no queue. You can do it on the flight home. Which makes this one of the few small mosques in Madinah where the lesson is more portable than the site.

The prostration of thanks

The sajdat al-shukr is a single prostration made when something good happens or bad news is averted. It is well attested in the sunnah: when the Prophet ﷺ received good news, he would go down in prostration in gratitude to Allah.

It is not part of any prayer. No wudu debate needs settling before you can benefit from knowing about it. You hear good news, you go down, you thank Allah, you get up.

The building

Small and plain. Official Madinah information records a reconstruction in 1399 AH that brought the total area to about 182.3 square metres, with a minaret added at the northwestern corner during the Saudi period. It is open for visits and for prayer at prayer times.

182 square metres. That is a large room, and it is the whole mosque.

The evidence

• The prostration of thanks as a practice: established in the sunnah.
• The report of this specific prostration and what Jibril brought: in the hadith literature, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, not in Bukhari or Muslim, with its grading discussed.
• That this building marks the exact garden: historical tradition, level B.
• A special reward for praying here: none that we know of.

Is visiting part of Hajj or Umrah?

No. Not a rite of either.

Visiting

• Five minutes. It is one small room with a minaret.
• It is walkable from the central Haram area, being under a kilometre north.
• Open at prayer times, per the official information, though access can vary.
• Do not confuse it with Masjid al-Ijabah, which is a different small mosque in the same general part of the city with a different hadith attached.

Nearby

• Masjid al-Ijabah — the other small hadith-linked mosque in this area.
• Jannat al-Baqi — a short walk away.
• Masjid an-Nabawi — 800 metres south.
• Madinah Ziyarat guide — the full list with evidence levels.

Getting there

Madinah's historic sites are spread across the city and doing them one taxi at a time wastes most of a 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 report of the Prophet ﷺ prostrating at length in a palm garden and then relating what Jibril brought him, that whoever sends blessings upon him is blessed in return and whoever gives him salam is greeted in return, is narrated from Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf and recorded in the hadith literature. It is not in Sahih al-Bukhari or Sahih Muslim and its grading is discussed by hadith scholars; we have said so rather than presenting it as of the highest grade. The prostration of thanks as a practice, made on receiving good news, is well established in the sunnah. The identification of this building with that garden is historical tradition, level B. The location about 800 m north of Masjid an-Nabawi, the reconstruction in 1399 AH bringing the total area to about 182.3 square metres, the minaret added at the northwestern corner in the Saudi period, and the mosque being open for visits and prayer at prayer times, follow the official Madinah destination information. We know of no authentic report of a special reward for praying in this mosque. Visiting is not a rite of Hajj or Umrah. Content verified August 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.