Masjid Banu Anif: A Black Stone Mosque with No Roof

Masjid Banu Anif, also written Bani Unaif, sits in the al-Usbah neighbourhood, no more than 500 metres from Masjid Quba. It is one of the most unusual buildings in Madinah, and one of the smallest.

It is built of dark basalt stone, it has no roof, and its total area is about 37.5 square metres.

A mosque the size of a room, open to the sky

Read that figure again. Thirty-seven square metres, roughly six metres by six. Four low black stone walls, a floor, and the sky.

Around it is a stone courtyard planted with date palms and local shrubs. That is the whole site.

Most restored historic mosques in Saudi Arabia end up as neat modern buildings with a dome and a minaret. This one was restored under King Salman, as part of the Saudi programme for the care of historic mosques, in a way that kept the original stone form. You are looking at something close to what a very early Madinan mosque actually looked like: dark volcanic stone, no ornament, no roof.

What the sources record

Historical sources record that the Prophet ﷺ prayed Fajr here on his arrival in Madinah, on the day of the Hijrah.

The mosque belonged to the Banu Anif, who were allied with the Banu Amr ibn Awf of the Aws. It is also reported that the Prophet ﷺ used to visit the Companion Talha al-Bara', may Allah be pleased with him, at this place.

Evidence level: B. These come from the historical literature of Madinah, carried into Saudi official descriptions of the site. That is real documentation, and it is not the same as an authentic hadith naming the mosque. We are stating it the way the sources state it.

Visiting

Saudi official information says the mosque is open for worshippers and visitors around the clock, which is unusual among the small historic mosques and makes it easy to fit in.

• Ten minutes. There is not much, and the little there is, is the point.
• Combine it with Quba, which is under half a kilometre away.
• Go early or late. No roof means no shade.
• Look at the stonework. Basalt laid without ornament is what Madinah building looked like before anyone had money to spend on mosques.

Is visiting part of Hajj or Umrah?

No. Not a rite of either, and we know of no authentic report of a special reward for praying here.

Honest verdict

Of all the small mosques scattered around Madinah, this is one of the few we would actively suggest adding, and not because of the evidence, which is level B like the rest of them.

It is worth it because it is physically different. Every other stop on the standard round is a modern building. This is black stone, open to the sky, the size of a large room, restored so that it still looks like itself. Ten minutes here does more for your sense of early Madinah than an hour of newer mosques.

Nearby

• Masjid Quba — 500 metres away, and the site with the strongest evidence in the city outside the Haram.
• Masjid al-Jumu'ah — on the same side, north of Quba.
• The Hijrah route — the journey that ended in this neighbourhood.
• Madinah Ziyarat guide — every site with the evidence stated.

Getting there

Madinah's smaller historic sites are scattered, 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 record that the Prophet ﷺ prayed Fajr at this mosque on his arrival in Madinah on the day of the Hijrah, the tribal affiliation of the Banu Anif with the Banu Amr ibn Awf of the Aws, and the report that he visited Talha al-Bara' there, come from the historical literature of Madinah as carried in Saudi official descriptions of the site. This is level B documentation, not an authentic hadith naming the mosque. The location in the al-Usbah neighbourhood within 500 m of Masjid Quba, the dark basalt construction, the absence of a roof, the area of about 37.5 square metres, the surrounding stone courtyard with palms and native shrubs, the restoration under King Salman within the Saudi national programme for the care of historic mosques, and the site being open around the clock, follow Saudi official sources. We know of no authentic report of a special reward for praying here. Visiting is not a rite of Hajj or Umrah. Content verified August 2026. Correction? Tell us.