It is called Masjid ash-Shajarah (“Mosque of the Tree”) because it was built on the spot where the tree once stood under which the Prophet ﷺ used to stay.
It is also called Masjid Dhū’l-Ḥulayfah, because it lies in the area known as Dhū’l-Ḥulayfah. Ḥulayfah is the diminutive of ḥalfah, with fatḥah on the ḥā’ and kasrah on the lām. It is the name of a water-place located between the tribes of Banū Jashm ibn Bakr ibn Hawāzin and Banū Khafājah from the tribe of Tubbah. It is a small settlement, about twelve kilometres from Madinah, and today it is known as Ābār ʿAlī.
It is also called Masjid al-Mīqāt, because it is the mīqāt (station of iḥrām) for the people of Madinah and for all those who pass by that route for ḥajj or ʿumrah.
For this reason it is additionally known as Masjid al-Ḥaram and Masjid al-Iḥrām.
The Prophet’s Prayer at the Site of the Mosque
It has been reported that the Prophet ﷺ used to pray at this very spot where the mosque stands today. Al-Bukhārī and Muslim narrate from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would depart by the route of the tree and return by the route of al-Muʿarris; and that when he set out towards Makkah he would pray in Masjid ash-Shajarah, and when he returned he would pray in the valley inside Dhū’l-Ḥulayfah and remain there until morning.
Ibn Shabbah narrates from Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ prayed in Masjid ash-Shajarah facing the central pillar, and that this was the spot where the tree had been.
Another narration from Ibn ʿUmar states that the Prophet ﷺ dismounted in the pebbly ground (al-Baṭḥā’) of Dhū’l-Ḥulayfah and prayed there. Nāfiʿ says that Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to do the same.
Ibn Saʿd, in his account of the Farewell Pilgrimage, writes that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ left Madinah after performing ghusl, applying oil and combing his hair. He was wrapped in two ṣaḥārī garments, an izār and a ridā’, without any other clothing. His departure was on a Saturday, during the last days of Dhū’l-Qaʿdah, when five days remained of the month. He prayed ẓuhr as two rakʿahs in Dhū’l-Ḥulayfah.
