Just a short walk from Masjid Qubā, in the open plaza with palm trees and clean stone paths, you’ll notice a tall information pillar that reads “Aris Well (Al-Khatim)”. At its base, a circular stone ring is set into the ground. That simple circle is all that remains to mark the spot of Bi’r Arīs – one of Madinah’s historic wells.
Classical books of ḥadīth describe Bi’r Arīs as a place where the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ once sat in serenity. Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī رضي الله عنه tells how he made wuḍūʾ at home and said to himself: “Today I will stay close to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ all day.” He followed the Prophet ﷺ from the mosque until he entered Bi’r Arīs.
There, he found the Prophet ﷺ sitting on the rim of the well, in the middle of its low wall, his blessed shins uncovered and his legs dangling into the water. Abū Mūsā greeted him, then sat at the entrance saying: “Today I will act as the doorkeeper of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”
One by one, the Khulafā’ al-Rāshidīn arrived:
- Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه came first. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Let him in and give him glad tidings of Paradise.”
He sat on the Prophet’s right, with his feet in the water. - Then ʿUmar رضي الله عنه came and was given the same glad tidings, sitting on the Prophet’s left.
- Finally ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه arrived. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Let him in and give him glad tidings of Paradise, along with a trial that will befall him.”
The rim was full, so ʿUthmān sat opposite them, facing the three.
Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib later said: “I interpreted this scene as referring to their graves.”
In another narration, during the caliphate of ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه, he sat again on the edge of Bi’r Arīs, turning the Prophet’s ring in his hand. It slipped and fell into the well. For three days the water was drawn out, but the ring was never found.
Today, the physical well has been closed, but the stone circle on the ground marks its exact location, while the modern signboard tells visitors a brief version of its story. You’re standing where the Prophet ﷺ and the three rightly guided caliphs once sat together with their feet in the same blessed water.
