When the Prophet ﷺ came to al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah, he stayed in Qubā’ in the house of Kulthūm ibn al-Hidm from Banū ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf. He took his threshing-yard and made it into a mosque, shared with them in building it, and used to pray there.
Shumaisah bint al-Nuʿmān said:
“I looked at the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when he arrived, dismounted, and laid the foundations of this mosque, the mosque of Qubā’. I saw him taking a stone or a rock until the stone almost overpowered him, and I could see the whiteness of the dust on his belly or on his navel from its effect. A man from among his Companions would come to him and say, ‘May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah, give it to me so I can carry it for you.’ He would say, ‘No, take one like it, until I set this one in its place.’ And he would say, ‘Indeed Jibrīl عليه السلام is indicating the direction of the Kaʿbah.’ She said: So it used to be said, ‘It is the mosque with the straightest qiblah.’”
Virtues of Masjid Quba
Al-Bukhārī narrated from Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said:
“The Prophet ﷺ used to come to Masjid Qubā’ every Saturday, walking and riding, and ʿAbdullāh (Ibn ʿUmar) used to do the same.”
And from him (Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said:
“The Prophet ﷺ used to come to Masjid Qubā’, riding and walking, and he would pray two rakʿahs there.”
And from Sahl ibn Ḥanīf (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Whoever purifies himself in his house, then comes to Masjid Qubā’ and prays in it a prayer, he will have the reward of an ʿUmrah.”
And from Usayd ibn Ḥuḍayr (may Allah be pleased with him) – and he was one of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ – that he said, reporting from the Prophet ﷺ:
“The prayer in Masjid Qubā’ is like an ʿUmrah.”
