- Where
- The centre of Makkah, Saudi Arabia
- Holds
- The Kaaba, the Black Stone, Maqam Ibrahim, Hijr Ismail, Zamzam, Safa and Marwah
- Rites
- Tawaf and sai in Umrah and Hajj; the farewell tawaf
- Open
- Day and night, every day
What Masjid al-Haram is
Masjid al-Haram (الْمَسْجِد الْحَرَام) means "the Sacred Mosque". It is the mosque built around the Kaaba, the House of Allah, in the city of Makkah. It is the first of the three mosques Muslims may travel to for worship, and the qibla of every prayer. Inside it are the Kaaba, the Black Stone, Maqam Ibrahim, Hijr Ismail, the well of Zamzam, and the hills of Safa and Marwah, now joined by the long gallery of the Mas'a.
Haram here means sacred and protected. The whole area around Makkah, marked by boundary signs on each road, is the Haram: no hunting, no cutting its trees and no fighting there. The mosque at its centre carries the name. The Quran calls it al-Masjid al-Haram in many places, and tells the believers to face it in prayer.
قَدْ نَرَىٰ تَقَلُّبَ وَجْهِكَ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ ۖ فَلَنُوَلِّيَنَّكَ قِبْلَةًۭ تَرْضَىٰهَا ۚ فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ ۚ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنتُمْ فَوَلُّوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُۥ ۗ وَإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ لَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ ٱلْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ ۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَٰفِلٍ عَمَّا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿١٤٤﴾
Qad naraa taqalluba wajhika fis samaaa'i fala nuwalliyannaka qiblatan tardaahaa; fawalli wajhaka shatral Masjidil haaraam; wa haisu maa kuntum fawalloo wujoohakum shatrah; wa innal lazeena ootul Kitaaba laya'lamoona annahul haqqu mir Rabbihim; wa mal laahu bighaafilin 'ammaa ya'maloon
We have certainly seen the turning of your face, [O Muhammad], toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces toward it [in prayer]. Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture well know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do.
Quran 2:144, Sahih International translation
People often say "the Haram" or "Haram Sharif" for the mosque itself. Strictly, the Haram is the whole sacred area, and Masjid al-Haram is the mosque. Scholars differ on whether the extra reward for prayer covers the whole Haram or the mosque only.
Its history
The Quran tells us that Ibrahim and his son Ismail raised the foundations of the House and prayed that Allah accept it from them.
وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَٰهِۦمُ ٱلْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَٰعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ﴿١٢٧﴾
Wa iz yarfa'u Ibraaheemul qawaa'ida minal Baitiwa Ismaa'eelu Rabbanaa taqabbal minnaa innaka Antas Samee'ul Aleem
And [mention] when Abraham was raising the foundations of the House and [with him] Ishmael, [saying], "Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed You are the Hearing, the Knowing.
Quran 2:127, Sahih International translation
إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍۢ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِى بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكًۭا وَهُدًۭى لِّلْعَٰلَمِينَ ﴿٩٦﴾ فِيهِ ءَايَٰتٌۢ بَيِّنَٰتٌۭ مَّقَامُ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ ۖ وَمَن دَخَلَهُۥ كَانَ ءَامِنًۭا ۗ وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ حِجُّ ٱلْبَيْتِ مَنِ ٱسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًۭا ۚ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَنِىٌّ عَنِ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ ﴿٩٧﴾
Inna awwala Baitinw wudi'a linnaasi lallazee bi Bakkata mubaarakanw wa hudal lil 'aalameen Feehi Aayaatum baiyinaatum Maqaamu Ibraaheema wa man dakhalahoo kaana aaminaa; wa lillaahi 'alan naasi Hijjul Baiti manis tataa'a ilaihi sabeelaa; wa man kafara fa innal laaha ghaniyyun 'anil 'aalameen
(96) Indeed, the first House [of worship] established for mankind was that at Makkah - blessed and a guidance for the worlds. (97) In it are clear signs [such as] the standing place of Abraham. And whoever enters it shall be safe. And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way. But whoever disbelieves - then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds.
Quran 3:96-97, Sahih International translation
For centuries there was only an open space around the Kaaba, with houses close by. The historians of Makkah, such as al-Azraqi, report that Umar ibn al-Khattab bought some of those houses and built the first low wall around the mataf, and that Uthman widened it again. Later caliphs added covered arcades, the Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi most of all. The Ottoman sultans rebuilt the arcades with the small domes that can still be seen around the courtyard.
From the 1950s the Saudi state enlarged the mosque again and again: the first expansion brought the Mas'a inside the building, the King Fahd extension added the west wing, and the northern extension under King Abdullah, begun in 2011, added huge new halls. Each time the mataf was kept open to the sky around the Kaaba.
The hadith on its virtue
صَلَاةٌ فِي مَسْجِدِي أَفْضَلُ مِنْ أَلْفِ صَلَاةٍ فِيمَا سِوَاهُ إِلَّا الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ، وَصَلَاةٌ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ مِائَةِ أَلْفِ صَلَاةٍ فِيمَا سِوَاهُ
“A prayer in my mosque is better than a thousand prayers elsewhere, except al-Masjid al-Haram, and a prayer in al-Masjid al-Haram is better than a hundred thousand prayers elsewhere.”
Sunan Ibn Majah 1406, from Jabir. Graded sahih by al-Albani and others.
لَا تُشَدُّ الرِّحَالُ إِلَّا إِلَى ثَلَاثَةِ مَسَاجِدَ: الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ، وَمَسْجِدِ الرَّسُولِ ﷺ، وَمَسْجِدِ الْأَقْصَى
“Do not set out on a journey except to three mosques: al-Masjid al-Haram, the mosque of the Messenger ﷺ, and al-Masjid al-Aqsa.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 1189; Sahih Muslim 1397, from Abu Hurayrah.
The first of these is the hadith behind the well-known "100,000 prayers". The thousandfold reward for the Prophet's Mosque is in al-Bukhari and Muslim, and the hundred-thousand for Masjid al-Haram comes through this chain in Ibn Majah and in Musnad Ahmad.
Visiting etiquette
- Enter with the right foot, send salawat on the Prophet ﷺ and say the dua for entering a masjid: اللَّهُمَّ افْتَحْ لِي أَبْوَابَ رَحْمَتِكَ, Allahumma iftah li abwaba rahmatik (Sahih Muslim 713).
- If you came for Umrah, go to tawaf first: for the one who intends tawaf, tawaf is the greeting of this mosque. Otherwise pray two rakahs before you sit, outside the disliked times.
- Keep your voice low, do not push at the Black Stone, and let the old and the weak through.
- Take your shoes in a bag, or note the shelf number. Shoes left at the doors are often lost.
- Drink Zamzam from the coolers. Face the qibla, say Bismillah and make dua.
- Avoid filming people while they pray. Many pilgrims do not want to appear in photos.
The greeting of Masjid al-Haram is tawaf, for one who has come to do tawaf. One who will not do tawaf prays two rakahs as in any mosque, outside the disliked times. The two rakahs after tawaf are wajib.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali
- The same greeting of tawaf. The two rakahs after tawaf are sunnah in the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools; the Maliki school makes them wajib after a wajib tawaf.
Practical notes
- Choose one gate as your meeting point. King Abdulaziz Gate (1) faces the Clock Tower, King Fahd Gate (79) is on the west and King Abdullah Gate (100) is in the north. See them on the Makkah map.
- When the mataf is full, you can do tawaf on the upper floors or the roof. Each round there is much longer, so allow more time.
- The halls are air-conditioned and can feel cold. A light shawl helps.
- Non-Muslims may not enter Makkah or the Haram, as the Quran says in 9:28 and as Saudi law applies it.
- For packing, see the Umrah checklist, and for the rites, the Umrah guide.
Questions
Why is it called Masjid al-Haram?
Haram means sacred and protected. The mosque is in the middle of the Haram, the sacred area of Makkah where hunting, cutting trees and fighting are forbidden.
Is a prayer in Masjid al-Haram worth 100,000 prayers?
Yes, according to the hadith of Jabir in Sunan Ibn Majah 1406, which al-Albani and others graded sahih. Scholars differ on whether the reward covers the whole Haram or only the mosque.
Can non-Muslims visit Masjid al-Haram?
No. Entry to Makkah's Haram is for Muslims only, based on Quran 9:28, and Saudi Arabia enforces this with checkpoints on the roads.
What is the difference between the Haram and Masjid al-Haram?
The Haram is the whole sacred area around Makkah, marked by boundary signs. Masjid al-Haram is the mosque at its centre, around the Kaaba.
Is Masjid al-Haram open all the time?
Yes. It is open day and night. Some doors and floors are closed at busy times to manage the crowd.
Sources
- Quran 2:127, 2:144, 3:96 to 97 and 9:28.
- Sunan Ibn Majah 1406; Sahih al-Bukhari 1189; Sahih Muslim 713 and 1397.
- Al-Azraqi, Akhbar Makkah, on the early walls and expansions.
- Al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah, Kitab al-Hajj; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar. The other madhhabs' positions are summarised from their standard manuals.
- Quran: Arabic from the Tanzil Uthmani text, English by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic is the standard wording of the collection named; gradings are given for every hadith outside al-Bukhari and Muslim.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.