Virtues of Prayer in Masjid al-Haram, Masjid an-Nabawi, and Masjid al-Aqsa

By: Imran Ayoob Lahori

1 – Virtue of Masjid an-Nabawi Compared to Other Mosques​

Hazrat ‘Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:


“A prayer in my mosque is a thousand times better than a prayer in other mosques, except for Masjid al-Haram. And a prayer in Masjid al-Haram is better than one hundred prayers in my mosque.”

References: [Ahmad: 5/4; Ibn Hibban: 1620 – al-Ihsan; Mushkil al-Athar: 2/61; Bazzar: 425 – Kashf al-Astar; Bayhaqi: 5/246; Ibn Hazm: 7/290; Tayalisi: 1327; Majma‘ al-Zawa’id: 4/4 – authenticated by Shaykh Subhi Hallaq in al-Ta‘leeq ‘ala Sabil al-Salam: 4/321]

2 – Virtue of Masjid al-Aqsa​

In Mu‘jam al-Tabarani, Hazrat Abu al-Darda (رضي الله عنه) reported in a marfu‘ narration:


والصلاة فى بيت المقدس بخمسمائة صلاة
“And a prayer in Bayt al-Maqdis is equal in reward to five hundred prayers.”

Reference: [Tabarani as cited in Majma‘ al-Zawa’id: 4/7 – Imam al-Haythami said: its narrators are trustworthy, though some have minor criticism; overall, it is a Hasan hadith]

Summary of Rewards​

• Masjid al-Haram: 100,000× reward (inferred from various sahih narrations) and here stated as 100× better than Masjid an-Nabawi.
• Masjid an-Nabawi: 1,000× reward compared to other mosques (except Masjid al-Haram).
• Masjid al-Aqsa: 500× reward compared to other mosques.