This is the first time Iam contributing to the amazing #monthlytopic initiated by @HiroyukiTakisawa , I have selected the beautiful Prophet’s Mosque located in Madinah for my post. The Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) Mosque also known as “Al-Masjid an-Nabawi” is considered as a holy site for all Muslims in the world. This mosque was built by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) after migrating from Mecca to Madinah during the year 622 CE. This mosque is considered as the second holiest site in the religion of Islam (The Great Mosque of Mecca comes first). Over the years, the mosque site has undergone many expansions to increase its capacity and improve the infrastructure. The dimensions of the mosque when first built was 35 meters in length and 30 meters in width and it was an open-air mosque. The Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) used to live in a house which was right adjacent to the mosque. The present size of the mosque is ~100 times bigger when compare to the original size and can easily accommodate more than a million pilgrims at a time.
The King of Saudi Arabia and its ministry solely owned the responsibility of looking after this holy site and all its related construction and maintenance work. For me personally visiting this holy place will always bring in peace and comfort to my soul. We Muslims visit this holy site to achieve more closeness to god (Allah for Muslims) and worship the creator for the blessings and repentance. The mosque has a flat paved roof with many movable dome structures raised on it to let in the daylight. The roof area is accessible only during the peak time to accommodate more pilgrims and can be reached by either stairs or escalators. The interior of the mosque is full of beautiful arches with black and white Voussoirs. The inside columns are of white marble and have ventilation grills that works as air diffusers to regulate the temperature inside the prayer hall.
Many convertible umbrellas are placed around the piazza of the mosque to provide shade to the worshipers and prevent them from slipping during the rain. The contract of laying these umbrellas was giving to a German company, the company managed to come-up with a unique fabric for the umbrella that can easily block the UV radiation. The umbrellas are remotely controlled and can easily be opened and closed through a control system.
In my opinion, the best time to visit this holy place is during the weekdays and in the winter season as the place will be less crowded with good weather conditions. There are around 43 gates to access this huge mosque with separate gates for ladies’ worshipers. 
accessibility is available at every gate of the mosque by means of a wheelchair ramp. Ladies can access the holy site of Riyad al-Jannah at specific timings. For visitors travelling with family it is best recommended to stay at accommodations close to ladies’ entrance gates. We usually stay in accommodations within proximity to Gate # 17, which allows the ladies worshipers to enter the premises of mosque.
The mosque also incorporates the final resting place of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the first two caliphs Abu Bakr (RA) and Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA). The Southeast direction of the Prophets Mosque houses the oldest and the first Islamic cemetery of Medina known as “Jannat Al Baqi”, it incorporates the final resting place (Graves) of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) family and friends. This place is also considered as one of the holiest cemeteries in Islamic tradition.
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Hi @fasi6083
Thanks for sharing Muslim’s best Mosque, “Al-Masjid an-Nabawi” also show us beautiful pictures of that Mosque and nice descriptions of that Mosque
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@fasi6083 , Indonesia this year does not send pilgrims 
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Hi @fasi6083
Your post about the Prophet’s Mosque is really wonderful. You have described it very well.
All your shared photos of the Prophet’s Mosque are beautiful, but I am amazed by a photo of Beautiful columns in the Prophets Mosque, it looks magnificent.
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Welcome to this world of #monthlytopic @fasi6083 . Thanks for writing this nice post with a lot of images and necessary information about the Prophet’s Mosque of Madinah. All the photos are amazing. Did you take them yourself? Regards.
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@fasi6083 Wow! What a great post! I’ve always loved and admired Islamic architecture. There’s an Islamic Art Museum (maps) in Malaysia that I’ve visited once and it was very fascinating to read up on the maths/engineering behind some of these amazing patterns/designs! Thanks for sharing this and the photos are fantastic! I would love to see the ‘umbrellas’ open and close to see how they function!
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I have been visiting this holy mosque for atleast 2 time every year, So luckily got the chance to click these photographs. Have you visited this mosque @MukulR
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Thanks for the comment @MAHBUB_HYDER Iam glad that you like the post.
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Unfortunately, I have never visited this Great Mosque yet @fasi6083 . But, if Allah allows, I will visit this one day for sure. Thanks for the information.
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Even for Hajj pilgrimage this year only limited number of worshippers (~10000 locals with 70% expatriates) are allowed to perform the rituals. Let’s hope in sha allah things goes back to normal in the coming years @Wisnusetiono
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I pray to Allah to fulfill your wish to visit this holy mosque @MukulR My dream is to visit Al Aqsa mosque.
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Thanks for the wonderful comment @AdrianLunsong , SL Rasch company is the main contractor of the beautiful retractable umbrellas, they have installed similar umbrellas in Texas at this location. Here is a video which shows the opening of the umbrellas.
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Thank you so much for such a nice comment @vijayparadkar yes you are right all the columns, arches and chandeliers are beautifully decorated inside this mosque.
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Thanks for a virtual tour of the mosque @fasi6083 all due to the high quality of photos taken at key places.
I have heard that only a limited number of visitor are allowed every year, do they use a lottery system for this?
~Greetings from New Delhi
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Hello, @fasi6083
Thank you for joining #monthlytopic and sharing this nice post. That mosque is really beautiful and impressive. Moreover, it’s wonderful that it has great accessibility as well. Amazing!
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Thanks for the comment @TusharSuradkar In this particular mosque there are no restrictions with regard to number of visitors throughout the year. In the grand mosque of Mecca (Masjid al-Haram) every year Muslims perform an Islamic pilgrimage known as “Hajj”. The government of Saudi Arabia annually makes the arrangements for Hajj rituals and announces the approximate number of visitors it can accommodate for the pilgrimage (In 2019, ~2.5 Million pilgrims participated in the Hajj rituals). A fix Hajj quota with regard to the number of visitors will be assigned based on the nationalities/countries. The countries will then do the lottery system to fulfill the quota numbers and select the haj candidates (In 2019, 59.7% of Hajj visitors came from Asian countries, 9.5% from African countries, 5% from European Countries).
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That’s nice to hear about the pilgrimage to an important religious place.
I have another question if you’d @fasi6083
Does that mean a Muslim from anywhere in the world can visit Mecca or Medina at any time of the year without restrictions, subject to getting the visa of KSA?
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Yes that’s correct, Muslims can visit both Mecca and Madinah through out the year provided they have a valid travel visa. During the Zu Al-Ḥijjah (Islamic Calendar last month) when Hajj is performed, only the people with Hajj permit can enter Mecca, where as Madinah will be open for all Muslims (Irrespective of Haj Permits) during this month. @TusharSuradkar
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I would like to thank you @HiroyukiTakisawa for initiating this wonderful #monthlytopic platform and encouraging the LGs to contribute under this interesting category.
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@fasi6083 Congratulations on your first post in #monthlytopic. This mosque is really beautiful. The photos are amazing. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
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