Madinah Guide: Live Prayer Times, Weather and Ziyarat

This Madinah guide is for pilgrims who want everything about the city of the Prophet ﷺ in one place. Below you will find the live Madinah time, today’s prayer times and the weather now, then the history and virtue of the city, a practical walk-through of Masjid an-Nabawi and the Rawdah, the best months to visit, every ziyarah in Madinah, the areas to stay in and the etiquette that makes a visit easier.

The live panel updates in your browser, so you can keep this Madinah guide open on your phone and check the next prayer or the forecast at any moment of your stay.

Madinah time, Madinah weather and Madinah prayer times explained

Madinah time is Arabia Standard Time (AST), three hours ahead of GMT all year, the same as Makkah. Saudi Arabia does not use daylight saving, so the gap to the UK is three hours in winter and two hours in summer. The panel above shows the current Madinah time, the Hijri date and the difference from where you are.

The Madinah prayer times shown are calculated with the Umm al-Qura method, the official method in Saudi Arabia. Fajr is set when the sun is 18.5° below the horizon, and Isha is fixed at 90 minutes after Maghrib, extended to 120 minutes in Ramadan. Madinah lies about 340 km north of Makkah, so its prayers usually fall a few minutes apart from those in Makkah, and the adhan in Masjid an-Nabawi can differ from any calculation by a minute or two.

Adhan and iqamah at Masjid an-Nabawi

As in Makkah, there is an early adhan some time before dawn and then the adhan for Fajr. The gap to the iqamah is usually around 10 to 25 minutes, shortest at Maghrib. A funeral prayer often follows the obligatory prayer; stay in your row after the salam and join it.

Jumu‘ah in Madinah

Friday is the busiest day of the week at the mosque. Arrive one to two hours before the adhan if you want a place inside, especially in Ramadan and the winter peak. Once the halls fill, people pray in the courtyards under the great umbrellas, and the roof opens at busy times.

The Madinah weather panel shows the temperature now and a seven-day forecast. Madinah is drier and has cooler winter nights than Makkah, so check it before you pack.

About Madinah: history and virtue

Every Madinah guide begins with the Hijrah. Madinah, once called Yathrib, lies on a high plain ringed by lava fields and mountains, including Uhud to the north. In 622 CE the Prophet ﷺ migrated here from Makkah, first stopping at Quba, and the city became the home of the first Muslim community. He built his mosque beside his house, lived here for the rest of his life and is buried in the room of ‘A’ishah, now within the mosque.

One of the three mosques

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Do not set out on a journey except to three mosques: al-Masjid al-Haram, this mosque of mine and al-Masjid al-Aqsa” (al-Bukhari and Muslim). He also said: “A prayer in this mosque of mine is better than a thousand prayers elsewhere, except al-Masjid al-Haram” (al-Bukhari and Muslim).

The sanctity of Madinah

The Prophet ﷺ declared Madinah a sanctuary: “Madinah is sacred from ‘Ayr to Thawr” (al-Bukhari and Muslim, from ‘Ali). In Muslim he said that Ibrahim made Makkah sacred and that he made sacred what lies between Madinah’s two lava fields, so its trees are not cut and its game is not hunted. He also said that faith will retreat to Madinah as a snake retreats to its hole (al-Bukhari and Muslim).

Masjid an-Nabawi: a practical Madinah guide to the Prophet’s ﷺ Mosque

Masjid an-Nabawi is open day and night, and this section of our Madinah guide answers what first-time visitors ask most. Read our full Masjid an-Nabawi guide for its history and expansions, and our Madinah ziyarat guide for a suggested order of visits.

Gates and landmarks

The mosque has dozens of numbered gates on every side. Bab al-Salam on the west is the traditional entrance for greeting the Prophet ﷺ; the line then moves past the graves of the Prophet ﷺ, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar and leaves towards Bab al-Baqi‘ on the east. King Fahd Gate on the north side opens onto the northern hotels. Choose a gate number, not “by the umbrellas”, as your meeting point.

Women’s areas

Women have their own entrances and prayer halls, clearly signed, mainly on the north and east sides of the mosque, with separate ablution blocks in the courtyards. Women visit the Rawdah and greet the Prophet ﷺ at set times that differ from the men’s; check the latest in Nusuk.

Visiting the Rawdah

The Rawdah is the area between the Prophet’s ﷺ house and his minbar, of which he said, “What is between my house and my minbar is a garden from the gardens of Paradise” (al-Bukhari and Muslim). Access now runs through timed permits booked in the Nusuk app. Slots, frequency limits and queuing gates change, so check the latest in Nusuk and see our Rawdah booking guide.

Madinah weather by month and the best time to visit

Madinah has a desert climate: very hot summers and pleasant winters, when nights can turn chilly. From December to February, days are mild and comfortable for walking between ziyarat, and a light jacket is useful after Isha. Summer highs often pass 43°C. Compare both cities in our Makkah and Madinah weather guide.

Crowds matter as much as the Madinah weather. Ramadan, the school holidays and the weeks just after Hajj, when many Hajj pilgrims come to Madinah, are the busiest periods. Quieter weeks tend to fall away from those peaks.

Madinah ziyarat: every site in the city

Madinah ziyarat brings the Seerah to life. Some visits have a clear basis in the Sunnah: praying in Masjid an-Nabawi, greeting the Prophet ﷺ, praying in Masjid Quba, which carries a reward like an Umrah, visiting Jannat al-Baqi‘ and the martyrs of Mount Uhud, and entering ihram at Dhul Hulayfah when heading to Makkah.

Other sites, such as Masjid al-Qiblatayn, the Seven Mosques and Masjid al-Jumu‘ah, are historic. You may pray where prayer is held, but there is no special reward tied to visiting them. Each card below is tagged Sunnah or Historic, and this Madinah guide lists all 21 Madinah ziyarat sites with distances and visit times.

Museums and learning

Families and first-time visitors enjoy the Seerah Museum beside the mosque, the Dar al-Madinah Museum with its models of the old city, the Hejaz Railway Museum and the King Fahd Qur’an Printing Complex, where tours run by arrangement.

A typical Madinah ziyarat tour by car covers Quba, Qiblatayn, the Seven Mosques and Uhud in one morning. Use the planner below to put the sites in the best order with travel and visit times, or open the full ziyarat route planner.

Madinah ziyarat at a glance

Getting around: our Madinah guide to transport

Where to stay: Madinah guide to the best areas

In Madinah most hotels sit in the Markaziya, the central zone that rings the mosque. Our guide to Madinah hotels near the Haram compares them in detail.

Etiquette and rules in Madinah

No Madinah guide is complete without the adab of the city. Madinah is a haram: its trees are not cut and its game is not hunted. Unlike Makkah, entering Madinah requires no ihram, and you are free to wear normal clothes.

Access, dress and photography

The central area around Masjid an-Nabawi is reserved for Muslims, and signs mark the approach roads; the rules for the wider city can change, so check the latest official guidance. Dress modestly and loosely. Keep photos discreet, never block a walkway or the Rawdah queue for a picture, and avoid filming other worshippers. Speak softly in the mosque, as Allah says: “Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet” (Qur’an 49:2).

Madinah guide: practical tips for your stay

Most pilgrims combine Madinah with Makkah; our Makkah guide has the same live prayer times, weather and ziyarat for the Haram. Browse our Umrah packages or request a tailored quote. If you travel from Madinah to Makkah for Umrah, you enter ihram at Dhul Hulayfah; check your Miqat below.

Madinah guide: frequently asked questions