Hijrah
Muhammad leaves Quba and enters central Yathrib
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Original prompt & settings (JSON) ↗The ground chosen for the Prophet's Mosque was not a monument but a yard used for drying dates — owned by two orphan boys, Sahl and Suhayl.
622: the last short ride
After a stay at Quba with the Banu ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf, in 622 Muhammad left for the central settlement of Yathrib with Abu Bakr and an armed escort from the Banu al-Najjar, whose swords turned the final short ride into a public demonstration of protection.
Some residents initially greeted Abu Bakr rather than Muhammad, because Abu Bakr was standing and visible while Muhammad sat silently.
A date-yard becomes a mosque
Muhammad lodged in the courtyard or household of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. His camel stopped at a date-drying yard belonging to two orphan boys, Sahl and Suhayl, and he negotiated for the ground as the site of his mosque.
Construction began with Muhammad and his followers carrying unburnt bricks and clearing and levelling the site — giving the emigrant community a physical centre in Yathrib.
Dates and distinctions
Arrival at Quba and entry into central Yathrib are two milestones often collapsed into one “arrival in Medina,” since Quba lay within the wider Medinan oasis. The length of the Quba stay is itself disputed: reports give fourteen nights, more than ten, or only several.
The entry date is equally contested, with reconstructions including 24 September, 4 October, and — under a hypothetical intercalated Arabian calendar — a date in July 622. The agreement conventionally called the Constitution of Medina followed not long after his arrival, but no consulted source establishes that it was drafted on this entry date.
Sources
Researched 23 Aug 2026 5 sources 3 audit passes Date disputed
How this was checked
Researched from the web into a fact sheet, rewritten from that sheet, then audited against it by a different model. How the pipeline works →
Date disputed. Sources disagree; the research places it at ~0622-09-24.
What the sources leave uncertain
- The exact entry date is highly disputed. Reconstructions include 24 September, 4 October and, under a hypothetical intercalated Arabian calendar, a date in July 622.
- The sources conflict over the length of the Quba stay: reports give approximately ten, fourteen or only several nights.
- Quba lay within the wider Medinan oasis, so sources saying Muhammad 'arrived in Medina' may mean arrival at Quba rather than his later movement into central Yathrib.
- The Constitution of Medina is early and probably followed the Hijra, but scholars dispute its unity and dating; assigning its drafting to this exact day is unwarranted.