Masjid al-Nabawi & the Brotherhood
المسجد النبوي والمؤاخاة
Upon arriving in Madinah, the Prophet ﷺ first built Masjid al-Nabawi as the centre of the community. He then established the Brotherhood (al-Muakhah) — pairing each Muhajir with an Ansari — creating an unprecedented bond of shared life and wealth.
The Account
Building Masjid al-Nabawi
When the Prophet's ﷺ camel knelt at the land of Sahl and Suhayl ibn Amr (two orphan boys of Banu Najjar), he purchased the land for 10 gold dinars — paid by Abu Bakr RA.
The mosque was built from palm trunks and mud bricks. The Prophet ﷺ worked alongside his companions, carrying bricks and reciting:
"O Allah, there is no life but the life of the Hereafter — so forgive the Ansar and the Muhajirun."
The mosque was approximately 60 by 70 cubits — simple, functional, and the centre of Muslim life. Attached to it were the Prophet's ﷺ own living quarters (hujurat).
What Masjid al-Nabawi became: - The house of prayer (five daily prayers and Friday prayer) - The political centre (the Prophet ﷺ received delegations and resolved disputes there) - The school (the Ahl al-Suffah — scholars who lived in the mosque — learned there) - The hospital (the wounded from battles were treated in a tent set up in its courtyard) - The military headquarters (expeditions were dispatched from there)
Al-Muakhah — The Brotherhood
Shortly after arriving in Madinah, the Prophet ﷺ established al-Muakhah (the Brotherhood) — pairing each Muhajir (immigrant from Mecca) with an Ansari (host from Madinah) as brothers in faith.
He paired 90 companions — 45 Muhajirun and 45 Ansar.
The pairings were profoundly meaningful: - Abu Bakr RA ↔ Kharijah ibn Zuhayr - Umar ibn al-Khattab RA ↔ Itban ibn Malik - Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf RA ↔ Sa'd ibn al-Rabi' (who offered to split his wealth and give him a wife) - Bilal ibn Rabah RA ↔ Abu Ruwayhah
Sa'd ibn al-Rabi' said to Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf RA: "I am the wealthiest of the Ansar. I will divide my wealth in half. I have two wives — look at which you prefer, and I will divorce her so you can marry her after her 'iddah."
Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf RA replied: "May Allah bless you in your wife and wealth. Just show me the market."
He went to the market with nothing, traded, and soon returned with profit — demonstrating both the spirit of the Muhajirun (self-reliance) and the generosity of the Ansar.
In the early period, this brotherhood was so strong that the Ansar shared inheritance with the Muhajirun — until the verse abrogating non-blood inheritance was revealed (Al-Anfal: 75), after which they only shared brotherhood and support.
Hadith References
"Anas ibn Malik RA narrated: Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf came to the Prophet ﷺ with traces of saffron on him [from a wedding]. The Prophet ﷺ asked him about it and he said he had married an Ansari woman. The Prophet ﷺ said: "May Allah bless you — give a walimah even if with one sheep.""
Relevance: Shows Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf RA had already established himself through trade after the Brotherhood
Scholar Views
"The Brotherhood was an extraordinary social engineering achievement. The Prophet ﷺ took 1,000 men who were strangers and turned them into a single family within months. This was only possible through the bond of iman (faith)."
Zad al-Ma'ad, Vol. 3
"The construction of the mosque as the first act in Madinah was deliberate. Every civilization is built around a central institution. For Islam, that institution was the masjid — not the palace, the market, or the fort."
Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum, Chapter on Madinah
Key Lessons
- ◆The mosque was built before any private home — establishing that communal worship takes precedence over personal comfort
- ◆The Brotherhood shows that genuine Islamic community means sharing life, not just praying together
- ◆Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf RA's refusal of charity while accepting help to access opportunity is a model of dignified self-reliance
- ◆The early Muslim economy was built on brotherhood and trust — not contracts and litigation
Sources
- •Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum — Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri
- •Al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya — Ibn Kathir
- •Zad al-Ma'ad — Ibn al-Qayyim
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