Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah Received 21.6 Million Visitors in September, 1.45 Million Prayed in the Rawdah
More than 21.6 million people visited the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah during September alone, according to monthly figures released by the General Authority for the Care of the Two Holy Mosques — a number that underlines how the city’s draw now stretches far beyond the Hajj season.
The authority put the exact total at 21,615,977 visits. Of those, 2,124,421 visitors came to offer greetings at the Prophet’s Chamber, and 1,449,791 were able to pray inside Al-Rawdah Al-Sharifah, the small, deeply revered area between the Prophet’s pulpit and his chamber that pilgrims queue for hours to enter.
Behind those headline numbers sits a large support operation. Location-guidance services helped 355,130 visitors find their way around the sprawling complex, guest care centres assisted 287,886 people, and mobile cart services carried 308,261 visitors. Services for older worshippers and people with disabilities reached 79,599 visitors — a reminder of how many elderly pilgrims make the journey and depend on that help.
The mosque’s quieter corners drew crowds of their own. The Prophet’s Mosque Library received 81,243 visitors in the month, and its exhibitions attracted 137,867, as visitors spent time with the scholarship and history attached to the site alongside their prayers.
The authority said the figures reflected its continuing work to organise the flow of worshippers and provide services that let pilgrims pray in a calm and peaceful atmosphere — no small task when a single month brings a population larger than many countries through one mosque’s doors.
