Hujra is an Arabic word meaning a room or chamber. Muslims in general, and the people of Madinah in particular, refer to the sacred “room” as the chamber where the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) lived with Hazrat Ayesha Siddiqah. It does not refer to the other rooms, even though they were part of his sacred residence.
According to Samhudi, the length of the chamber from east to west is 8 meters, and its width is 5.6 meters. The thickness of the inner walls is approximately 1 meter.
Allah mentions the chamber of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in the Qur’an in this verse:
“Indeed, those who call you from outside the chambers—most of them do not understand. And if they had been patient until you came out to them, it would have been better for them. But Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”
(Surah Al-Hujurat)
Here, “chambers” refers to the rooms of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), as these chambers housed his wives.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
“The area between my house and my pulpit is a garden from the gardens of Paradise.”
The Boundaries of Hujra
To the north of the sacred Hujra, or blessed room, was the house of Fatimah bint Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Yahya, Umar bin Ali bin Husayn narrated: “Hazrat Fatimah’s house was on the path of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) as he exited. Her house had a small window facing the chamber of Hazrat Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her). When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) exited his room, he would inquire about Fatimah’s well-being through that window.” Tabarani narrates from Abu Sa’alaba that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would first pray two rak’ahs in Masjid Nabawi after returning from a journey, then visit Hazrat Fatimah’s house to inquire about her, and finally go to his wives.
To the north of the chamber was a road that had a door leading to the chamber. To the south was a path, beyond which was the house of Ummul Mu’mineen Hazrat Hafsah bint Umar bin Khattab. A path separated Hazrat Hafsah’s house from that of Hazrat Ayesha. The two rooms were so close that sometimes they could talk to each other from within their houses. Currently, the site of Hazrat Hafsah’s house is within the enclosure of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) grave. The southern part of the enclosure, where people now stand and pray, was Hazrat Hafsah’s house. It has now been included in the expansion of Masjid Nabawi, where congregational prayers are held.
To the east was the area called Musalla Janazah, where the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would perform funeral prayers. This area is now within the eastern window of the sacred chamber. To the west was Masjid Nabawi. During I’tikaf, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would lift the curtain of the chamber, and Hazrat Ayesha would comb his hair from within the house.
Description of the Sacred Hujra
Just as the walls of Masjid Nabawi were made of unbaked bricks and its roof from palm trunks and leaves, the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) chamber was made of the same materials. The chamber was very simple. Hazrat Ayesha used woolen sheets tied to Arar (a type of cedar) wood to construct the room within the described boundaries. The roof was low enough to be reached by hand. The chamber had two doors, one facing north and the other west. The doors had no frames and remained unlocked during Hazrat Ayesha’s lifetime. The single-panel doors were made of Arar wood.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) lived in this chamber until his last moments. He slept on mats spread on the floor.
Initially, there were only two chambers, one for Hazrat Ayesha and the other for Hazrat Saudah. Later, a separate chamber was constructed for each of his wives. It is narrated that one of the chambers of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) wives was located near the Quba village.
