Can Muslims abroad buy near the Prophet's Mosque?

Can Muslims abroad buy near the Prophet’s Mosque?

Muslims living abroad can buy a home near Masjid an-Nabawi, the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah (Medina), but only inside the city’s designated zones. Under the Law of Real Estate Ownership by Non-Saudis, ownership there is limited to Muslim individuals, whether they live in the Kingdom or abroad. Madinah has ten named zones, and their nearest boundaries sit anywhere from about 650 metres to about 12.4 kilometres from the mosque in a straight line.

Who can buy in Madinah

For non-Saudis, Article 2(4) of the law limits ownership and other real rights in Makkah (Mecca) and Madinah to Muslim natural persons. A natural person is an individual human being, as distinct from a company or a fund. Real rights are rights held over a property, such as ownership or a usufruct. The Real Estate General Authority (REGA) states that the rule covers Muslim individuals living in the Kingdom and those living abroad alike. If your own circumstances raise a question about eligibility, confirm it with REGA or a licensed adviser before you go further.

Which zones are open in Madinah?

The zones named in Madinah are Al-Ghurra, Madinah Zones 1 and 2, Al-Mahwa, Darat Al-Hijra, Downtown Madinah, Diyar Al-Maqar, Rua Al Madinah, Knowledge Economic City and Mishraf. Arab News published this list on 24 June 2026. The Saudi Properties portal publishes the boundary of each zone, so you can check there whether a building falls inside one. Our guide to where foreigners can buy property in Saudi Arabia covers the zones across the Kingdom.

Outside these zones, a buyer from abroad cannot buy property in Madinah. Elsewhere in the Kingdom the law gives residents a right to own one residence outside the zones, but that right does not apply in the two holy cities. An address just beyond a zone boundary is out of reach for you as a buyer, however close it is to the mosque.

How close are the zones?

Being inside a zone does not by itself place a home near the mosque. Measured from each zone’s nearest boundary point, Madinah’s zones run from about 650 metres to about 12.4 kilometres from the Prophet’s Mosque. Each distance is a straight line from the nearest point of the boundary that the Saudi Properties portal publishes, so the route you walk is always longer. A building in the far part of a large zone will also sit farther from the mosque than the zone’s nearest edge.

Working out the walk

In its pedestrian capacity study, the US Federal Highway Administration recommends a walking speed of 1.2 metres per second for most conditions. Where more than a fifth of the people using a facility are aged 65 or over, the study recommends 1.0 metres per second. To estimate a walk for your family, measure the street route from the building’s door to the mosque. Divide its length in metres by the pace that suits your slowest walker, and you have a time in seconds. Treat the result as a guide and, if you can, walk the route yourself at the times you expect to pray.

What do the zone cards allow?

On the Saudi Properties portal, the ownership-rules card for every designated zone in the two holy cities allows Muslim natural persons a 100% ownership share, a usufruct of up to 99 years and all ten types of real right. Ownership and usufruct are both among those ten. A usufruct is the right to use a property and take its benefit for a set period while someone else holds the ownership.

Permitted uses in Rua Al Madinah

Two zone cards limit how property may be used: Rua Al Madinah in Madinah and Thakher Makkah in Makkah. In those two zones the permitted uses are residential and residential/commercial, and commercial, industrial, agricultural and land uses are excluded. The other twenty zones across the two cities permit all six uses. If you plan to let a unit or use part of it for business, ask the developer and REGA how the use rules apply to that unit.

Fairmont Residences at Rua Al Madinah

Rua Al Madinah Holding, a Public Investment Fund company, markets Fairmont Residences Rua Al Madinah, next to the Prophet’s Mosque. Its page at fairmontresidencesruaalmadinah.com invites you to register your interest and does not offer open sales. We describe the project because it is marketed beside the mosque, and we do not recommend it or any other development. Other activity near the mosque is covered in Madinah development partnerships near the Prophet’s Mosque.

Our sources for this page do not give prices, tenure, payment terms or a date for sales to open. Rua Al Madinah Holding can confirm these points. Before you share personal details, ask what registering commits you to and how the developer will use your information.

Prices and charges

Our sources for this page do not set out purchase prices in Madinah’s zones, the government charges on a purchase or who pays them. REGA can confirm which charges apply to a buyer from abroad and who pays each one. A licensed adviser can explain how they affect you in your home country as well as in the Kingdom. For the official regional index, see Are property prices rising in Madinah?, and if you hope to borrow, read Can you get a Saudi mortgage from abroad?

Checking a home before you commit

• Confirm on the Saudi Properties portal that the building sits inside a designated Madinah zone.
• Ask for the street route from the building to the mosque and estimate the walk with a pace that suits the oldest member of your family.
• Check that the permitted uses on the zone card match how you plan to use the home.
• Ask the seller or developer in writing for the price, the tenure and the payment terms.
• Confirm your eligibility and the purchase steps with REGA, and review your plans with a licensed adviser.

This is not legal advice. Rules change, and each fact above shows the date we last checked it. Speak to a licensed adviser before you commit money.