[1] Local Muslims generally believe that Massawa, particularly the small island known as Ras Medr off the city's coast,[2] was the place where the Companions (Arabic: الصحابة, romanized: Ṣaḥābah) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad landed in Africa when they fled persecution by non-Muslims in the Hejazi city of Mecca, present-day Saudi Arabia.

[3] According to Richard J. Reid, the mosque may have been constructed in the 620s or 630s by members of Muhammad's family among this group.

[1] The present-day site consists of an open-air prayer area (a musalla) with a free-standing stone structure that consists of a mihrab (niche symbolising the direction of prayer) and an attached minbar (pulpit) that resembles a miniature minaret.

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