During the period of his khilaafah (rule), Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddeeq (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) did not extend any portion of Musjid-un-Nabawi. He merely replaced some of the old date-trunk pillars, which had decomposed with age and collapsed, with similar date-trunk pillars.

In the 17th year after the Hijrah, Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) extended the musjid towards the qiblah (the southern side) and the western side. Since the rooms of the Azwaaj-e-Mutahharaat were situated on the eastern side, he did not extend the musjid in this direction.

After the demise of the pure wives of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), Waleed bin Abdil Malik (who was the ruler at that time), instructed that the rooms of the pure wives be demolished and the area included into the musjid.

When the instruction of Waleed (to demolish the rooms of the Azwaaj-e-Mutahharaat) reached Madinah Munawwarah, the entire population of Madinah Munawwarah cried out in dismay. Hazrat Abu Umaamah bin Sahl bin Hunaif (rahimahullah), would often say, “If only the rooms were left intact as they were, so that people would have witnessed for themselves how the Messenger (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), who was divinely awarded the keys to the treasures of the world, passed his life in such simple rooms and huts.”

After Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) completed the construction of Musjid-un-Nabawi, he laid foundations for the rooms of his pure wives. Initially, he built two rooms; one for Hazrat Sawdah bint Zam’ah (radhiyallahu ‘anha), and the other for Hazrat Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha). The additional rooms were built later on as the need arose.

Adjacent to the musjid were the houses of Hazrat Haarithah bin Nu’maan Ansaari (radhiyallahu ‘anhu). Whenever the need arose, Hazrat Haarithah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) would offer a house to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). In this manner, he offered and gave all his houses, one after the other, to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam).

When Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) intended to extend Musjid-un-Nabawi, he approached the Ansaari who owned the adjoining plot of land and said to him, “Sell this land to us in exchange of a palace in Jannah (i.e. donate this land for the purpose of building a musjid, and in exchange of this, Allah Ta‘ala will reward you with a palace in Jannah).”

However, due to his poverty and the large number of his dependants, the Ansaari was unable to donate the land for free. It is for this reason that Hazrat Uthmaan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) purchased this plot from the Ansaari in exchange of ten thousand dirhams.