Medina
Medina ( or المدينة ; also transliterated into
English as
Madinah) is a city in the
Hejaz region of western
Saudi Arabia.
It currently has a population of 918,889 (
2004 census). Medina is located at . Medina was originally known as
Yathrib, but later the city's name was changed to Madīnat al-Nabī (ﻣﺩﯾﻨ" ﺍﻟﻨ'ﻲ "city of the prophet") or
Al Madīnah al Munawwarah ("the enlightened city" or "the radiant city"), while the short form
Medina simply means "city". Medina is the second holiest city of
Islam, after
Mecca (Makkah).
Its importance as a religious site derives from the presence there of the shrine of
Muhammad by
Masjid al-Nabawi (or the Mosque of the Prophet), famously known as
Qubbat al-Nabi,
Prophet's Dome or Green Dome, which was built on a site adjacent to Muhammad's home. His home later became part of the mosque when it was expanded by the
Umayyad caliph al-Waleed ibn AbdelMalek. The first mosque of Islam is also located in Medinah and is known as
Masjid Quba, (the
Quba Mosque).
Like Mecca, the city of Medina only permits
Muslims to enter. Both cities' numerous mosques are the destination for large numbers of Muslims on their annual pilgrimage. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims will come to Medina annually to worship at these mosques in a unified celebration.
In pre-Islamic times the city was known as
Yathrib. It was an important trading town and its pagan inhabitants would make yearly pilgrimages to the shrines in
Mecca, being that the chief god of both cities was
Manat. It was also notable as a center of Arab Jews, who were only distinguished from their fellow citizens by their religion.
Islamic sources such as the
hadith state that Medina had a population of two
pagan tribes (the
Banu Aus and
Banu Khazraj) as well as many
Jewish tribes:
Banu Qainuka'a,
Banu Nadhir,
Banu Sa'ida,
Banu Harith,
Banu Jusham,
Banu Najjar and
Banu Qurayza. The two powerful tribes of Banu Aus and Banu Khazraj were in a 120 year old conflict with eachother that had escalated to full war a in the 610s: The
battle of Bu'athIn
622, Medina became the seat of Muhammad's growing movement after the
Hijra. In the same year Muhammad was invited to come and live in Yathrib (and act as a sort of mediator).
According to Islamic tradition, the two tribes got word of
Muhammad in Mecca and decided to allow him to resolve their conflict. Muhammad and his followers thus agreed to move (known as the
Hijra migration) to Yathrib, which eventually became known as
al-Madinah al-Nabi, the city of the Messenger. Upon entry Muhammad drafted the
Constitution of Medina [
1] making him the leader of the city. The charter drew up an alliance between the
Muslim,
pagan and
Jewish communities. The communities were to remain economically and socially separate, but militarily and politically one unit. Treachery and breach in trust was strictly forbidden.
The treaty, however, soon broke down. After Muhammad survived the
Battle of Badr and
Battle of Uhud, and secured peace and prosperity of Medina, some Jewish tribes turned against him. After failed attempts to assassinate Muhammad, two of the Jewish tribes were expelled, the
Banu Nadir and
Banu Qaynuqa.
In 627, the army of Mecca once again attacked Medina under the command of
Abu Sufyan. Unable to defeat muslim on the front lines, Abu Sufyan asked the Jewish
Banu Qurayza tribe to attack the Muslims from behind the lines. The Jewish tribe agreed, in a clear breach of the Medina charter, and hostilities between them and Muslims broke out. After the defeat of Meccans, the tribe unconditionally surrendered, and appointed
Sa'ad ibn Mua'dh to be their judge. Mua'dh judged against the Jews (his decision was based upon jewish law as requested by Banu Qurayza itself), and all male members of the tribe were executed. The women and children were sold into slavery. That was the end of hostilites at Medina, and subsequent Jewish tribes continued to live at peace with Medinan Muslims.
Capital city — 627 - 630
In the ten years following the
Hijra, Medina formed the base from which Muhammad attacked and was attacked and it was from here that he
marched on Mecca, becoming its ruler without battle. Even when Islamic rule was established, Medina remained for some years the most important city of Islam and the de facto capital of the
Caliphate.
First four Caliphs — 630 - 661
Under the first four
Sunni Caliphs, known as the
Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Islamic empire expanded rapidly and came to include historical centres of learning such as
Jerusalem and
Damascus, and
Baghdad. After the death of
Ali Karam Allahu wajha hul kareem, the fourth caliph,
Mu'awiyya transferred the capital to
Damascus and the importance of Medina dwindled and became more of a religious site than a political site.
661 - 2006
In
1256 Medina was threatened by
lava flow from the last eruption of
Harrat Rahat.
In
1924 Medina, which had been in
Ottoman hands for centuries, fell to
Ibn Saud, who later became the first King of
Saudi Arabia.
Medina is off limits to non-Muslims. This, however, is different from the times of Muhammad, who permitted Christians to pray inside the
Masjid al-Nabawi.
*
List of Holy Cities*
Mecca*
Pictures of madinah and other Beautiful places of the Muslim world- Al Quran & Sunnah community
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Satellite map of Medina - Google
