As it holds the Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) mosque and holy
grave, Al-Madina Al-Munawwara (Arabic for "The Lightened
or Glowing City") is the second most important place to Muslims. It
comes just after Makka (Mecca) and before Jerusalem in holiness. Today, the city
is the capital of Al-Madina province (shown underlined on the map bellow)
at the western region of Saudi Arabia.. It is located at 24°46.09N,
39°62.02E and has a population of about 600,000.
It is impossible to accurately determine the actual year of the founding of Madina, as the number of centuries which separate Noah (upon him be peace) and the emigration of the Messenger of Allah, the Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him), is not known absolutely. The narration of some historians have been transmitted to us, but academically they are unreliable. They merely serve as corroboration of the preponderant proof that has been passed down in written historical chronicles. The 'Abeel and Al-'Amaaleeq tribes existed in the distant past and their oral traditions and traces of artifacts, which would specifically date their age, are non-existent. Thus, authenticating the precise time of the founding of Madina is an impossibility.
Some
of the more recent histories, those reaching back to 1600 years before the
emigration of the Prophet (Peace be upon him), have also been lost.
However, we know that the 'Abeel tribe spoke Arabic, for this has been
documented in chronicles that remain. It has been determined from these
works of non-Arabs, that this was the approximate time of the appearance
of the word Yathrib (Madina's pre-Islamic name).
The name also appears in inscriptions that have been discovered and in books dealing with the history of the Kingdom, in particular those dealing with the cities where various communities had existed. It was also well-known in parts of Yemen, between 600 and 1300 B.C. At that time, prosperity flourished and their power and influence were spread to the Hijaaz and Palestine. When the Sultan of Yemen became weak, the existing groups of inhabitants protected the trade routes to the north. This caravan route specifically passed Yathrib.
This approximate history also agrees with those historians who have mentioned the presence of the tribe, Al-'Amaaleeq. They fought wars with Bani Isra'il (Sons of Israel) in the northern part of the Arabian peninsula and in Sinai.
Although Madina came to prominence with the introduction of Islam, its roots date back hundreds of years into the pre-Islamic era when it was known as Yathrib. The city had abundant water supplies that fed vast date palms and vegetable gardens. The availability of food and water made Madina an important reprovisioning point for caravans that plied the commercial routes from the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula along the Red Sea to Syria and Egypt. Its inhabitants sold food to these passing caravans and, over time, became involved in trade.
It was against this backdrop that the Prophet Muhammad was born in 570 AD in Makka and received the first verses of the Holy Qur'an in the year 610. Based on the worship of God, the absolute and single Creator, Islam rejected the idolatry that was prevalent in Makka at the time. As such, Islam was viewed as a threat to the livelihood and power base of the ruling tribe of Makka, and its growing number of followers were harassed, persecuted and threatened.
During this period, leaders of Yathrib, familiar with the Prophet Muhammad's reputation for honesty and sincerity, had sent envoys asking that he mediate a dispute between two powerful tribes. Impressed by the Prophet's character and teachings, these envoys soon accepted Islam and were followed by other converts. Observing the growing threat to their fellow Muslims in Makka, the people of Yathrib offered a safe haven to them, and beginning in 620 AD, the Prophet Muhammad started sending groups of Muslims to live in Yathrib.
Having learned of a plot to murder him, the Prophet Muhammad himself left Makka for Yathrib, arriving in the city in September 622. This event is known as the Hijrah (emigration). The Prophet's arrival in Yathrib was a turning point in world history. It marked the establishment of the first Islamic state and the rapid growth of the new faith. From then on, the city became Madinat Al-Nabi (The Prophet's City), and the date of the Prophet's arrival there marked the first year of the Islamic calendar.
With the emigration, Madina became a center of activity. Upon his approach to the oasis in 622, the Prophet established the first mosque in Islam at Quba, a village on the outskirts of Madina. Called Masjid Al-Taqwa (Mosque of Piety), the mosque still stands, albeit modernized and enlarged.
Once settled in Madina, the Prophet built another mosque adjacent to his house. Called Masjid Al-Nabawi (the Prophet's Mosque), the first structure on today's site was a simple one supported by the trunks of standing palm trees, and was built by the Prophet himself. It was this mosque at which the Prophet and his companions prayed, and which soon became the social and economic center of the city and the Islamic state. With the growth of Islam, more mosques were established throughout the city and its environs.
While the Holy Mosque in Makka was the spiritual center of Islam, Madina became the administrative hub of the new Islamic state during the Prophet Muhammad's lifetime. It was from here that the successful campaign to convince the tribes to abandon idolatry was waged.
It was also in Madina that the Prophet's companions compiled the verses of the Holy Qur'an and collected the Hadith (teachings and sayings of the Prophet) that would serve as the basis of Shari'ah (Islamic law).
And it was also in Madina that the Prophet died on June 8, 632, and where he was buried in his house adjoining the mosque he had helped build with his own hands.
After his death, the first three caliphs, Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, Omar Ibn Al-Khattab and Othman Ibn Affan, continued to administer from Madinah the expanding Islamic nation, which had by now spread to Persia and Syria. In time, Abu Bakr and Omar were buried in a separate chamber next to the Prophet. Othman and several members of the Prophet's immediate family were buried at the nearby Baqi' Cemetery.
The administrative and political demands of a growing empire, one that over the next hundred years would reach from Spain and Morocco in the west through the Middle East, to the Indian Subcontinent and beyond in the east, forced subsequent Islamic leaders to move their capital away from Madina.
Although its
political and commercial fortunes declined in the following centuries, the
City of the Prophet continued to hold a special place in the hearts of
Muslims. The small mosque the Prophet had established next to his house
was enlarged by various Muslim rulers over time and continued to draw
pilgrims from around the world as Islam's second holiest site.
