Medina

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.

History

City map of Medina

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'ath

In 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 [link] 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.

Battles — 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, 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 — 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 — 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.

See also

• List of Holy Cities
• Mecca