The Al-Fateh Mosque (Bahrain)

History of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah

It is said that Yathrib was the name of a man, from among the descendants of Noah (AS), that founded this city and so it was name after him.

So for as its foundation is concerned,  one of the narration states that the area to which some of the son of Hazrat Noah(AS)came after the flood was over and it became difficult for them to live in. So a group of them to took off to the west in search of new place to live where they would find good sustenance. That group was known as Ubail that came to the area in which was Yathrib and its water, its trees, its rocky area appeal to them so they made their dwellings there.

The First inhabitant at Yathrib

Amalekites tribe:

(a) According to very authentic narration, it was they who founded Yathrib. And the tribe of Ubail from which came Yathrib, after whom the city was named belonged to this tribe. They were distinguished by their great heights. They were offspring of Amiliq bin Laud in Shem bin Noah. They were in the area of Babylon from where they spread to different sides’ of Arabian Gulf. Some of them took up residents at Yathrib. They were no doubt Arabs. Imam At-Tabari considered their ancestors Amaliq be the first person to speak Arabic.

(B) The Jews when the Muslims migrated to Yathrib, they found there a number of Jewish Tribe and it is agreement that most of the Jews were from Yathrib descendants of emigrants who came from Palestine. Some of them came as migrants after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the kingdom of Judea and killed many Jews and enslaved many of them.

This took place 586 years before the start of Christian era. Likewise other migration took place when the Romans made an example in the year 70 CE and again in the 132 CE. Some of these migrants made their dwelling at the place Yathrib. First of the tribes which reached these areas were Banu Qurayza and Banu An-Nadir and then others followed.

© Al-Aws and Al Khazraj: They were Qahtani Tribes which migrated to Yathrib from Yemen after the destruction of Sadd Ma’rab. They arrived in Yathrib in the third century of Christian era.

The names of Al Madina Al Munawwarah:

1. Al-Madinah: This is the name given to the famous city to Which the Holy Prophet (SAW) migrated and in which He (SAW) is resting
2. Tabah:  Al-Madina is known as Tabah, for the Prophet (SAW) said:

“Verily, Allah the Almighty, the All-Powerful named it Tabah”

Al-Bukhari (1872) and Muslim (1396)

And Tabah and Taibah are derived from At-Tayyab (that is pure and good) and that is because it is purified from shirk (polytheism), and every pure thing is Tayyab.

© Yathrib was the first name of Madinah. And the Allah’s messenger (SAW) changed it to Al- Madina due to the following reasons. i. The word Yathrib in Arabic language means blame, to corrupt and to adulterate. Hazrat Abu Musa) RA) related that

The Holy Prophet (SAW) said, “I saw in a dream that I was migrating from Makka to a land of palm trees and I Guessed that it would be Yamamah or Hajar but it was the city of Yathrib”.

Reference: Al-Bukhaari (3622) and Muslim (2272)

Hazrat Abu Ubaydah (RA) said, ’Yathrib is the name of a land and the city of the messenger (SAW) is in one corner of it. And it is mentioned in Mu’jamul-Buldan by Yaqut Al- Hamawi::This city has twenty nine names and they are: l-Madinah, Taibah, Tabah, Al-Miskinah, Al-Adhra, Al-Jabirah, Al-Mahabbah, Al-Muhabbabah, Al-Mahburah, Yathrib, An-Najiyah, Al-Mufiyah, Akkalatul-Budan, Al-Mubarakah, Al-Mahfufah, Al-Musallamah, Al-Mijannah, Al-Qudsiyah, Al-Asimah, Al-Marzuqah, Ash-Shafiyah, Al-Hirah, Al-Mahbubah, Al-Marhumah, Jabirah, Al-Mukhtarah, Al-Muharramah, Al-Qasimah, Tababa

It was reported in the words of the Prophet (SAW) quoting the words of Allah ALL mighty.

My lord! Let my entry (to the city) be good and (likewise) my exit (from the city) be good

(Al-Isra 17:80)

They Said :”(The cities of) Al-Madinah and Makkah. (Al-Tirmidhi (3139) and Ahmed (223/1)

Merits of AL-Madinah

Al-Madinah possesses innumerable virtues and distinctions and its rank is dignified by Allah and His messenger (SAW).

1. Conducive to health:

Hazrat Aisha (RA) related that The Holy Prophet (SAW) said, ”O Allah! Make Al-Madina beloved to us, as we love Makka-or more. O Allah! Make it conducive to health, and bless us in its Sa (a dry measure equivalent to four scoops of an average man’s hand) and its Mudd (a dry measure equivalent to two handfuls) and transfer its fever to Al-Jufah. (Al-Bukhaari 1889 and Muslim 1376)

1. Blessings showers on Al-Madinah in congregation

Then Hazrat Ans ibn Malik (RA) related that the messenger of Allah (SAW) Said: “O Allah! Bestow upon Al-Madinah twice the blessings which you bestowed upon Makkah. (Al-Buhari 1885 and Muslim 1369)

And in Sahihain , Hazrat Abdullah ibn Zaid bin Asim (RA) related that the Holy Prophet (SAW) said: ”Verily, Abraham Declared Makkah as inviolable and supplicated for its inhabitants, and I declare Al—Madinah to be inviolable, as Abraham declared Makkah inviolable and I have supplicated (Allah) to bless its Sa’ and Mudd twice as Abraham did for the inhabitants of Makkah. (Al-Bukhari 2129, and Muslim 1360)

Abdullah ibn Umar (RA) said that He heard His father Umar ibn Al-Khattab (RA) saying, “When the condition in Al-Madinah became hard and the prices of things went high, the Prophet (SAW) said:’ Be, patient, O people of Al- Madinah! And receive glad tidings, for I have invoked Allah ‘blessings on your Sa’ and your Mudd. And eat together and do not separate, for the food of one man is sufficient for two and the food of two is sufficient for four and the food of four is sufficient for five or six, and verily, the blessing is in congregation.”

1. Faith is centered and gathered in Al-Madinah

Hazrat Abu Huraira (RA) relates that the holy prophet (SAW) said, “Verily, Faith will recede to Al-Madinah just as the serpent crawls to its hole.”(Al-Bukhaari 1876 and Muslim 147)

That is, just as a snake goes forth from its hole in search of food, and then if anything frightened it, it goes to its hole. Likewise faith went forth from Al-Madinah. Every believer has desire to go to Al-Madinah due to his love for the Holy Prophet (SAW)