Madina is among the holiest cities in the entire world. The city is known as the Prophet’s city. The last Islamic Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is resting in peace in the holy land of Madina hence every Muslim has huge respect and love and a sentimental attachment to this city. The city casts a spell on the visitor, once you visit Madina, you will never come out of its spell. The air of Madina is peaceful and gives strong vibes of the presence of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Muslims visit Madina after performing Hajj or Umrah to Ziyarat.
Ziyarat is a procedure of pilgrimage to places associated with Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, his clan, companions, progenies and other valued figures in Islam.
Umrah can be performed within one day. Pilgrims are required to stay 3-4 days in Makkah, and then they can leave for Madina. Umrah packages 2023 are being offered by travel agents to let the visitors take part in Umrah, if anyone wants to perform Umrah in Ramadan, one can make one’s way by booking Ramadan Umrah packages.
The virtue of Madina
“Madina is the holy place for the believers. If only they could understand its virtue completely, they would never leave it. And whoever departs from Madina, having become disenchanted with it, Allah will send someone better to replace him. And whoever bears patiently the sufferings of
Madina, for him, shall I be an intercessor (or witness) on the Day of resurrection.”
[Muslim]
Another magnificent virtue of Madina is immunity to Dajjal. Allah has appointed angels to guard Madina. “There will be no place which Ad-Dajjal (the anti-Christ) will not enter except Makkah and Madina, and there will be no entrance road but the angels will be standing in rows guarding both Makkah and Madina against him, and then Madina will shake with its inhabits three times and Allah will eject all the nonbelievers and the hypocrites from it”.
Madina is the burial place of the beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. In the Prophet’s mosque, the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is buried under the green dome. Two of his closest companions and the first two Caliphs of Islam, Abu Bakar (Allah be pleased with him) and Umar (Allah be pleased with him) have the privilege of resting in peace along with Him (Peace be Upon Him).
The soil of Madina
The Prophet Muhammad Peace Be upon Him said: “The dust of our ground with the saliva of one of us serves as a cure for our ill ones.
Allah knows the best.
Ziyarat Places in Madina
Many historical places in Madina belong to the Prophet Muhammad and Islam. The holy Prophet ﷺ lived for 10 years in Madina even after the conquest of Makkah, Muhammad ﷺ lived in Madina until his soul departed this world. Pilgrims visit Madina to pay homage to Prophet ﷺ and to witness the glorifying pilgrimage places in Madina. Mind it; Pilgrimage places in Madina have nothing to do with Hajj and Umrah.
Masjid Al-Nabvi ﷺ The Prophet’s Mosque
One of the main pilgrimage places in Madina is the Prophet’s Mosque. The land was chosen by Allah. The foundation of the Mosque was laid by the Prophet himself. The mosque has to be the second holiest Masjid after the Al-Haram. The Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ built the Mosque next to the house where he settled after He ﷺ migrated from Makkah to Madina. The virtue of this place can be measured in the light of mentioned Hadith: “Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever performs forty prayers in my masjid, not missing a single prayer in the masjid, for him is granted an exception from the fire of Hell, and exemption from the penalty and he shall remain free of hypocrisy”.
It is narrated by Abu Hurairah RA, The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “one Salah offered in my Mosque is superior to one thousand prayers offered in other Mosques except for Al-Haram”
This hadith put enough light on the virtue of the Prophet’s Mosque and visiting this place with respect and sheer love is required as the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is resting in peace in this Mosque.
Roza-E-Rasool ﷺ
Regarding going to see Madina and carrying out the Ziyarah to the Roza-E-Rasool ﷺ (the grave of the Holy Prophet ﷺ the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said: “Whoever visits me after my death is like he who had visited me during my life. “Whoever performs his Hajj in Makkah, then comes to Madina with the solitary goal of visiting me in my Masjid, for him shall be written (the rewards of) two accepted Hajj. “When a person stands at my grave reciting blessings on me, I hear it; and whoever calls for blessings on me in any other place, his every need in this world and the henceforward is fulfilled and on the Day of Judgment I shall be his witness and intercessor.” Visiting Roza-E-Rasool ﷺ will make you mesmerized and you will feel surreal while visiting this holiest place.
Masjid Quba
The virtue of Masjid Quba can be measured by the fact that it is mentioned in the following Quranic verse in Surah Tauba: “certainly a mosque founded on piety from the very first day is more deserving that you should stand in it” [9:108]
The Prophet ﷺ said: “He who cleanses himself at his home and comes to Masjid Quba and offers two rakah therein, will be rewarded the reward of an Umrah (lesser pilgrimage).” So, if you are going on a Ziyarat to Madina, make sure you offer 2 rakah of Salah in Masjid Quba because its reward is equal to that of Hajj.
Riyyad-Al-Jannah
The area linking the Holy Chamber and the Podium (Mimbar) is known as the Riyyad-Al-Jannah which is considered to be a Garden of Paradise. It is at present distinguished by a green carpet which is referred to as Rawdah. Rawdah-Al-Jannah is carpeted green in contrast to the rest of the mosque carpeted red. Although it is generally called Riyyad-Al-Jannah, the correct term would be Rawdah. Rawdah-Al-Jannah represents a general view of the area, with Prophet’s dome to the far left and the pulpit to the right. It was narrated from Abu Hurairah RA that Muhammad ﷺ said, “The area between my house and my minbar is one of the gardens of Paradise and my minbar is on my reservoir”.
This puts ample light on the virtue of this pilgrimage place. Pilgrims try to visit the boundaries of the area, for there is a belief that supplications and prayers stated here are never rejected.
Ustuwaanah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her)
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ used to offer his prayers here and afterwards moved to the place at Ustuwaanah. It is also called the Ustuwaanah Qurah. The reason for this is that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) reports that the Prophet ﷺ said: “In this masjid is one such spot that if people knew the true blessed nature thereof, they would herd towards it in such in a manner to pray there they would have to cast such lots .” People asked her to point out the exact place which she rejected to do. Later on, at the tenacity of Abdullah bin Zubair (May
Allah is pleased with him) she pointed to this spot. Hence it is called Ustuwaanah Aisha the reason is that. “The Hadith is reported by her and the exact spot was shown by her.
Masjid Qiblayatan
The Mosque holds great significance. As the name Qiblayatan suggests “the Mosque of two Qibla”. It was the place where Allah SWT commanded Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to change the direction of Qibla from Al-Aqsa Jerusalem to The Kaaba Makkah while He ﷺ was offering prayer with his companions. Visiting Masjid Qiblayatan for Ziyarat is such an overwhelming experience. That will make you feel absorbed and you will witness glorifying place where history-making command of changing Qibla took place.
Jannat-Al-Baqi
It is commendable to pray to Allah for a death in the city of His Final Messenger (PBUH), the illuminated Madina. There is also a great significance in being buried in Al-Baqi’s cemetery. The virtue of Al-Baqi can be dignified in the light of Hadith. The Prophet (PBUH) said, “On the day of Resurrection my grave shall be opened first and I shall step forth. Then shall Abu Bakr (RA) step forth and then Umar (RA). Then shall I proceed to Al-Baqi and take all its inmates with me. Shall we await the inmates of the graveyard of Makkah, who shall meet me halfway between Makkah and Madina.
Site of Battle of Trench
The Battle of Trench which known as battle of Khandaq took place during period of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. It is also titled the battle of Confederates. The chapter Al-Ahzab was revealed to signify the confederacy of non-believers and Jews against Islam. Pilgrims pay a visit to the site of the Battle of Trench. The idea of digging the trench was presented by Salman Al-Farsi (RA).
The siege was a “battle of wits” in which Muslims tactically overcame their opponents while suffering very few casualties. The Jews and Arab tribes made efforts to defeat Muslims, but they failed. As a result, the Muslim Army besieged the area of the Banu Qurayza tribe which led the opponents to surrender.
Bir Osman
There was a time when Madina faced a huge scarcity of water, due to a dearth of rainfall. As a result, all the wells were dried and barren. Only one well possessed by a Jew had water in it. The Jew owner was very prejudiced and unfair. So he began to sell water at very extraordinary charges to Muslims and offered no cost for water to Jews. When the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was grasped by this news he ﷺ asked all the Muslims., “Anyone who wants a house in paradise should buy that well for the Muslims.”
Upon saying of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم reached Hazrat Osman bin Affan (RA) that only buying a well can make a house in Heaven. He immediately decided to purchase that well. He went to that Jew and asked him his price for that well but he said, I would sell only half of it. Hazrat Osman RA bought half of the well and endowed it for the Muslims in the way of Allah. Now Muslims were able to have as much free water as they wanted.
Now no one bought water from that Jew, so he asked Hazrat Osman RA to purchase the other half as well which he did happily. Since then this well is known as Bir Osman. The well is an attestation of love, God-consciousness and devotion of companions of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ., And proves they never hesitate to endow anything in the way of Allah.
Bir Al-Shifa
The Bir Al Shifa Well, also known as (Beer Al-Shifa) is a prominent well in Islamic history. It is located approximately 1-hour drive away from the Blessed City of Madina. It reported that this well was originally dug purposely to assist Muslim pilgrims who would travel for Hajj and Umrah and required water. However, the water of the well was bitter and salted this made people ill time and again. It is reported that The Blessed Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was told about the bitterness and unhealthy nature of the water. He ﷺ placed his Blessed saliva in the water subsequently the nature of the water. Became sweet and healthy by the approval of God. Visitors today still visit this well located off the main highway and taste the sweetness of this water for themselves. The Well is cogent evidence of the Prophet’s Muhammad ﷺ supremacy.
Mountain Uhud
Uhud is an Arabic word which means “The One”. One of the most significant places in the Arabian Peninsula Mountain Uhud is among the greatest geographical and historical landmarks of the blessed city of Madina. There is a narration in regard to the virtue of Mountain Uhud narrated by Hazrat Anas (RA) the beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ once said, “Uhud is the mountain that loves us and we love it”. This mountain is visited by Muslims for their sheer love for the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Another significant virtue of this mountain is that The Mountain is upon the gate of heaven. The battle of Uhud was fought on this mountain.
Mountain Ayr
The correct meaning of the word “Ayr” is a wild ass, as its rear side reminds you of the back of a donkey. Mountain Ayr is the second tallest Mountain after Uhud Mountain.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said. “This (Mount Ayr) is the Mountain of Hell, and city of Madina is aground in between Mount Thawr and Uhud. Jabal Ayr is situated in the southern region of Madina city, Saudi Arabia. The Mountain is at a distance of nearly eight meters from the Prophet’s Mosque. Also close to Mosque Ali (Dhul Haleefah) which is among the stations of Miqaat.
The Mountain has said to be the Mountain of Hell. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ called the Ayr “Mountain upon the gate of Hell”. He ﷺ said. “And Ayr is a place which hates us and we hate it, it is upon the gate of Hell.
