Virtues and Specialities of the City of Al-Mustafa

Virtues and Specialities of the City of al-Muṣṭafā

Asif Iqbal Attari Madani

The name of the blessed city of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah prior to the arrival of the Messenger of Allah   صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم was Yathrib, which means corruption, rebuke and punishment. After the Hijrah[1], this city became known as Madinah al-Nabī.

The golden age of Islam is connected with this city. Islamic conquests and the supremacy of Islam; religious advancements started from here. The beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم prepared all military expeditions from this place. This city proved to be a peaceful, protected sanctuary for ideological and military preparations and a robust centre for the propagation of Islamic rulings. It was in this city that an unparalleled brotherhood was established between the Muhājirīn and Anṣār and Islamic societal and economic dealings were strengthened. The exceptional system governing the nature of zakat, war spoils and other obligatory wealth and its division was implemented here. The fortification and strength of the Muslims for the dominance of Islam also commenced in this city. It was here in Madinah that the foundational features of Islamic foreign policy became apparent. Letters to the world leaders inviting them to embrace Islam were dispatched from this land. The principles governing the propagation of Islam were laid out here. The method of enjoining the right and forbidding evil was taught in this city. The first Islamic university, al-Ṣuffah, which took the form of a veranda was initiated here. After the advent of Islam, its rulings—including its penal code—were first fully implemented in Madinah. Justice for the subjugated classes (the poor, oppressed, etc.) and the implementation and protection of their rights were established here. The blessed era of the Rightly Guided Caliphate is also linked with al-Madinah al-Munawwarah.

Let us study some of the virtues and specialities of this sacred city.

Virtues of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah

Many verses of the noble Quran extol the virtues and grandeur of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, some of which are mentioned here:

1. Allah Almighty states:

وَ قُلۡ رَّبِّ اَدۡخِلۡنِیۡ مُدۡخَلَ صِدۡقٍ وَّ اَخۡرِجۡنِیۡ مُخۡرَجَ صِدۡقٍ وَّ اجۡعَلۡ لِّیۡ مِنۡ لَّدُنۡکَ سُلۡطٰنًا نَّصِیۡرًا )۸۰(

“And request in this way; 'O my Lord, make me enter (wherever) with the truth and take me out (wherever) with the truth, and give me from yourself supportive domination.'”[2]

One of the exegeses of this Quranic verse is: “Bestow upon me a pleasing entry into al-Madinah al-Munawwarah and bring me out from al-Makkah al-Mukarramah with truth.”[3]

2. Allah Almighty states:

قَالُوۡۤا اَلَمۡ تَکُنۡ اَرۡضُ اللّٰہِ وَاسِعَۃً فَتُہَاجِرُوۡا فِیۡہَا ؕ

“They (i.e. the angels) say, 'Was Allah's earth not spacious enough for you that you could have migrated therein?'”[4]

In this verse, arḍ Allah (اَرْضُ اللّٰهِ) also means al-Madinah al-Munawwarah.[5]

There are numerous noble Prophetic Aḥādīth stating the blessings and virtues of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. Six are being mentioned here:

1) Whoever from my ummah is patient upon the hardship and difficulties of Madinah, I will be an intercessor or witness for him on the Day of Judgement.[6]

2) Whoever is able to die in Madinah should do so, because I will intercede for whoever dies here.[7]

3) There are angels upon the pathways that lead into Madinah; neither plague nor al-Dajjal will enter it.[8]

4) Whoever dies in either of the two holy sanctuaries will be resurrected secure [from the fear of the Day of Judgement].[9]

5) O Allah! Bestow upon Madinah twice the blessings you bestowed on Makkah.[10]

6) Indeed, it is Ṭaybah, and it removes sins just as fire expels impurities from silver.[11]

14 Religious and worldly blessings and specialities of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah

Allah Almighty, the Creator of all blessings, has placed numerous religious and worldly blessings in the noble city of the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. The beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم supplicated for two-fold blessings for this city. Allah Almighty has placed in it many blessings for its devotees, which they avail in this world and the Hereafter. These blessings cannot be enumerated by us. Fourteen of these are mentioned here:

1. The fountainhead of the blessings of this world and the Hereafter, the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم is present in Madinah.

The beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, مَنْ زَارَ قَبْرِی فَقَدْ وَجَبَتْ لَـہُ شَفَاعَتِیْ “Whoever visits my grave, my intercession becomes incumbent for him.”[12]

Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah has the honour of being the resting place of the greatest of creation, the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. The reviver of Islam, the Imam of Ahl al-Sunnah, Imam Aḥmad Razā Khān رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه states, “The blessed soil—i.e. the earth—which is touching his blessed body, is superior to the revered Kaaba, in fact it is superior to the ꜤArsh.”[13]

2. Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, its fruit and its measure are blessed. The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم supplicated for blessing in them with the following words: اَللّٰهُمَّ بَارِكْ لَنَا فِيْ ثَمَرِنَا وَبَارِكْ لَنَا فِيْ مَدِيْنَتِنَا وَبَارِكْ لَنَا فِيْ صَاعِنَا وَبَارِكْ لَنَا فِيْ مُدِّنَا “O Allah, place blessings in our fruits, in our Madinah, and in our mudd and ṣāꜤ measures.”[14]

3. There is cure for illnesses in the dust and soil of Madinah. The Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, “Oath by the One in Whose power lies my soul, there is a cure for every ailment in the soil of Madinah.”[15]

4. There is protection against poison and magic in the Ꜥajwah date of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. It is mentioned in the noble Hadith: “Whoever consumes seven Ꜥajwah dates in the morning, no type of magic or poison can harm him that day.”[16] It is stated in another Hadith, “ꜤAjwah is from Jannah, and there is cure for poison in it.”[17]

5. Imam Aḥmad Razā Khān رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه mentions by way of the author of Fatḥ al-Qadīr: “It is established from experience that in Madinah, mercy is more copious, gentleness is plentiful, generosity is most ample, and pardon is received most swiftly.”[18]

6. Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah has been cleansed of polytheism. Once, the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم came out from al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, faced it and said, “Indeed, Allah has made this inhabitation free from polytheism.”[19]

7. Al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah is the most beloved place of the final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم as he stated, “A prophet’s soul is not taken except at his most beloved place.”[20]

8. The land of al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah will be split open first of all on the Day of Judgement. According to the Aḥādīth, the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم will come out of his grave first, followed by Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ and then Sayyidunā ꜤUmar al-Fārūq رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ. After them will be the people of al-BaqīꜤ and then the people of al-Makkah al-Mukarramah رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُم اَجْمَعِیْن.[21]

9. There is a garden from Paradise in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah called Riyāḍ al-Jannah. The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, مَا بَيْنَ بَيْتِيْ وَمِنْبَرِيْ رَوْضَةٌ مِنْ رِيَاضِ الْجَنَّةِ “That which is between my home and my pulpit is a garden from the gardens of Paradise.”[22]

10. Al-Masjid al-Nabawī, where the reward of one prayer is equal to the reward of 50,000 prayers, is present in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah.[23]

11. The one who intends evil with the devotees of the Messenger living in this city will be caught up in punishment. The Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, “No one intends evil with the people of Madinah, except that Allah Almighty will melt him in the fire like the melting of lead or the dissolving of salt in water.”[24]

12. There is no city on earth with more names than al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. Some scholars have written 100 names.[25] Imam al-Samhūdī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه has listed 98 names with their meanings in his book ‘Khulāṣat al-Wafāˈ.

13. This is the city that had, has and will have the most odes written about it, in the most languages, out of love and yearning due to separation from it.[26]

14. The graveyard of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, Jannat al-BaqīꜤ, is the most superior graveyard. Approximately 10,000 noble Companions and members of the Prophetic Household and countless Successors, saints and other fortunate Muslims are resting here.[27]