Medina

المدينة Medina
City in Saudi Arabia
Masjid An-Nabawi (Mosque of the Prophet), Medina
Location of Medina
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Medina (Madinah) is the short name for Al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah, "The Radiant City". Originally known as Yathrib, this small oasis town invited Muḥammad, the Apostle of God, to become its leader. The town was several days' camel ride north of Mecca, on the trade route between Yemen and Damascus. At the time of Muḥammad, the town was riven by feuds between the different tribes of the area. Because of persecution of the Muslims in Mecca, Muḥammad sent a number of them to seek sanctuary in Medina. Despairing of their own situation, and hearing glowing reports of Muḥammad's leadership abilities from the new arrivals, the town decided that Muḥammad's qualities were just what was needed. Two emissaries were sent to Mecca to consult with Muḥammad. The deal was that once He was in Medina, He would stay there for the rest of His days. He agreed to this, saying "You will be mine, and I will be yours."

Muḥammad's flight from Mecca to Medina, according to all accounts, happened on the same night as an attempted assassination of the Prophet. By some means, He escaped from His house, although it was under careful watch, accompanied by His friend and follower Abu Bakr, and they set off on camels, via the south gate of Mecca. Circling round the city to the north, they then took the obvious route to Medina. Muḥammad had arranged for another Muslim to arrive in the middle of the night with his flock of sheep, and drive them along the road for some distance, thereby obliterating the camel tracks, and making it impossible for any pursuers to tell if and when the camels had left the "road". Much further along, Muḥammad and His companion let the camels go free to graze, and hid in a cave. The story has it that as soon as they were inside, a spider began constructing a web over the mouth of the cave. Their pursuers found the camels, investigated the cave and quickly concluded that the Prophet was not inside. In due course, Muḥammad resumed the journey to Medina.

Upon arrival, he chose to lodge in the home of two orphaned brothers, rather than that of any clan leaders, and bought some land which the two brothers had inherited, in order to build the world's first Masjid (Mosque). He personally took part in the construction, and, upon its completion, invited Bilál, a black slave who was a staunch Muslim, to issue the first adhan ("call to prayer"). Under Muḥammad's leadership, the market in Medina became free from corrupt and dishonest practices, and the town began to grow in importance. This gave rise to jealousy from the tribal leaders in Mecca, who then launched several military expeditions against Medina.

Faced with the threat to destroy the town, kill all the followers of the new religion, and carry away the women and children as slaves, the people of Medina had to defend themselves. All of the surahs (Chapters) of the Qur'án which deal with warfare and Jihad (struggle) come from this period. In the first battle, the force from Mecca was repulsed by just 313 Muslims and Ansar ("Helpers"). In the second battle, indiscipline and failure to follow Muḥammad's instructions led to a defeat for Medina, but the Meccans failed to press home their advantage. The third attempt to destroy Medina led to the Muslims digging a trench around the town, to keep the Meccans out. Muḥammad and the leaders of Mecca then reached an agreement, which the latter broke. According to various agreements which Muḥammad had made with a number of tribes and townships, He was then able to lead a large force of men, from a wide area of Arabia, to Mecca, which surrendered to Muḥammad's intelligent strategies.

Muḥammad did not then make Medina the Muslim capital. He destroyed the idols in and around the Ka'aba, and reclaimed Mecca as a centre of pilgrimage for monotheistic worship. True to His word, He Himself went back to Medina, which was henceforth regarded as the "City of the Prophet". He died there, and His tomb is in the city.