I recently had the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of Madinah, Saudi Arabia during an Umrah trip. Madinah is the location of Masjid An Nabawi, the second masjid built by Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his companions. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ lived in Makkah for many years, and revelation first came to him while there. While spreading the message of Islam, living in Makkah became very hard for the Prophet ﷺ as many of the people there did not want to accept Islam. They continuously persecuted him ﷺ and his companions. After severe persecution, Prophet Muhammad migrated to Madinah seeking safety.

Masjid An Nabawi is the final resting place of our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. A Prophet of Allah is buried here.

I visited Madinah once before, several years ago, but I did not have the opportunity then to learn of the many historically significant sites in and around Madinah. At that time, I was captivated by the beauty of Masjid An Nabawi and the peace and tranquility that I experienced during the 5 daily prayers offered in Masjid An Nabawi. My focus then was on that experience alone and that experience was the beginning of my love for this beautiful place and my love of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

During my recent trip, my love for Madinah grew, and my love of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ grew a thousand fold. It was during this trip that I began to question why, with the immense well documented history available to everyone, people continue to choose disbelief over belief. The vast history, captured from the life of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ so well preserved, should open the hearts of all who believe in God and allow them to accept the truth of Islam. There is just no denial possible unless arrogance and/or fear is their barrier to the truth. The life of the Seal of all the Prophets of God, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, is so well documented, in such rich detail, that I can truly say that I experienced walking in his footsteps. I felt tremendous sadness at the amount of persecution that he dealt with as he spread the truth of Islam during his Prophethood. I felt the love for his companions, who were the first to hear revelation and accept Islam. They helped preserve each and every verse revealed, word for word. I felt the anguish of war and the loss of Muslims who stood to defend Islam. I felt the love for Islam, the undeniable truth of the Word of God. And, I felt the immense sadness of the Muslims during the time of Prophet Muhammad who experienced hearing the news of his death.

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Al Rawdah

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Sokaifat Bani Saedah

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Masjid Quba

Quba Masjid, located in Madinah, was the first masjid of Islam, built by Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. When Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and Abu Bakr As-Siddiq رضي الله عنه arrived in Madinah, the first stayed in the area of Quba. He ﷺ stayed with Kulthoom bin Hadm رضي الله عنه and began to build Masjid Quba on his property. Masjid Quba is a very signficant landmark in the history of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ . The Prophet ﷺ led the first jummah prayer at Masjid Quba, facing towards Al Asqa Masjid in Jerusalem. This was before the revelation came to pray towards Makkah/the Kaaba which remains the direction of prayer today.

It is narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: “He who purifies himself at his home and comes to Masjid Quba and offers two rakats therein, will be rewarded the reward of an Umrah (lesser pilgrimage).” [Sunan ibn Majah]. I was able to visit Masjid Quba twice, praying two rakats both times. So, if these nafl salah are accepted, I was rewarded with three Umrahs. Two for praying twice in Masjid Quba, and one for completing Umrah once I got to Makkah, God-Willing.

After Prophet Muhammad settled nearby and built Masjid An-Nabawi, he ﷺ would visit Masjid Quba every Saturday. It was narrated by Abdullah bin Dinar: Ibn ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه) said, “The Prophet used to go to the Mosque of Quba every Saturday (sometimes) walking and (sometimes) riding.”

Recently, a lovely walkway was built so people could walk from Masjid An-Nabawi to Masjid Quba taking the same route as Prophet Muhammad ﷺ . Again, I was able to experience walking in the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ here.

The walkway between Masjid An-Nabawi and Masjid Quba

The Ethiq Well and Shade Garden

This location, near Quba Masjid, is Ethiq Well. After facing terrible persecution in Makkah, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ migrated to Madinah. It was here, in an area called the “Shade Garden” where Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and Abu Bakr As-Siddiq رضي الله عنه stopped to rest when they arrived in Madinah. The people of Madinah were overjoyed and came out to greet Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. They did not know what he ﷺ looked like and they first assumed that Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه, being older looking, was the Prophet of God. When Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه realized this, he stood and held his cloak over Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to shade him from the sun. It was then that the people realized it was the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ being shaded. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ drank from Ethiq Well.

Experiencing Ethiq Well and the Shade Garden was another experience of walking in the steps of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. There is no doubt, a Prophet lived and died in Madinah.

Jabl Uhud (Mount Uhud)

The Battle of Uhud took place here, in the valley of Jabl Uhud (Mount Uhud). The battle was between the Quraish Army and the Muslims defending themselves. The goal of the Quraish Army was to assasinate Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and destroy Islam. While preparing for the battle of Uhud, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ instructed several archers to stand at the top of a shorter mountain to watch for the coming Quraish Army and begin the defense. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ told them not to leave their posts unless he ordered them to do so. He ﷺ said to them, “”If you see us prevail and start to take spoils, do not come to assist us. And if you see us get vanquished and birds eat from our heads, do not come to assist us.”

At one point, the Muslims were at an advantage and it appeared that they had won the battle. Several of the archers, thinking the battle was over, disobeyed Prophet Muhammad ﷺ by leaving their posts to join in taking spoils of war. It was due to this disobedience that the Quraish Army was able to attack from the rear. Several of the Muslims ran from the battlefield out of confusion. Many Muslims died on the field including Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib (رضي الله عنه), a foster brother to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, a beloved companion, and although close in age to him, Hamza (رضي الله عنه ) was an uncle of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

While I visited this site, I was able to listen to Sheikh Yahya Ibrahim discuss the Battle of Uhud. He gave a very inspiring overview, tied to immense forgiveness of Allah ﷻ. Many of us had tears in our eyes as we listened and observed this historical site. There, I was able to see the vast Mountain of Uhud, the Valley of Uhud, Archer’s Mount and see the graves of Hamza ibn Abd Al-Muttalib رضي الله عنه and the other martyrs (over 70 in all) of the Battle of Uhud located in the Shuhada/Martyrs Cemetery.

Here is a similar talk of Yahya Ibrahim from the same location

https://www.facebook.com/yahya.adel.ibrahim/videos/853254319225737

Two beautiful stories regarding Mount Uhud include one where Prophet Mohammad ﷺ was ascending the mountain in the company of Umar, Uthman and Abu Bakr, the mountain ground shook beneath them. It was then when Prophet PBUH hit the ground with his foot and said, “O Uhud! Be firm, for upon you there is none but a Prophet, a supporter of truth and two martyrs.” Consequentially, the earthquake stopped almost instantly.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was also known to say about Mount Uhud “This is Uhud, the mountain which loves us and which we love.”

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I will never be able to convey the emotions and the peace that one experiences in Madinah. This little explanation of my experiences doesn’t do justice to my thoughts, my inner peace, and my immense love for Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. This experience did show me the importance of studying the Seerah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. As Muslims, we need to learn everything that we can about the greatest man created by Allah ﷻ. If we can’t truly walk in his ﷺ footsteps, we must walk through his ﷺ seerah.

A Prophet is buried here. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is buried here. Walk in his ﷺ footsteps as his character is described by Aisha رضي الله عنها as the Qur’an.

Qatadah reported: I said to Aisha, “O mother of the believers, tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.” Aisha said, “Have you not read the Quran?” I said, “Of course.” Aisha said, “Verily, the character of the Prophet of Allah was the Qur’an.” (Sahih Muslim)

Anas ibn Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “None of you have faith until I am more beloved to him than his children, his father, and all of the people.” (Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)

A Prophet ﷺ is buried here.

May Allah grant all, who have taken the time to read this post, the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of Madinah and experience walking in the footsteps of our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Ameen.