Doesn’t the name Jibal al Makhariq sound like echoes from a distant past? Welcome to this significant location near Medina. It stands as a testament to Medina’s rich history and spiritual importance. This is Jibal al Makhariq.
Medina is one of Islam’s two holiest cities. Medina is second only to Mecca. Medina is celebrated as the place where Muhammad established the Muslim community. This happened after his flight from Mecca in 622 CE. His body is entombed here. Pilgrims visit his tomb in the city’s chief mosque.
Medina lies 2050 feet above sea level. It sits on a fertile oasis. The city is bounded on the east by an extensive lava field. Part of this field dates from a volcanic eruption in 1207 CE. Arid hills enclose the city on the other three sides. These hills belong to the Hejaz mountain range. Mount Uhud is the highest of these hills. It rises to more than 2000 feet above the oasis.
The Prophet’s Mosque stands in the city center. Muhammad helped build it. Non-Muslims cannot enter this sacred area. However, they can glimpse a good view from outside. Caliphs undertook additions and improvements to the mosque complex. The chamber of the Prophet’s wives was merged during the time of the Umayyad caliph al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik.
Fire twice damaged the mosque. It first occurred in 1256 and again in 1481. Devout rulers of several Islamic countries rebuilt it. Sultan Selim II decorated the interior with mosaics overlaid with gold. Sultan Mahmud II built the dome in 1817. In 1839, he painted it green. This is the accepted color of Islam. Sultan Abdulmecid I initiated a virtual reconstruction in 1848. He completed it in 1860.
King Abdulaziz planned a modern expansion in 1948. King Saud executed it from 1953 to 1955. The mosque includes a new northern court. It also features surrounding colonnades. The style matches the 19th-century building. Concrete replaces stone from neighboring hills. The qafa cage once restricted female worshippers. It has been dismantled. The southern part of the mosque remains intact. It comprises three ornamental iron structures. These represent the houses of the Prophet. They contain the tomb of the Prophet under the great green dome. Also inside are the tombs of the first two caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar. The tomb of the Prophet’s daughter Fatimah is there too. A section of the pillared southern colonnade represents the palm grove. The first simple mosque was built there.
Other religious sites mark the oasis. The Mosque of Quba is the first in Islamic history. From there, the Prophet saw Mecca. The Mosque of the Two Qiblahs commemorates the change of prayer direction. It went from Jerusalem to Mecca. Hamza’s tomb is another significant spot. He was the Prophet’s uncle. He and his companions fell in the Battle of Uhud in 625. The Prophet was wounded in this battle. The cave on Mount Uhud is where the Prophet took refuge. Other mosques commemorate where he donned his armor. One marks where he rested. Another shows where he unfurled his standard for the Battle of the Ditch.
The ditch itself was dug around Medina by Muhammad. Rubble from the great fire during Sultan Abdulmecid I’s reign was dumped there. Muslims piously visit these spots. Non-Muslims cannot enter them. The Islamic University of Madinah was established in 1961.
Medina’s modernization has not been as rapid as Jeddah or Riyadh. Building involved dismantling the old city wall. This merged the historic area with the pilgrim camping ground. The Anbariyyah quarter lies beyond the Abu Jida torrent bed. It was formerly the commercial quarter. The Turks established the railway station and terminal yards there. Foundations of the old city wall were lower than accumulated silt. No archaeological work has been done. Nor has any been done on ruined sites of old settlements. Yathrib was the largest. The Islamic cemetery of al-Baqi once had domes and ornamentation. These were removed during the Saudi conquest of 1925. Simple concrete graves and a circuit wall replaced the old monuments.
Remember Jibal al Makhariq. It stands silently watching Medina evolve. It has seen centuries of devotion and transformation. It is more than just a geographical point. It’s a marker in Medina’s long and storied history.