Makkah and Madinah have religious importance to all Muslims in the world. These two cities in Saudi Arabia are not just historical, but religious cities that are sacred for more than one and a half billion Muslims around the world. This means that to understand the familiarity and value of these pieces, it is inevitable to turn to aspects such as history and religion.
Makkah – The Holiest City in Islam
Makkah is strictly Islamic and became a significant city right from the time of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham). Here are some key reasons why Makkah holds such significance:
1. The Kaaba
● The holiest spot in Islam is the Kaaba inside the Holy City of Makkah. This black cube building is said to have been constructed by Prophet Ibrahim and his young son, Prophet Isma’il. Muslims from different parts of the world pray while facing the Kaaba in Makkah to show their unity and worship of the same God, Allah.
● The Kaaba is also called the Baitullah or the house of God. Muslims start on the Hajj and the lesser pilgrimage, Umrah, for this purpose, and both are fundamental practices among the Islamic faithful.
2. Hajj Pilgrimage
● Each year, millions of Muslims from various parts of the world go to Makkah to complete the Hajj pilgrimage in the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar, Dhul-Hijjah. The Hajj is an occasion that tests the ability to perform the same steps that Ibrahim and other prophets followed.
● It is a time of solidarity, in which Muslims of different colors, tongues, and origins, get together to execute their duty as servants of Allah. This is because the acts carried out during the hajj celebration are exhibits of ranking subjection, sacrificing, and bowing to Allah’s authority.
3. Birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad
Makkah is a city in the region that is modern-day Saudi Arabia and enjoys a very significant historical standing in the Islamic world as the birth point of the prophet Muhammad the final prophet and messenger of God to mankind according to Islamic traditions. Here’s an in-depth look at why Makkah is revered as the birthplace of the Prophet:
Historical Context
● Early Life
Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, was born in 570 CE in Makkah, a city that was involved in trade and had important religious status even before the coming of Islam. His birth was the first step in the chain of events of the prophetic mission by which he conveyed Islam to society.
Abdullah, who was his father, died when he was still in his mother’s womb, and Amina, his mother, left him in the care of his grandfather Abdul-Muttalib. He was taken care of by his grandfather Abdul-Muttalib during his early childhood, but after the death of his grandfather, he was brought up by his uncle Abu Talib.
Pre-Islamic Makkah
Before the Islam period, Makkah served as a trading hub and a worship site since it had the Kaaba, a holy structure said to have been constructed by Prophet Ibrahim and his son Isma’il. The city itself was mostly populated by the tribe Quraysh who wielded a lot of political and economic clout in the region at that time.
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Prophetic Mission
● Call to Monotheism
● In his childhood, a clear example of paganism was Makkah, where different tribes and clans of people, besides worshipping idols and statues, believed in many gods.
● He also grew up to be upright, very sober, and quite inclined to serious thinking, hence his nickname “Al-Amin,” which in Arabic means ‘the trustworthy’.
● Revelation and Opposition
● At the age of forty, Muhammad was first commissioned as a Prophet by Allah through an angel called Gabriel (Jibril) when he was in a cave of Hira outside Makkah. It established Tawheed, reiterating God’s Unity and banning the worship of idols and social injustice.
● Prophet Muhammad started preaching openly for Tawheed, which is worshipping only one God and doing good to others.
Opposition and Persecution
● Quraysh Opposition
The message of monotheism preached by the Qur’ān threatened the established economic and social system orchestrated by the Quraysh rulers and the challenge to Makkahn polytheism.
Koran’s messenger, Prophet Muhammad, also experienced what years of prejudice defined as the Quraysh’s rejection, mockery, and persecution of his mission as a threat to the existing power and preconceptions.
● Boycott and Social Pressure
The Quraysh boycotted the Prophet Muhammad socially and economically. It cut him and his followers and their tribe, the Hashim and Banu Hashim, off from the rest of Madinah and even the whole Arabian Peninsula.
This boycott continued for quite some time and made the life of the Muslims difficult, lonely, and devoid of simple comforts that the Western world may take for granted as fundamental rights, but this also never changed the Muslims’ beliefs.
Migration to Madinah
Because the persecution escalated, threats to Prophet Muhammad’s life and the lives of other Companions were made; Prophet Muhammad and his followers subsequently moved from Makkah to Madinah in the year 622 CE, known as the event of migration (Hijrah).
Thus, the migration was not only an escape from persecution but also the formation of a new society that adhered to the Islamic principles of justice and equality they became brothers.
The Zamzam Well
● Zamzam Well is a well whose water Muslims hold in high esteem because it is situated close to the Kaaba. In Islamic culture, it is a well that appears to fall from heaven. Hajar, Ibrahim’s wife, was running after water as she tried to quench the thirst of her baby Isma‘il.
● Muslims use water from the well and believe in its divine qualities of healing.
Unity of the Muslim Ummah
● Thus, Makkah can be interpreted as the embodiment of the togetherness of the Muslim ummah (community). People from different parts of the world, being Muslim, come from different countries, dress in a simple white outfit called the ihram, move around, do the same things, and pray in the same area of Makkah.
● This unity also creates a natural brotherly feeling among Muslims, making them equal regardless of their social, economic, or racial differences. After all the information, Muslims should visit the holy cities and enjoy the cheap Umrah packages provided by any verified and trustworthy travel agency.
Madinah – The City of the Prophet
Madinah is one of the most coveted cities in Islamic history as it was where the Prophet Muhammad moved to and formed the first Muslim community. Here’s why Madinah is important for Muslims:
1. Migration (Hijrah)
● Thus, in 622 CE, the Islamic Prophet and the faithful emigrated from Makkah to Madinah due to persecution by the Quraysh Tribe. It presents the Hijrah as the starting point of the Islamic calendar and a significant event.
● On the other hand, the people of Makkah showed hostility toward the new religion and the followers of the Prophet Muhammad who migrated to Madinah. They formed a brotherhood known as Muhajirun and Ansar, respectively.
2. Establishment of the Islamic Community
● Madinah was where the early Muslim community or (ummah was founded). The first mosque built in Madinah was the Prophet’s Mosque (Masjid an-Nabawi), a holy place today for Muslims, mainly for worship.
● More laws and guidelines were established by the Prophet Muhammad concerning the people’s behavior in Madinah and how he improved the society’s living conditions under Islamic rules.
3. Burial Place of the Prophet
● Indeed, Prophet Muhammad breathed his last in 632 CE and was buried at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, Makkah. He has his tomb, which is commonly referred to as the Rawdah; annually, millions of Muslim faithful flock to the site to pray and seek blessings.
● The Prophet’s Mosque is a religious site for Muslims that offers people spiritual comfort on difficult days and is an excellent example of the Prophet Muhammad’s enlightenment.
4. City of Peace and Learning
● Madinah is the ‘’City of the Prophet’’ or ‘’City of Peace’’. During Islam’s nascent stage, Madinah became an educational center for knowledge.
● Apostles and friends of the Prophet Muhammad were present in Madinah and they maintained the process of transmission of knowledge and rules in Shariah.
5. Importance in Islamic Eschatology
● Madinah also has particular importance in Islamic eschatology, the science that deals with the last things. This plan holds that the Prophet Muhammad stood to foretell Goz all events that were bound to happen in Madinah before the Day of Judgment.
● Muslims highly esteemed Madinah, and people try to live like the Prophet Muhammad and his companions.
Conclusion
Indeed, it is not only that both Makkah and Madinah are significant for Muslims as cities with an essential history of the religion but they are spiritual, religious areas that reflect the main paradigms and values of Islamic culture. Makkah, with the Kaaba in the center, signifies principles of unity, belief, and surrender to Allah by conducting the rites of pilgrimage, namely, HAJJ & UMRAH.
Madinah is also important as the city of the Prophet and the city where the first Muslim community was built as a center of education and spiritual reflection for Muslims all over the world. Combined, these two cities bring to the minds of Muslims their mutual roots, beliefs, and the divine religion of Islam propagated by Prophet Muhammad.
