Jannat Al Baqi or Islam’s oldest cemetery destroyed by Wahhabis

Pilgrims who travel to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj in recent days also visit the mosque in Medina. The second largest mosque in Islam was built by the Prophet and his companions on the spot where the first Friday prayers were held in Medina, and there is a majestic cemetery next to it.

Al Hijra marks the departure of the Prophet Muhammad and several of his companions from Mecca to the Oasis of Yathrib (the ancient name of Medina), just three years after the death of the first companion in 622. The Prophet Muhammad then ordered a place (opposite the southeastern part of the mosque) to be converted into a Muslim cemetery.

If Jannat means paradise, then Al Baqi literally means the Garden of Trees. The full name Jannat Al Baqi Al Gharqad also refers to a plant morphological feature of the Mediterranean region, close to Marquis.

Companions, Ahl Al Bayt and Imam resting in Al Baqi

Jannat Al Baqi, chosen by the Prophet himself, is known for its sacred qualities as it welcomed thousands of companions and dozens of relatives of the Prophet of Islam. Encyclopedia of Islamthe oldest and most important Islamic cemetery in history. We add: “While some tombs in the Marra cemetery in Mecca (such as the tomb of Khadija) are believed to be the graves of Muslims who died before the Hijra, the Medina cemetery is the first dedicated Muslim cemetery”.

Old photo of Jannat Al Baqi. / Ph.D.

website Islam Newspaper The first companion designated for burial in Jannat Al Baqi was Uthman Ibn Madhoon, who died on Shaabane 3 in the third year of the Hegira. But before him, according to Annaba, another Muslim, Assaad Ibn Zarara An Ansari, would be buried there. As for Uthman Ibn Madhoon, the Prophet even participated in his funeral by placing two stones above the grave of his companion.

It was during this period, therefore, that Jannat Al Baqi was established as a cemetery for Muslims. “Nearly 7,000 of the companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) are buried in Jannat Al Baqi. Among them are Uthman bin Madoun, Uthman bin Affan and Asad bin Zuralla. Members of the Prophet’s family buried in the city include Abbas, the Prophet’s uncle, his aunt Fatima bint Asad and his grandson Hassan bin Ali. Muslim atmosphereThe Prophet’s son Ibrahim, who died young, is said to be buried here, as are his aunts Safia, Atika and Fatima, as well as all of Muhammad’s wives (except Khadija bint Huwaylide and Meimunah bint Harith).

Over time, the cemetery would also welcome Imam Malik ibn Anas, the father of the Sunni Maliki religious school, and other imams of the Shia school, such as Jafar al-Sadiq, the school’s sixth imam.

a place visited many times by the Prophet himself

Since Jannat Al Baqi is not an ordinary cemetery, the Prophet Muhammad visited it many times. According to several hadiths reported on the website MedinaStories reported by the Prophet’s wife, Aisha Bint Abu Bakr, confirm that the Prophet went to Jannat Al Baqi at night. One night, he reportedly told his wife that God “commanded” him to visit the Muslims in Baqi and ask for their forgiveness.

Old photo of Jannat Al Baqi. / Ph.D.

According to Muslim Vibe, Muhammad is also said to have greeted those buried at Jannat Al-Baqi, saying: “Peace be upon you! God willing, we will join you soon. O Allah, forgive the members of Baqi.”

However, the Prophet forbad visiting these tombs. But according to the hadith of Abu Saeed al-Khudri recorded in Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, he would say: “I had advised you not to visit these tombs, visit them from now on because they will remind you of the Hereafter.” Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal even made the visit of Jannat al-Baqi a sunnah for visitors to Medina.

Records and historians agree that the cemetery was decorated with domes, cupolas, and mausoleums, especially around the main tomb.

Jannat Al Baqi has been a holy place for centuries. Even renovation work was done on request until the advent of Wahhabi daaoua in the early 19th century.

“Today, the cemetery is a vacant site without buildings or monuments, a hiking trail adjacent to the world’s second holiest mosque,” Adeel Mohammadi wrote in an article. Published in the Journal of Middle Eastern Studies From the University of Toronto, published in 2015.

Illustration of Jannat Al Baqi before it was razed to the ground. / Ph.D.

The two destructions of Wahhabism

In 1744, two strongmen of the Hijaz, Muhammad ibn Saud and Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab, co-founders of the first Saudi state, had just concluded an agreement to spread the teachings of Wahhabi Dawa.

Then launch a conquest before affecting the entire Arabian Peninsula. Wahhabis thus succeeded in conquering Mecca and Medina in the early nineteenth century.

Their teachings are based on the eradication of certain customs and a “return to the customs of the Prophet and his first successor or caliph,” and their movement is based on opposition to the intercession of saints and visiting tombs.

According to the Islamic Compendium, they invaded Medina in 1806. “In 1818, they entered Mecca and destroyed all the holy places and domes, including those around the Zamzam Well. In 1821, the Wahhabis entered Medina and desecrated Al Baqi and all the mosques they encountered.”

According to Adeel Mohammadi, JL Burckhardt, a European who passed through Medina in 1815, nearly a decade after Jannat Al Baqi was initially destroyed, described the cemetery as littered with the ruins of domes and buildings. However, these destroyed tombs and mausoleums would not “prevent the Muslims from continuing their activities in Baqi.” “Obviously, physical destruction was not enough to stop these acts,” he said.

Old photo of Jannat Al Baqi. / Ph.D.

However, in 1818, Caliph Othman Abdul Majid and his successors, Caliphs Abdul Hamid and Muhammad, began to rebuild all the holy sites of Islam in Mecca and Medina. Jannat Al Baqi was subsequently restored, especially in 1848 and 1860.

However, the Wahhabis invaded Mecca again in 1924 and then Medina in 1925, destroying several monuments including Jannat Al Baqi. Subsequently, demonstrations were organized in several countries demanding the restoration of these destroyed Islamic buildings and this holy cemetery.

A phone call is Restore todayespecially for the Shia, Jannat Al Baqi was the seat of Hasan ibn Ali (the second Imam), Ali ibn Husayn (the fourth Imam), Muhammad ibn Ali (the fifth Imam) and Jafar ibn Muhammad (the sixth Imam), four of the twelve Imams of the Twelve.