Medina

''This article is about the Saudi city of Medina. For other uses, see Medina (disambiguation).'' ---- Medina (; alternatively transliterated into English language as Madinah) is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia. It currently has a population of 839,400 (1999). The long form of the Arabic name means "the enlightened city", while the short form just means "the City". Medina is the second holy city of Islam, after Makkah (Mecca). Its importance as a religious site derives from the presence there the Shrine of the Prophet Mohammad by Masjid al-Nabawi or the Mosque of the Prophet, famously know as Gumbad-e-Khizra, Prophet's Dome or Green Dome, which was built on a site adjacent to Prophet Muhammad's home. His home later became part of the mosque when it was expanded by the Umayyad caliph al-Waleed ibn AbdelMalek. The first mosque of Islam is also located in Medinah and is known as ''Masjid Quba,'' the Quba Mosque. In 622, Medina became the seat of Muhammad's growing movement after the Hijra_%28Islam%29. In 622 Muhammad was invited to come and live in Yathrib (the old name of Medina) and act as a sort of governor. Medina in those times was a divided city. Different clans and religions were eternally quarrelling and bickering and Muhammad brought unity to the city. All parties agreed to a pact drawn up by Muhammad and his followers. He invited all people in the city to follow the new religion of Islam. However, he had trouble convincing the majority of the Jewish population (which was actually quite large) and the Christian population that Islam was the true version of Judaism or the true religion of Jesus. In the ten years following the Hijra_%28Islam%29, Medina formed the base from which Muhammad attacked and was attacked and it was from here that he marched on Makkah, becoming its ruler without battle. Even when Islamic rule was established Medina remained for some years the most important city of Islam and the de facto capital of the Caliphs. Under the first four Caliphs, known as the Righteous Caliphs, the Islamic empire expanded rapidly and came to include centres of learning such as Jerusalem, Ctesiphon, and Damascus. After the death of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth caliph, Muawiyah I transferred the capital to Damascus and the importance of Medina dwindled and became of a religious more than a political nature. In 1924 the city, which had been in Ottoman Empire hands for centuries, fell to Ibn Saud, whose empire later became Saudi Arabia. ==See also== *List of Holy Cities Holy cities Medina hi:मदीना

Medina

Islam Cities in Saudi Arabia

Medina

''The following comment by 202.156.2.202 is moved from the main article page before a reversion:'' "When the Jews refused to convert, the qibla was changed from Jerusalem to Makkah." The aforementioned statement is incorrect.In actuality, the order to change the Qibla was ordered by Allah as in the Quran and not due to refusal of the Jews to convert to Islam. User:Rhyax 08:22, 11 Sep 2004 (UTC) Whoever wrote the first comment is correct. The change in direction of prayer from Jerusalem to Mecca came after Muhammad's increasing difficulties/hostility with the Jews of Medina. So one can reasonably infer (academic scholars) that this addition to the Quran was made for these practical purposes. == Why was it reverted? == I made some corrections to the text yesterday, but it has been reverted. I corrected the paragraph on naming, putting the correct full official name "al Madina alMunawwarah". I also updated the estimated population to match the number published by the Medina provincial governate. Finally I corrected the paragraph regarding the prophet's mosque: The kind chambers (the prophet's apartment) was not originally part of the mosque, it was incorporated into the mosque 90 years later as part of the mosque's fourth expansion. Can you please reinstate the changes? == changing of the Qibla == On the issue of the changing of the Qibla, I see that the sentence should be removed. Wikipedia aims to take a neutral stance, so any hypothesis (however reasonable to a western reader) should not be stated in such an unequivical manner. Best to just state the empirical fact without any of the perceived reasoning for the change (ie. The direction of the Qibla was changed in the year XXX . full stop). Or at least integrate into the paragraph a sentence that clearly shows that it is disputed by muslims. In any case why is this in the Medina page? It should be on the page about Islam. Can you folks sign and date these entries? I have no idea how old this discussion is. Anyway, Medina has nothing to do with the Qibla. It might warrant a mention on Mecca, and of course it should feature on Qibla, but not here. --User:Irishpunktom\^{User_talk:Irishpunktom} 14:08, May 27, 2005 (UTC)

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Words begining with Medina:

Medina
Medina
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Medina,_England
Medina,_Minnesota
Medina,_MN
Medina,_ND
Medina,_New_York
Medina,_North_Dakota
Medina,_OH
Medina,_Ohio
Medina,_Saudia_Arabia
Medina,_Saudi_Arabia
Medina,_Tennessee
Medina,_Texas
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Medina,_WA
Medina,_Washington
Medina,_WI
Medina,_Wisconsin
Medina-Sidonia
Medina-Sidonia,_Duque_Alonso_Perez_de_Guzman_de
Medinan_chapter
Medinan_sura
Medinan_surah
Medina_(borough)
Medina_(disambiguation)
Medina_County
Medina_County,_OH
Medina_County,_Ohio
Medina_County,_Ohio
Medina_County,_Ohio
Medina_County,_Texas
Medina_County,_Texas
Medina_County,_Texas
Medina_County,_TX
Medina_Dam
Medina_mosques
Medina_quarter
Medina_River
Medina_Township,_MI
Medina_Township,_Michigan
Medina_Valley
Medina_wa