As a place regarded by Muslims as one of Islam’s holiest cities, Madinah historically reserved a special place in the heart of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, hence his payers and supplication for “barakah” and blessings for the city.
In one of his prayers, the Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have said, “O Allah! Bestow on Madinah twice the blessings You bestowed on Makkah.” (Al-Bukhari)
It’s no wonder that more than 14 centuries on, the city of Madinah has been receiving a lot of recognitions worldwide, the latest of which is being declared the world’s safest city for solo female travelers.
This is the result of a study conducted by travel insurance website InsureMyTrip.
Titled “World’s Safest Cities for Solo Women Travelers,” the study was conducted on 65 cities around the world.
With a population of more than 2 million, the holy city of Madinah came first with a perfect score according to the perception of women who have visited the listed cities.
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The top 5 safest cities in the world for female solo travelers came as follows:
1. Madinah, Saudi Arabia, 10/10
2. Chiang Mai, Thailand, 9.06/10
3. Dubai, UAE, 9.04/10
4. Kyoto, Japan, 9.02/10
5. Macao, China, 8.76/10
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Healthiest Too
This special ranking is the latest in the list of other accolades the city of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has received so far.
In 2021, Madinah was listed among the healthiest cities of world by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The holy city won the accreditation after a visiting WHO team said that it met all the global standards required to be a healthy city.
Madinah, the second holiest city of Islam, lies in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, nearly 280 miles north of the Holy City of Makkah.
Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, or the Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the main attraction of Madinah. The center of the mosque hosts the Prophet’s tomb as well as the tombs of the caliphs Abu Bakr as-Saddiq and Umar ibn al-Khattab.
Though visiting Madinah is not a major rite of Hajj or `Umrah, Muslims’ hearts always yearn to visit the city and pray in the Prophet’s mosque.
This love came as an answer to Prophet Muhammad’s prayer when he said, “O Allah! Make us love Madinah as much as we love Makkah or even more.” [Muwatta of Imam Malik, Hadith no. 4]