There is nothing that can strike out Madinah’s relentless fascination and appeal. Undeniably, Madinah reigns; she is not to be reigned over. She is sovereign and in control—in the literal sense of the words—not to be controlled by anybody or anything.
People can neither rule Madinah nor be rulers inside it. They can only serve it in various capacities of theirs, which span from the lowest to the highest tiers of human qualifications and ranks. This certainly sets the criteria for enticing some people to Madinah and deterring others.
For that reason, even the Dajjal (the great receiver whose emergence will spell the imminence of the end of the world) will be unable to enter Madinah and Makkah, despite his being able to enter each and every other land. The Prophet said, as reported by al-Bukhari and Muslims that Dajjal will not come to any of the entrances of Makkah and Madinah, but there will be angels standing in rows, guarding them.
As per another hadith reported by al-Bukhari, Madinah “is like a pair of bellows (furnace); it expels its impurities and brightens and clears its good.” Surely, Madinah is not suitable for everyone or for every idea and lifestyle.
Madinah’s character is transcendent, just like the potencies and causes that made Madinah what she is. Were it not for the prescience and determination of Madinah and its early generations, the world as we know it would not exist, nor would the authentic golden age of Islam and its civilization. It is quite clear that every pilgrim and visitor to Madinah needs to understand that they would not be in their current state were it not for the productivity and efficiency of Madinah.
We all owe Madinah an immense debt of gratitude. People come to Madinah to re-discover themselves and their sense of purpose. In a way, they do not come to Madinah; they return to it. They revert to their ontological source.
Madinah was the first to be fully purified by the Prophet, ridding it of every trace of polytheism and disbelief. Both the physical and spiritual cleanliness, beauty, and wealth of the city were embraced. The city then became the launching pad for the purification, beautification, enrichment, and enlightenment of the world.
Islam became the latter’s liberator and saviour, intimating in the process that whenever the world loses its orientation and moral-cum-spiritual compass, it is only the message perennially characterized by the jurisdiction of Madinah that can provide the answers.
Madinah’s being a holy land, the Prophet’s city, the home of the migration (hijrah), the first Islamic capital city, the blessed illuminant that irradiated the world, the eternal source of Islamic culture and civilization, and the context of the most decisive episodes of the history of Islam—all these elements help Madinah transport its visitors from a world of physical and mundane realities to one of surreally higher meanings, bonds, and experiences.
Madinah is like a dimension-travel and sensation-alteration milieu. Visiting it feels like taking a journey through a different dimension, a place where senses are heightened and altered. What is assured is that no person remains indifferent or unaffected while in Madinah. In its bosom on, people are bound to find a purpose, and to uplift sense, essence and self.
In passing, scholars have debated for centuries whether Makkah or Madinah is superior and has more significance. No doubt, the debates are futile, not bringing the Muslim mind to any productive conclusion. What can be put forward, however, is that both Makkah and Madinah are extraordinary Holy cities.
As a pair, they are one of a kind. They are twins, as it were. As such, they are not supposed to challenge but rather complement one another. They should join forces in forming as much a horizontal axis of history as a vertical axis of spirituality, representing in unison the metaphysical justification of existence.
The otherworldly destinies of Makkah and Madinah stand for the destiny of mankind and of the phenomenon of creation as a whole. The two holy cities are the reason why the universe and man, as the vicegerent of Almighty Allah on earth, exist. Such a truth and the potential avalanche of emotions associated with it ought to be treasured and nurtured, not held back.
In order to find a sense of purpose, a person must lose himself in the dominion of Madinah’s godsends and splendours. Escape the world in Madinah in order to find yourself and your place in the metaphysical realm, and disengage yourself from the creation in order to draw closer to the Creator and set the groundwork for a “union” with Him.
As long as one is in search of the truth in Madinah, the truth is in search of him. They are bound to converge at any juncture of the city’s holiness and its multifaceted functions, such as in the Prophet’s Mosque, in the Rawdah, next to the Prophet’s holy grave and its burial chamber, in the Quba’ Mosque, at the Uhud battlefield and its martyrs’ burial ground, in the cemetery of al-Baqi’, or simply anywhere while in a contemplative mood one walks through the streets, piazzas, gardens, and the numerous historical sites of the city.
Without doubt, Madinah is the greatest heavenly gift to man. It is a sign of Muslim personal and collective existential afuence. It is a matchless asset and a lasting miracle.
The Prophet encapsulated this extraordinary standing of Madinah with the following words, as narrated by al-Bukhari in his “Sahih”:
“Yemen will be conquered, and some people will migrate (from Madinah) and will urge their families and those who will obey them to migrate ( to Yemen), although Madinah will be better for them if they but knew. Sham will also be conquered, and some people will migrate (from Madinah) and will urge their families and those who will obey them to migrate (to Sham), although Madinah will be better for them if they but knew. Iraq will be conquered, and some people will migrate (from Madinah) and will urge their families and those who will obey them to migrate (to Iraq), although Madinah will be better for them if they but knew.”
In the same vein, the Prophet said, as narrated by al-Bukhari:
“Verily, belief (faith) returns and goes back to Madinah as a snake returns and goes back to its hole (when in danger)”.
This means that as Islam spread from Madinah, it was destined to return to it, like a snake that crawls out of its lair and slithers around the land, only to go back to its refuge. As all other places in the world become spiritually and morally degenerate, Islam will eventually retreat to Madinah. The wheel will come in a full circle.
Pages: 1 2