The latest edition of Islamica magazine publishes a series of articles on the sites of religious and cultural importance. One article is by by Irfan Ahmed, "Joint Chairman of the Islamic Heritage and Research Foundation, which was formed to help protect and preserve the holy sites in the Hijaz", on the continuing destruction of the historical buildings in Makkah and Medinah. Some excerpts:
In 1998 the grave of Amina bint Wahb, the Prophet’s mother, was bulldozed in Abwa and gasoline was poured on it. Even though thousands of petitions throughout the Muslim world were sent to Saudi Arabia, nothing stopped this action. One of my late teachers, Sheikh Sayyid Muhammad ibn ‘Alawi al-Maliki, a Meccan who was a great historian on the holy sites and inherited his knowledge from his father and forefathers who were all teachers of the holy Haram, showed me pictures of the grave of Sayyida Amina marked with a pile of stones after the destruction. The House of Khadija was excavated during the Haram extensions, then hurriedly covered over so as to obliterate any trace of it. This was the house where the Prophet received some of his first revelations and it is also where his children Umm Kulthum, Ruqqaya, Zaynab, Fatima, and Qasim were born. Dar al-Arqam, the first school in Islam where the Prophet taught has also been demolished. It was in the area of Shi’b ‘Ali near the Bab ‘Ali door opposite the king’s palace. It is now part of the extension of the Haram.
The authorities plan to demolish the house of Mawlid, where the Prophet was born. About 60 years ago, this house, which used to have a dome over it, was turned into a cattle market. Some people then worked together to transform it into a library, which it is today. It is lined with shelves of books about Mecca, most of them written by Meccans. But the library is under threat again because of the new Jabal ‘Umar project, one of the largest real estate development projects near the Grand Mosque. The birthplace of the Prophet is to make way for a car park and hotels.
[...]
In Medina, of the seven mosques at the site of the Battle of the Trench (Jabal al-Khandaq), where Sura al-Ahzab was revealed, only two remain. The others have been demolished and a Saudi bank’s cashpoint machine has been built in the area. The remaining mosques will be demolished as soon as the new mosque being constructed is ready. One of the mosques slated for destruction is Masjid Fath, the mosque and rock of victory, where the Prophet stood during the battle of the trench praying for victory. On the rock is where he received God’s promises of victory and of the conquest of Mecca.
The last point was made to me by several people I went to Hajj with, most of who last performed a Hajj in the late 80s/early 90s. They all claimed that the houses of the Prophet's (upon whom be peace) closest Companions were marked out, but they have disappeared during the expansion of Masjid-e-Nabawi. I don't know how true this is, but perhaps someone else has some information?
In another article, the magazine claims to have images of the house of Sayyida Khadija, the first wife of the Prophet (upon whom be peace). Unfortunately, the images are not online and are only available in the print edition.
The House of Sayyida Khadija was rediscovered during the Haram extensions in 1989, then hurriedly covered over so as to obliterate any trace. This was the house where the Prophet Muhammad received some of his first revelations and it is also where his children Umm Kulthum, Ruqqaya, Fatima, Zaynab, Qasim and ‘Abdullah were born [...] The House of Sayyida Khadija was located just outside Safa and Marwa and which now falls under the paved area. Above it, the Wahhabi hardliners have built public toilets.
A third article discusses the importance of buildings in relation to the Islamic traditions.
The house in which the Prophet Muhammad was born and where he received the Revelation prior to his emigration to Medina is just one notable example mentioned by the Saudi architectural historian Dr. Sami Angawi. One also has only to read the splendid detailed account of the journeys of Andalusian traveler Ibn Jubayr (d. 614/1217 ) to understand that we display a lack of reverence for our sacred past. Ibn Jubayr and others mention the house of the Prophet. Reading their pages makes one feel connected to the sacred history. It was the custom of both learned and unlettered Muslims before the rise of the Wahhabi movement in the 18 th century to regularly visit these sites for baraka, to contemplate death and the hereafter, and to make supplications on behalf of the deceased. Lamentably, the proponents of such frenetic building activity today cite the need for progress and modernization and more practically, the need to provide the increasing numbers of Hajj pilgrims with adequate facilities.
Time to protest and boycott...?
So incredibly sad. Our past is being stolen from us, and for what? To make way for some fancy villa?
Posted by: Svend | February 07, 2006 at 09:07 PM
As Salaam Alaykum
Please post the link to: http://www.savethehijaz.org
I am working with a few people to get more information out about the disgraceful and shameful way the Saudi authorities and ulema of the last 200 years or so has acted with regards to the heritage of Islam.
Primarily the target of Save the Hijaz is to try and prevent the destruction of the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad (sallahi alaihi wa sallam) and we need to approach this task with a unified resolve - insha'Allah. However it doesn't stop with saving one site - the whole region needs to realise that they are internally destroying Islam for future generations and are on the verge of removing all the sites and signs of the geat history of Islam in Al-Hijaz. And we have not even mentioned the tabarrakat of these locations yet.
If you know of other sites and media please send them the message that Save the Hijaz needs their help and support.
Thank you for your support and may Allah the Exalted and Most High reward you in this life and the next. Amin.
Wa Alaykum Salaam
Tahir Khan
Posted by: Tahir Khan | March 04, 2006 at 09:04 PM
assalamu alaykum
Tahir,
I will link to the website when I reconstruct my links in the near future, insha'allah.
May God reward your efforts.
wasalaam
Posted by: thabet | March 04, 2006 at 10:26 PM
The thing that oneself like to grasping, strive for, no regrets!
Posted by: air yeezys | November 12, 2010 at 03:44 AM