LETTER FROM MEDINA, AS GUEST OF THE KING

Assalamu Alaika Ya RasulalLah! May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you, O Noble Prophet! This weekend we, Our Royal Highnesses, Guests of the King, are in Medina, home and resting place of the Greatest Human Ever To Walk This Earth, Muhammad the Prophet, upon whom and his family and companions be peace. […]

Assalamu Alaika Ya RasulalLah! May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you, O Noble Prophet!
This weekend we, Our Royal Highnesses, Guests of the King, are in Medina, home and resting place of the Greatest Human Ever To Walk This Earth, Muhammad the Prophet, upon whom and his family and companions be peace.
“Tala’al-Badru ‘alayna/min thaniyyatil-Wada’/wajabash-shukru ‘alayna/ma da’a lilLahi da’/Ayyuha al-mab’uthu fina/ji’ta bi-al-amril-muta’/Ji’ta sharraftal-Madinah/marhaban ya khayra da’!
“O the White Moon rose over us/From the Valley of Wada’/And we owe it to show gratefulness/Where the call is to Allah/O you who were raised amongst us/Coming with a work to be obeyed/You have brought to this City nobleness/Welcome/Best call to God’s way!”
Thus sang Yusuf Islam (the former Cat Stevens), to the accompaniment of sweet and melodious music, in his epic Tala’al Badru (The White Moon Rose). Yusuf Islam was re-singing the song the people of Medina sang to celebrate the arrival of Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, 1437 years ago.
Sallal Lahu ala Muhammad!
Zain Bhikha, another famous singer, in his City of Madinah, echoed Yusuf Islam and also sang to celebrate the City of the Prophet:
“Peace be upon Rasul Allah/Peace be upon Habib Allah/Peace be upon Muhammad/Peace be upon Shafi’Allah/Peace be upon Khaira khalqil Allah/Peace be upon Muhammad/Last of the Ambiyaa!
“Mercy and Blessings from above/descend ceaselessly on Medina/People feel the joy/people feel the love/in the city of Rasullullah!
“Deep in my heart I feel a change has begun/Deep in my soul I feel the warmth of the sun/Burning bright with Imaan on the road to Ihsaan/All my obstacles I will overcome!
“Peace be upon Rasul Allah/Peace be upon Habib Allah/Peace be upon Muhammad/Peace be upon Shafi’Allah/Peace be upon Khaira khalqil Allah/Peace be upon Muhammad/Last of the Ambiyaa!
Sallal Lahu ala Muhammad!
For a little bit of geography and history, Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (the ‘radiant city’ or the ’lighted city’) or Madinatur Rasul, ‘City of the Prophet’; short form Madinah simply means ‘City’. Situated about 340km north of Makkah, Madinah is the second holiest site in Islam after Makkah and is home to three very important mosques, the most famous, of course, being Masjid Al Nabawi – the Prophet’s Mosque. The Prophet and his first two Caliphs – Abubakr and Umar – were buried under the Green Dome of this mosque. Masjid Quba was the first mosque of Islam, established when the Prophet arrived the City, and Masjid Al Qiblatain was where the qiblah (direction for prayer) was switched to Makkah from the hitherto Jerusalem. Medina’s population may soon reach 2,000,000, (multiplied by two in the height of the pilgrimage season).
The Mosque of the Prophet was built on a site adjacent to his home. Millions of Muslims come to Medina annually to worship in the mosque, visit the Tomb of Prophet, and visit other historical places associated with the Migration of the Prophet (Hijra) from Mecca in 622 CE, as well as sites associated with the subsequent wars the Prophet had to fight to protect his fledgling community.
On arrival in Medina, the Prophet had neutralised the centuries-old enmity between the two predominant Medina clans, the Aws and Khazraj, and named those who arrived from Mecca the Muhajirun (Migrators), and their hosts in Medina the Ansar (Patrons or Helpers).
Not long after his arrival, the political acumen of the Prophet shone through by the enactment of the Treaty of Medina, also referred to as the Constitution of Medina, which committed residents of the City to mutual cooperation. These inhabitants included three Jewish settler tribes – Nadir, Qainuqa and Quraiza. These latter rebelled and connived with enemies of the Prophet, and were expelled forever – despite the legend of adding Medina in the Greater Israel Map one sees now and again!
Sallal Lahu ala Muhammad!
And now, a few stories from Our Royal Highnesses, Great Nigerian Delegation, Guests of the King:
Hakeem of Morocco: Though this story about Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, our senior roommate, is an old one, it needs re-telling. Hakeem had just exited the Grand Mosque in Mecca when, out of nowhere, a Moroccan woman accosted and held him by his Ihram. She looked heavenwards and screamed a Thank-You-Allah! That here (Hakeem) was her long-lost son who was reported dead from Morocco’s war with Polasario in Western Sahara many years ago, a death she never believed as there was no body. Hakeem protested and struggled and tried to extricate himself, but his ‘mother’ held on tight to ‘dear son’! She would look at Hakeem, look heavenwards, utter various incantations to Allah for returning her son, and hold Hakeem tighter. Crowds surrounded them, taking selfies of the spectacle with abandon. Hakeem screamed in Hausa that wallahi tallahi he was not even Arab (forgetting his own Arab-original physical features!) He made to escape; she held more tightly! It took a lot of efforts by Askars to save the Hausaman Hakeem from his Moroccan ‘mother’!
Na’iya The Brisk-Walker: Remember Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars? We have one here! One would think that if burdens weigh heavily on someone, that someone would slow down in all faculties. Apparently not our leading roommate Professor Ibrahim Na’iya Sada, whom we now call Na’iya Brisk-walker (in the image of Anakin). With FIVE major burdens on his neck (four at home, if you get my meaning, and one as DVC ABU), this one-time MSS National Amir and 1978 Breaker-of-the-Osogbo-Muslim-Drums (a story for another day) usually out-walks many of us, younger folk, in various treks from the Tents of Muna to the Jamarat and the Grand Mosque. Stooping a wee bit, this scholar will throw one leg and, before you knew it, has gone so far. That’s why I always tell my children to attend MSS IVC and get this infusion of everlasting energy! Brisk-walker!
Prophet-Greeting ‘Selfie’: We all have seen that WhatsApp joke about selfie-ing everything from Prayers to Ramadan Iftar to Hajj and Umra to Sadaqa, etc. But I didn’t bargain with a Prophet-Greeting ‘Selfie’! As we made a beeline to greet the Prophet after Friday payers yesterday, just ahead of me was an elderly, heavily bearded Asian gentleman busily incanting invocations and selfie-ing himself as we passed by the Great Presence. On exit, I could overhear him excitedly saying to someone over the phone – ‘Did you see me? Did you see me?’
Crowne Plaza “Paradise”: I had complained on this page in the past that, when he lived, the Prophet was surrounded by the likes of Bilal and Abu Zar, poor folk. Now, he (or at least his mosque and resting place) is now surrounded by the Hiltons, the Meridiens, the Four Seasons, and Crowne Plaza, the five-star habitation Our Highnesses were accommodated. I had expected, as our hotel is a two-minute walk to the Haram, to hear the Azan (call to prayer) at all times! Alas! We are insulated! You don’t get to hear Azan, or the prayer! So we can ‘relax’ all the more! Ranmu ya dade!
Sallal Lahu ala Muhammad!