Al-Makarr, Means The
Residence Or The Place Of Quiet; Makinat, The Firmly-Fixed, (In The
Right Faith); Al-Harim, The Sacred Or Inviolable; And, Finally,
Al-Balad, The Town, And Al-Madinah, The City By Excellence.
So an
inhabitant calls himself Al-Madani, whilst the natives of other and
less-favoured "Madinahs" affix Madini to their names.
Its titles are
Arz-Allah, Allah's Land; Arz al-Hijrah, the Land of Exile; Akkalat
al-Buldan, the Eater of Towns; and Akkalat al-Kura, the Eater of
Villages, on account of its superiority, even as Meccah is entitled Umm
al-Kura, the Mother of Villages; Bayt Rasul Allah, House of Allah's
Prophet; Jazirat alArab, Isle of the Arab; and Harim Rasul Allah, the
Sanctuary of Allah's Prophet. In books and letters it has sometimes the
title of Madinah Musharrafah, the Exalted; more often that of Madinah
Munawwarah, the Enlightened-scil. by the lamp of faith and the column
of light supposed to be based upon the Prophet's tomb. The Moslems are
not the only people who lay claim to Al-Madinah. According to some
authors-and the legend is more credible than at first sight it would
appear-the old Guebres had in Arabia and Persia seven large fire
temples, each dedicated to a planet. At "Mahdinah," as they pervert the
word, was an image of the Moon, wherefore the place was originally
called the "Religion of the Moon." These Guebres, amongst other sacred
spots, claim Meccah, where they say Saturn and the Moon were conjointly
venerated; Jerusalem, the Tomb of Ali at Najaf, that of Hosayn at
Kerbela, and others. These pretensions of course the Moslems deny with
insistance, which does not prevent certain symptoms of old and decayed
faith peeping out in localities where their presence, if duly
understood, would be considered an abomination. This curious fact is
abundantly evident in Sind, and I have already alluded to it (History
of Sind).
[FN#5] Such is its formation in Al-Hijaz.
[FN#6] Within the sanctuary all Muharramat, or sins, are forbidden; but
the several schools advocate different degrees of strictness. The Imam
Malik, for instance, allows no latrinae} nearer to Al-Madinah than
Jabal Ayr, a distance of about three miles. He also forbids slaying
wild animals, but at the same time he specifies no punishment for the
offence. Some do not allow the felling of trees, alleging that the
Prophet enjoined their preservation as an ornament to the city, and a
pleasure to visitors. Al-Khattabi, on the contrary, permits people to
cut wood, and this is certainly the general practice. All authors
strenuously forbid within the boundaries slaying man (except invaders,
infidels, and the sacrilegious), drinking spirits, and leading an
immoral life. As regards the dignity of the sanctuary, there is but one
opinion; a number of Hadis testify to its honour, praise its people,
and threaten dreadful things to those who injure it or them. It is
certain that on the last day, the Prophet will intercede for, and aid,
all those who die, and are buried, at Al-Madinah.
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