Mecca and Related Topics

Muhammad

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Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of the world religion of Islam.

"Muhammad" written in Thuluth, a script variety of Islamic calligraphy

A folio from an early Quran, written in Kufic script (Abbasid period, 8th–9th centuries)

Main tribes and settlements of Arabia in Muhammad's lifetime

Miniature from Rashid-al-Din Hamadani's Jami al-Tawarikh,, illustrating the story of Muhammad's role in re-setting the Black Stone in 605. (Ilkhanate period)

The cave Hira in the mountain Jabal al-Nour where, according to Muslim belief, Muhammad received his first revelation

Muhammad receiving his first revelation from Gabriel in Jami' al-tawarikh by Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb (1307)

The last verse from An-Najm: "So prostrate to Allah and worship." Muhammad's message of monotheism challenged the traditional order

The Al-Aqsa Mosque, part of the al-Haram ash-Sharif complex in Jerusalem and built in 705, was named the "farthest mosque" to honor the possible location to which Muhammad travelled in his night journey.

Quranic inscriptions on the Dome of the Rock. It marks the spot Muhammad is believed by Muslims to have ascended to heaven.

"The Prophet Muhammad and the Muslim Army at the Battle of Uhud", from a 1595 edition of the Mamluk-Turkic Siyer-i Nebi

The Masjid al-Qiblatayn, where Muhammad established the new Qibla, or direction of prayer

The Kaaba in Mecca long held a major economic and religious role for the area. Seventeen months after Muhammad's arrival in Medina, it became the Muslim Qibla, or direction for prayer (salat). The Kaaba has been rebuilt several times; the present structure, built in 1629, is a reconstruction of an earlier building dating to 683.

A depiction of Muhammad (with veiled face) advancing on Mecca from Siyer-i Nebi, a 16th-century Ottoman manuscript. The angels Gabriel, Michael, Israfil and Azrail, are also shown.

Conquests of Muhammad (green lines) and the Rashidun caliphs (black lines). Shown: Byzantine empire (North and West) & Sassanid-Persian empire (Northeast).

Anonymous illustration of al-Bīrūnī's The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries, depicting Muhammad prohibiting Nasī’ during the Farewell Pilgrimage, 17th-century Ottoman copy of a 14th-century (Ilkhanate) manuscript (Edinburgh codex).

A hilya containing a description of Muhammad, by Ottoman calligrapher Hâfiz Osman (1642–1698)

The tomb of Muhammad is located in the quarters of his third wife, Aisha. (Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, Medina)

The Muslim profession of faith, the Shahadah, illustrates the Muslim conception of the role of Muhammad: "There is no god except the God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God." in Topkapı Palace, Istanbul, Turkey

Calligraphic rendering of "may God honor him and grant him peace", customarily added after Muhammad's name, encoded as a ligature at Unicode code point U+FDFA..

Muhammad's entry into Mecca and the destruction of idols. Muhammad is shown as a flame in this manuscript. Found in Bazil's Hamla-i Haydari, Jammu and Kashmir, India, 1808.

Muhammad in La vie de Mahomet by M. Prideaux (1699). He holds a sword and a crescent while trampling on a globe, a cross, and the Ten Commandments.

Makkah Al Mukarramah Library (21.425°N, 39.83°W) is believed to stand on the spot where Muhammad was born, so it is also known as Bayt al-Mawlid

The Masjid Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, also known as the Haram ash-Sharif or the Temple Mount, takes its name from the "farthest mosque" described in Surah 17, where Muhammad travelled in his night journey.

Expansion of the caliphate, 622–750 CE.
Muhammad, 622–632 CE.
Rashidun caliphate, 632–661 CE.
Umayyad caliphate, 661–750 CE.

Muhammad was born approximately 570CE in Mecca.

Medina

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Second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the Medina Province of Saudi Arabia.

8th century rock inscription discovered in Madinah, refers to the city as 'Taybah'

17th century CE bronze token depicting prophet's Mosque, the inscription below reads 'Madinah Shareef' (Noble City)

Three of the Seven Mosques at the site of the Battle of the Trench were combined into the modern Masjid al-Fath, here pictured with Jabal Sal'aa in the background and a shop selling local goods in the foreground.

The Green Dome was built in 1297 CE over Muhammad's rawdhah (residence) and site of burial.

The Gold dinar of Umar II, also known as 'Umar ibn Abdulaziz or the Fifth of the Rightly Guided Caliphs.

Tomb of Salahuddin al-Ayyubi, who started a tradition of greatly funding Medina and protecting pilgrims visiting the holy city.

The Medina sanctuary and Green Dome, photographed in 1880 by Muhammad Sadiq. The dome was built during the Mamluk period, but given its signature color by the Ottomans nearly 600 years later.

Muhammad Ali Pasha, who kept Medina in a peaceful and prosperous state for around 30 years after taking it from the First Saudi State.

The Hejaz railway track near Wadi Rum in Jordan. Jordan uses the railway today for transporting phosphate.

Medina from International Space Station, 2017. Note that North is to the right.

The train which Fakhri Pasha used to transport the Sacred Relics from Medina to Istanbul.

Mount Uhud at night. The mountain is currently the highest peak in Medina and stands at 1,077 m (3,533 ft) of elevation.

Panoramic view of the Prophet's Mosque, from the east at sunset.

Panel representing the Mosque of Medina. Found in İznik, Turkey, 18th century. Composite body, silicate coat, transparent glaze, underglaze painted.

A government-run bus in Medina at Salam Rd. Station

Haramain high-speed railway station at Medina

The city is considered to be the second-holiest of three key cities in Islamic tradition, with Mecca and Jerusalem serving as the holiest and third-holiest cities respectively.

The Kaaba at Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest Islamic site

Abrahamic monotheistic religion, centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text that is considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or Allah) as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main and final Islamic prophet.

Muhammad receiving his first revelation from the angel Gabriel. From the manuscript Jami' al-Tawarikh by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, 1307.

The first chapter of the Quran, Al-Fatiha (The Opening), is seven verses

A Persian miniature depicts Muhammad leading Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets in prayer.

Silver coin of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, inscribed with the Shahadah

Muslim men prostrating in prayer, at the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus.

A fast-breaking feast, known as Iftar, is served traditionally with dates

Pilgrims at the Great Mosque of Mecca during the Hajj season

Portrait of the Mughal Emperor Akbar supplicating to God.

Dome of the Rock built by caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan; completed at the end of the Second Fitna

The eye, according to Hunain ibn Ishaq from a manuscript dated c. 1200

Ghazan Khan, 7th Ilkhanate ruler of the Mongol Empire, converts to Islam

Abdülmecid II was the last Caliph of Islam from the Ottoman dynasty.

World Muslim population by percentage (Pew Research Center, 2014).

The nine volumes of Sahih Al-Bukhari, one of the six Sunni hadith books

The Imam Hussein Shrine in Iraq is a holy site for Shia Muslims

An overview of the major sects and madhahib of Islam

The Whirling Dervishes, or Mevlevi Order by the tomb of Sufi-mystic Rumi

Islamic schools of law in the Muslim world

John of Damascus, under the Umayyad Caliphate, viewed Islamic doctrines as a hodgepodge from the Bible.

Great Mosque of Djenné, in the west African country of Mali

Dome in Po-i-Kalyan, Bukhara, Uzbekistan

14th century Great Mosque of Xi'an in China

16th century Menara Kudus Mosque in Indonesia showing Indian influence

The phrase Bismillah in an 18th-century Islamic calligraphy from the Ottoman region.

Geometric arabesque tiling on the underside of the dome of Hafiz Shirazi's tomb in Shiraz, Iran

The cities of Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem are home to the three holiest sites in Islam, in descending order: Masjid al-Haram, Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Kaaba

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Miniature from 1307 CE depicting Muhammad fixing the black stone into the Kaaba

The Kaaba and Masjid al-Haram depicted on a talismanic shirt, 16th or early 17th century

Ottoman tiles representing the Kaaba, 17th century.

The Black Stone is seen through a portal in the Kaaba

The Kaaba during an expansion phase in 2013

A technical drawing of the Kaaba showing dimensions and elements

The Kaaba with the signature minarets. A similar view is printed on the obverse side of 500-riyal (approximately 133 USD) notes in Saudi Arabia.

The Kaaba and the Masjid Al-Haram during Hajj, 2008

The Kaaba (ٱلْكَعْبَة, ), also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah (ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة), is a building at the center of Islam's most important mosque, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Hajj

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Air-conditioned tents in Mina city (Saudi Arabia), 2 km away from Mecca.

A Hajj certificate dated 602 AH (1205 CE).

A 1907 photograph of people praying near the Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca

Diagram of the locations and rites of Hajj

Pilgrims wearing Ihram near Mount Arafat on the day of Hajj

Pilgrims performing "Ramy Al-Jamarat" (Stoning of the Devil) ceremony during the 2006 Hajj

Pilgrims performing Tawaf around the Kaaba

Central section reserved for the elderly and the disabled. It is also divided into two directions of travel.

Pilgrim in supplication at the Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca.

The largest Jamarah (pillar) these pillars depict the evils in Islam and are stoned by the devotees.

Mount Safa within the Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca.

Mount Marwah within the Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca.

Mount Arafat during Ḥajj with Pilgrims supplicating.

Mount Arafat, a few miles away from Mecca.

The Hajj (حَجّ Ḥajj; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims.

Above: Islam's holiest site, Al-Masjid Al-Ḥarām (The Sacred Mosque), which surrounds the Ka'bah (middle), in Mecca, land of Muhammad's birth and ancestry and an annual point of pilgrimage for millions of Muslims.

Below: Map of the Hejaz showing the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Yanbu and Tabuk. The Saudi Arabian region is outlined in red and the 1923 Kingdom is in green.

Hejaz

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Region in the west of Saudi Arabia.

The city of Al-'Ula in 2012. The city's archaeological district is in the foreground, with the Hijaz Mountains in the background.

The rock-carved Qaṣr Al-Farīd at Al-Ḥijr (Hegra) or Madāʾin Ṣāliḥ ("Cities of Saleh")

Muhammad's Mosque in Medina, his place-of-residence after the Hijrah (Migration) from Mecca, 2010

Harrat Khaybar, as seen from the International Space Station

Workers laying tracks for the Hejaz Railway near Tabuk, 1906

Flag of the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661)

Flag of the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258)

Flag of the Fatimid Caliphate (909–1171)

Flag of the Mamluk Sultanate (1254–1517)

Provisional flag of the Kingdom of Hejaz from 1916 to 1917

Flag of the Kingdom of Hejaz (1917–1920)

Flag of the Kingdom of Hejaz and the Sharifian Caliphate (1920 to 1926)

Flag of the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd (1926 to 1932)

Flag of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1973–present)

The camp of Mina on the outskirts of Mecca, where Muslim pilgrims gather for the Ḥajj (Greater Pilgrimage). Masjid Al-Khayf is visible to the right.

Pilgrims gathering at the plain of Mount Arafat

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) campus at night

Al-Bahah City, located {{convert|2,155|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level

Dhi 'ain village located in Al Bahah Province

It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu and Taif.

Saudi Arabia

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Country on the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia.

Anthropomorphic stela (4th millennium BC), sandstone, 57x27 cm, from El-Maakir-Qaryat al-Kaafa (National Museum of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh)

The "Worshipping Servant" statue (2500 BC), above 1 m in height, is much taller than any possible Mesopotamian or Harappan models. Photo courtesy of the National Museum of Korea.

Qaṣr Al-Farīd, the largest of the 131 rock-cut monumental tombs built from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD, with their elaborately ornamented façades, at the extensive ancient Nabatean archaeological site of Hegra located in the area of Al-'Ula within Al Madinah Region in the Hejaz. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008.

Colossal statue from Al-'Ula in the Hejaz (6th–4th century BC), it followed the standardized artistic sculpting of the Lihyanite kingdom, the original statue was painted with white

At its greatest extent, the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) covered 11100000 km2 and 62 million people (29 per cent of the world's population), making it one of the largest empires in history in both area and proportion of the world's population. It was also larger than any previous empire in history.

Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, the founding father and first king of Saudi Arabia

Map of Saudi Arabian administrative regions and roadways

Map of oil and gas pipelines in the Middle-East

King Fahd with US President Ronald Reagan and future US President Donald Trump in 1985. The US and Saudi Arabia supplied money and arms to the anti-Soviet mujahideen fighters in Afghanistan.

As many as 500 princes, government ministers, and business people, including Prince Fahd bin Abdullah, were arrested by Saudi Arabian authorities as part of the 2017 Saudi Arabian purge

Abdullah ibn Muhammad Al ash-Sheikh with Bogdan Borusewicz in the Polish Senate, 26 May 2014

Verses from the Quran. The Quran is the official constitution of the country and a primary source of law. Saudi Arabia is unique in enshrining a religious text as a political document.

U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, 21 May 2017

U.S. President Barack Obama meets King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, July 2014

Faisal Mosque in Islamabad is named after a Saudi king. The kingdom is a strong ally of Pakistan. WikiLeaks claimed that Saudis are "long accustomed to having a significant role in Pakistan's affairs".

Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir with then British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (now Prime Minister) in London, 16 October 2016

Major Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict locations

Flag of Al-Qaeda, a transnational terrorist group formed by Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian national of Yemeni and Syrian extraction who was stripped of his Saudi passport in 1994.

"The Saudi pilots training in Italy 1935"—a scene from 'Our Eagles', one of four video wall shows made for the Royal Saudi Air Force Museum

Saudi soldiers from the First Airborne Brigade.

Deera Square, central Riyadh. It is a former site of public be-headings.

Harrat Khaybar seen from the International Space Station. Saudi Arabia is home to more than 2000 dormant volcanoes. Lava fields in Hejaz, known locally by their Arabic name of harrat (the singular is harrah), form one of Earth's largest alkali basalt regions, covering some 180000 km2, an area greater than the state of Missouri.

A proportional representation of Saudi Arabia exports, 2019

Office of Saudi Aramco, the world's most valuable company and the main source of revenue for the state

The hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims.

King Abdullah Financial Center is one of the largest investment centres in the Middle East, located in Riyadh

Al-Hasa is known for its palm trees and dates. Al-Hasa has over 30 million palm trees which produce over 100 thousand tons of dates every year.

Saudi Arabia population density (people per km2)

The Al-Yamamah Private University in Riyadh

UIS literacy rate Saudi Arabia population, 15 plus, 1990–2015

Historical development of life expectancy in Saudi Arabia

Supplicating pilgrim at Al-Masjid Al-Ḥarām (The Sacred Mosque) in Mecca. The Kaaba is the cubic building in front of the pilgrim.

Non-Muslims are prohibited from entering the Islamic holy city of Mecca

Sarah Attar is a track and field athlete who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics as one of the first two female Olympians representing Saudi Arabia.

The Masjid al-Haram is the holiest Islamic site, located in Mecca

The Mosque of the Prophet in Medina containing the tomb of Muhammad

King Abdullah practising falconry, a traditional pursuit in the country

Arabic coffee is a traditional beverage in Arabian cuisine

Uruguay – Saudi Arabia match at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

The 3000-year-old ancient historical city of Dumat al-Jandal in Al Jawf Province

Jabal Sawda ({{convert|3000|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}}) located in the 'Asir subrange of the Sarat Mountains

Abha City, located {{convert|2270|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level in the 'Asir Region

The desert of Al-Rub' Al-Khali (The Empty Quarter)

Saad Khader from left and right Mohammad Al-Ali in 1979

The country is home to Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities in Islam.

Quraysh

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The Quraysh (قُرَيْشٌ, ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba.

Jeddah

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City in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia and the country's commercial center.

Portuguese attack in 1517 by Gaspar Correia (c. 1496–1563) - Originally from Lendas da India by Gaspar Correia.

Mohammed Abu Zenada, one of the Chiefs of Jeddah and the advisor to the Sharif during the surrender to King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud in 1925

King Abdulaziz sitting with Abdullah Ali Reda on the day he entered Jeddah in 1925

Mall of Arabia is the largest shopping mall in Jeddah.

A woman from Jeddah in traditional clothing, 1873.

The bicycle roundabout is one of the most iconic open-air art installations in Jeddah.

The architecture of buildings in Jeddahs' historic Al-Balad area

The IDB Jeddah tower can be seen in the background of this mosque.

Quran Gate, Entrance to Makkah, Makkah Gate

Laboratories at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

Pakistan International School Jeddah (PISJ)

The high-speed locomotive that operates the Haramain train line between Makkah, Madinah, and Jeddah. It is manufactured by Spanish trainset manufacturer Talgo.

A tunnel in King Abdullah St. was filled with water during the 2009 floods.

A tunnel in King Abdullah St. was filled with water during the 2011 floods.

Jeddah is the principal gateway to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, 65 km to the east, while Medina, the second-holiest city, is 360 km to the north.