from Wikipedia
Maqbaratu l-Baqī' (Arabic: مقبرة
البقيع, Al-Baqi'
Cemetery) is a cemetery in Medina, Saudi Arabia, located to the southeast of
the Masjid al-Nabawi. The cemetery is also known as Jannatu l-Baqi' (جنة البقيع) "The Garden of Heaven" and
Baqi'u l-Qarqad "Orchard of the Boxthorn Trees".
A Jewish graveyard was once located behind Jannatu l-Baqi'.
The Umayyad rulers took down the wall of the Jewish cemetery and widened the
Muslim graveyard to enclose the tomb of Uthman ibn Affan within it.
While Muhammad was outside Medina for the Battle of Badr,
his daughter Ruqayyah fell sick and died in 624. Shortly after Muhammad arrived from Badr, Uthman bin Maz'oon
died on the 3rd of Sha'ban in the 3rd year of Hijrah and was buried in
al-Baqi'. He was considered the first companion of Muhammad from the Muhajirun
to be buried in Al-Baqi' Cemetery. The
Prophet (s) ordered certain trees to be felled, and in its midst, he buried his
dear companion, placing two stones over the grave.
The Prophet (s) used to greet those who were buried in
al-Baqi by saying, "Peace be upon you, O abode of the faithful! God
willing, we should soon join you. O' Allah, forgive the fellows of
al-Baqi".
Nearly seven thousand companions of the Holy Prophet (s) were buried there, not to mention those of the Ahlul Bayt (a). Imam Hasan b. Ali (a), Imam Ali b. al-Husayn (a), Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a), and Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a) were all buried there.
Among other relatives of the Prophet (s) who were buried at
al-Baqi are: his aunts Safiya and Aatika, and his aunt Fatima bint al-Asad, the
mother of Imam Ali (a). The third caliph Uthman was buried outside al-Baqi, but
with later extensions, his grave was included in the area. In later years,
great Muslim scholars like Malik bin Anas and many others, were buried there
too. Thus, did al-Baqi become a well-known place of great historic significance
to all Muslims.
The destruction of sacred sites in the Hejaz initiated by
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab continues today to prevent what some consider to be
the practice of grave-worshipping, revering the dead and asking favours of the
dead buried there.[2] Many of these mausoleums, domes and structures,
originally intended to identify famous companions of Muhammad, were destroyed
upon the urging of Wahhabi scholars who argued, in accordance with Muhammad ibn
Abd al-Wahhab's ideology, that Muhammad forbade the building of structures over
any grave.[3][4] According to these scholars, adornment or beautification of
graves is forbidden in order to prevent people from seeking a means of approach
to God through the dead and to directly seek help from the dead. Despite this,
the graves of many historic figures continue to be visited by numerous
pilgrims, and burials continue at the cemetery to this day.
Many Shi'i Muslims continue to mourn the day the House of Saud
demolished shrines in al-Baqi'. They remember it as yaum e gham or Day of
Sorrow. Shi'i Muslims continue to protest the Saudi government's demolition of
these shrines.
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