Jannatul Baqi (Garden of Heaven)

Jannatul Baqi

Jannatul Baqi (Garden of Heaven) is the main cemetery of Madinah. Buried there are many members of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) close family, around ten thousand of his companions (Sahabah) and many prominent, pious personalities.

• Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported (that whenever it was her turn for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) to spend the night with her) he would go out towards the end of the night to al-Baqi and say: “Peace be upon you, abode of a people who are believers. What you were promised would come to you tomorrow, you receiving it after some delay; and God willing we shall join you. O Allah, grant forgiveness to the inhabitants of Baqi al-Gharqad.” [Muslim]

• Baqi means the land in which the roots of different trees are embedded, Gharqad is the name of a thorny tree (Boxthorn) which were abundant in Baqi. Hence the cemetery also came to be known as Baqi al-Gharqad.

• The first person to be buried in al-Baqi was As’ad Bin Zararah (may Allah be pleased with him), an Ansari companion who died soon after the Prophet ‘s (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) migration to Madinah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) chose the spot to be a cemetery. The first of the Muhajirun (Emigrants) to be buried there was Uthman bin Mazoun who died shortly after the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) returned from the battle of Badr.

Some of the blessed personalities resting in Jannatul Baqi are:

• All the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him), also known as the Mothers of the Believers including Aisha, Hafsa, Sawdah (may Allah be pleased with them) etc. except for Khadijah bint Khuwaylid who is buried in Makkah and Maymuna bint al-Harith who is buried in Sarif.
• The daughters of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him), Fatima, Ruqayyah, Zainab and Umme Kulthum (may Allah be pleased with them)
• Ebrahim (may Allah be pleased with him), the infant son of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) by Maria al-Qibtiyya
• Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him), the grandson of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him)
• Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), the uncle of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him)
• The aunts of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him), Safiyyah and Aatikah (may Allah be pleased with them)
• Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), the third Caliph and son-in-law of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him)
• Halimah Saadia , the wet-nurse of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him)
• Sa’ad bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him)
• Abdur-Rehman bin Auf (may Allah be pleased with him)
• Abdullah bin Mas’ood (may Allah be pleased with him)
• Abu Saeed Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him)
• Imam Malik (may Allah be pleased with him)

• The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said, “On the day of Qiyaamah my grave shall be opened first and I shall step forth. Then shall Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) step forth and then Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Then shall I proceed to Baqi and take all its inmates with me. Then shall we await the inmates of the graveyard of Makkah, who shall meet me halfway between Makkah and Madinah.”[Tirmidhi]
   
• During different times of history many domes and structures were built or rebuilt over many famous graves in Al-Baqi in order to identify the inhabitants. On April 21, 1925, mausoleums, domes and structures in Jannatul Baqi were demolished by the order of King Abdul Aziz Al Saud with the objective of complying with the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) to not cover or build structures over any grave and to prevent people from seeking help from the dead.
   
• It is virtuous to visit Jannatul Baqi (preferably on a Friday) and supplicate to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) for all those buried in its noble earth.

References:  History of Madinah Munawwarah – Dr. Muhammad Ilyas Abdul Ghani, Wikipedia, Virtues of Hajj – Sheikh Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhalvi