The virtues of Makkah and Madinah

Praise
be to Allah

Firstly:

The best spot on
earth, in and of itself, is Makkah, then Madinah.

With regard to
individuals, what is best for each person is to live in the city where his
faith will increase and he will be able to worship and obey Allah, may He be
exalted, more.

Shaykh al-Islam
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The best place
on earth for each individual is the land where he will be more able to obey
Allah and His Messenger, which varies according to circumstances. There is
no specific land in which it is best for a person to reside. Rather what is
best for each individual is to be determined based on the degree to which he
will be able to attain piety, obedience, humility before Allah, submission
and focus on worship. Abu’d-Darda’ wrote to Salmaan, saying: Come to the
holy land. Salmaan wrote to him: The land does not sanctify anyone; rather
what sanctifies a person is his deeds.

End quote from
Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (18/283)

See also
questions no. 199894 and
163521

Secondly:

Makkah is
distinct from Madinah and other cities because of a number of virtues, of
which we will mention the following:

·       

One prayer in al-Masjid al-Haraam in Makkah is better than one hundred
thousand prayers offered in any other mosque, except al-Masjid an-Nabawi, in
which one prayer is better than a thousand prayers offered elsewhere.

·       

Makkah is unique in that it is the place where Hajj and ‘Umrah are
performed, people circumambulate the Ka‘bah, touch the Black Stone and the
Yemeni Corner (ar-Rukn al-Yamani), and do sa‘i between as-Safa and al-Marwah.

·       

Allah, may He be exalted, swears by it, as He says (interpretation of the
meaning): “I
swear by this city (Makkah)”
[al-Balad 90:1].

·       

Allah, may He be exalted, decreed Makkah to be a sanctuary the day He
created the heavens and the earth, which is not the case with Madinah.

·       

The sanctity of Makkah is greater than that of Madinah. Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Madinah is a
sanctuary and enjoys sanctity, but its sanctity is much less than that of
Makkah. No Muslim can come to the sanctuary of Makkah from outside the Haram
boundary, unless he is in state of ihram, and he must enter ihram. That is
not so in the case of Madinah.

In the sanctuary
of Makkah, the grass and trees (i.e., all plants) are protected, whereas in
the sanctuary of Madinah, a concession is granted regarding some of its
trees for the purpose of agriculture and the like.

Hunting game in
Makkah is prohibited, and a penalty must be paid for that, whereas no
penalty is required for hunting game in Madinah.

The point is
that the safest place is Makkah, where even the trees are safe, and even
game animals are safe.

End quote from
Liqa’ al-Baab al-Maftooh (103/2)

With regard to
Madinah:

It is the
location of hijrah (migration), the place where the Muhaajireen and Ansaar
came together. And it is the centre of jihad, from which the armies marched
forth and campaigns were launched, from which lands were conquered, the
religion spread and shirk and its people were defeated.

In it most of
the verses on rulings and laws were revealed. When the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) conquered Makkah, he did not settle there;
rather he returned to Madinah, the city to which he had migrated, and lived
there until he died and was buried in that city.

Al-Bukhaari
(3778) and Muslim (1059) narrated that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him)
said: The Ansaar said on the day of the conquest of Makkah, when (the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) gave (some of the booty)
to Quraysh: By Allah, this is strange. Our swords are still dripping with
the blood of Quraysh, and our spoils have been given to them! News of that
reached the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), so he
summoned the Ansaar and said: “What is this that I have heard about you?”
They were people who never told lies, so they said: It is what you have
heard. He said: “Does it not please you that the people are going back to
their houses with worldly gains whilst you are going back to your houses
with the Messenger of Allaah? If the Ansaar were to follow a valley or
mountain pass, I would follow the valley or mountain pass of the Ansaar.”

Al-Bukhaari
(1871) and Muslim (1382) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased
with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: “I have been enjoined (to go to) a city which supersedes other
cities. They say Yathrib, but it is Madinah. It purifies people as the
bellows eliminates the impurities of iron.”

An-Nawawi (may
Allah have mercy on him) said:

With regard to
it superseding all other cities, they mentioned two meanings, the first of
which is that it was the centre for the armies of Islam in the beginning,
and from it other cities were conquered and their wealth and captives
seized. The second meaning is that it superseded and its food and provision
came to it from the conquered cities, from which booty was brought to it.

End quote from
Sharh an-Nawawi ‘ala Muslim (9/154)

al-Bukhaari
(1876) and Muslim (147) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased
with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said:
“Faith will retreat to Madinah as a snake retreats to its hole.”

Mirqaat al-Mafaateeh
(1/243)

Madinah is the
gathering-point of the Muslims in the beginning and at the end.

An-Nawawi said:

“Faith will retreat to
Madinah” – what is meant is that this is how faith is in the beginning and
at the end, because at the beginning of Islam, everyone whose faith was
sincere and whose Islam was valid came to Madinah, either as a muhaajir
(migrant) coming to settle there, or out of a longing to see the Messenger
of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and to learn from him
and be near to him; then after that, at the time of the caliphs, people did
the same, so they came to learn about the straight path from them and follow
the example of the majority of the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them)
living there; then after that, they came to learn from the scholars of
Madinah who were a shining lamp of that era, and the imams of guidance, to
learn Islam and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) that the Sahaabah narrated to subsequent generations….
Therefore everyone who was steadfast in faith and at ease with it would
travel there.

End quote from Sharh
an-Nawawi ‘ala Muslim (2/177)

·       
In
Madinah there is the Prophet’s Mosque and the blessed Rawdah. Al-Bukhaari
(1196) and Muslim (1391) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased
with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“The area between my house and my minbar is one of the gardens of Paradise,
and my minbar is upon my cistern (hawd).”

·       
In
it is the valley of al-‘Aqeeq, which is a blessed valley. Al-Bukhaari (1534)
narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard
‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) say: I heard the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) saying in the valley of al-‘Aqeeq: “Last
night someone came to me from my Lord and said: ‘Pray in this blessed
valley, and say: (I intend to do) ‘Umrah and Hajj.’”

·       
No
one intends ill towards the people of Madinah but Allah will destroy him.

Al-Bukhaari
(1877) and Muslim (1363) narrated that Sa‘d (may Allah be pleased with him)
said: I heard the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say:
“No one plots against the people of Madinah but Allah will cause him to
dissolve as salt dissolves in water.”

Whomever Allah blesses by
causing him to live in Makkah, congratulations to him; and whomever Allah
blesses by causing him to live in Madinah, congratulations to him; and
whomever Allah blesses with piety – no matter where on Allah’s earth he
lives – congratulations to him.

And Allah knows best.