Origins of Jannat Al-Baqi Cemetery

Literally "Al-Baqi" means a tree garden. It is also known as " Jannat Al-Baqi " (th garden of heaven)  sanctity, since in it are buried many of our Prophet Muhammad's relatives and companions. The first one who was buried in Al-Baqi was Uthman bin Madhoon. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ordered certain trees to fall to bury his dear companion and place two stones over the grave.

The next year, Prophet Muhammad's son Ibrahim, was buried in this cemetery too. After these incidents, inhabitants of Medina started to to use that site for the burial of dead people and this site had gradually witnessed considerable extension. About seven thousand from the companions and relatives of Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) were buried there.

Henceforward, over the centuries, Al-Baqi cemetery remained a sacred site till our days.

First destruction of Al-Baqi Cemetery

The belief in visiting the graves and the shrines of prophet’s was considered by the Wahhabi's to be idolatry and un-Islamic. Those who differed from this belief were killed.

However, the rest of the Islamic World viewed those graves with deep reverence. It was highly revered and even Allah’s apostle companions asked to be buried near the prophet’s grave in this cemetery.

In 1218 AH, the Wahhabi’s entered Mecca and destroyed all sacred places and domes. And in 1221, they entered Medina to desecrate Al-Baqi . they even tried to demolish the Prophet's tomb, but they could not succeed . In the following years, Iraqi, Syrian and Egyptian Muslims could not enter Mecca to perform Hajj. King Al-Saud set a pre-condition that those who wished to perform the pilgrimage would have to accept Wahhabism.

Al-Baqi Cemetery was razed to the ground. Yet, the Saudis were still not satisfied and their king ordered three black attendants at the Prophet's shrine to show him where the treasures of valuable gifts were hidden. The Wahhabi's plundered the treasure for their own use.

Thousands of Muslims escaped in the hope saving their lives and escape from the mounting pressure and persecution at the hands of the Wahhabi's.

In 1818 AD, the Ottaman Caliph Abdul Majid and his successors,along with Muhammad ( peace and blessings of Allah be upon him ) carried out the reconstruction of all sacred places, restoring the Islamic heritage at all important sites.

Second plunder by the Wahhabi's

The Ottoman Empire had added to the splendor of Medina and Mecca by building great architectural religious sites.

1924 AD Wahhabi's entered Hijaz for the second time and carried out another massacre. People were savagely killed. Houses were destroyed.

And all the Islamic heritages were destroyed in 1925. The only shrine that remained intact was that of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

The tombs of Hazrat Hamza and other martyrs were demolished at Uhud and Muhammed’s mosque (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was bombarded.

In 1925 AD, the sacred cemetery of Mecca, Jannat al-Mualla, was destroyed along with the Prophet’s house.

Protest from Indian Muslims

In 1926, Muslims protested all over the world. Resolutions were passed and a statement outlining the crimes perpetrated by Wahhabi's.

Protest from other countries

Many similar protests were held by Muslims in various countries; to name Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Indonesia, and Turkey. All of it condemned the Wahhabi's for their acts. Some scholars wrote brochures and books to let the world know what was happening was nothing but a conspiracy against Islam being represented under the form of a misconcept called tawheed “Union”.

A partial list of the demolished graves and shrines

• Al-Mualla graveyard in Mecca including the grave of Sayyida Khadija bint Khuwailid , the grave of Amina bint Wahab,the grave of Abu Talib, and the grave of Abdul Muttalib.

• The grave of Eve  in Jeddah.

• The grave of the father of Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in Medina.

• The house of sorrows (Bayt al-Ahzaan) of Sayyida Fatima Zahra in Medina.

• The house of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in Medina.

• The complex (mahhalla) of Banu Hashim in Medina.

• The house of Imam Ali where Imam Hasan and Imam Hussain were born.

• The house of Hazrat Hamza and the graves of the martyrs of Uhud.