Photos

I got this photograph from the outside of Tomb of Prophet Muhammadat at Medina. Medina also transliterated into English as Madinah; officially al Madīnah al Munawwarah) is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of Muhammad. It is historically significant for being Muhammad's home after the Hijrah.
Medina's importance as a religious site derives from the presence of the 'Tomb of Prophet Muhammad' inside 'Masjid-e-Nabawi' or 'The Mosque of The Prophet'. The mosque was built on a site adjacent to Muhammad's home, and as Muslims believe[citation needed] that prophets must be buried at the very same place they leave this mortal world, Muhammad was thus buried in his house. The tomb later became part of the mosque when it was expanded by the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I. The first mosque of Islam is also located in Medina and is known as Masjid Quba, (the Quba Mosque). It was destroyed by lightning, probably about 850 C.E., and the graves were almost forgotten. In 892 the place was cleared up, the tombs located and a fine mosque built, which was destroyed by fire in 1257 C.E. and almost immediately rebuilt. It was restored by Qaitbay, the Egyptian ruler, in 1487.[2]

Like Mecca, the city of Medina only permits Muslims to enter, although the haram (area closed to non-Muslims) of Medina is much smaller than that of Mecca, with the result that many facilities on the outskirts of Medina are open to non-Muslims, whereas in Mecca the area closed to non-Muslims extends well beyond the limits of the built-up area. Both cities' numerous mosques are the destination for large numbers of Muslims on their Hajj (annual pilgrimage). Hundreds of thousands of Muslims come to Medina annually to visit the 'Tomb of Prophet' and to worship at mosques in a unified celebration. Muslims believe that praying once in the Mosque of the Prophet is equal to praying at least 1000 times in any other mosque.