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The Prophetic Chamber (Arabic: الحجرة النبویة, al-Ḥujra al-Nabawiyya), is the burial place of Prophet Muhammad (s) and was his living quarter with his wife, Aisha. Today, it is covered by the Green Dome (al-Qubba al-Khaḍrāʾ). This chamber was one of two chambers built for the Prophet (s) on the eastern side of Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, measuring approximately 4.5 by 3.5 meters. This place had two doors; one opened into the mosque and the other to the outside. The House of Lady Fāṭima (a) was located to the north of this chamber. The Prophet (s) fell ill in this house, passed away there, and people performed the Funeral Prayer over him in the same location. Upon the suggestion of Imam Ali (a), the Prophet (s) was buried in this very chamber.

The southern section of the Prophet's Zarih (enclosure), which is three meters away from the grave.[1]

After the demise of the Prophet (s), Abū Bakr and ʿUmar were also buried in this chamber. Although Imam al-Hasan (a) had willed to be buried next to his grandfather, Aisha and the Banu Umayya prevented this. In subsequent renovations of Al-Masjid al-Nabawī, the Prophetic Chamber, along with the House of Lady Fāṭima (a), was enclosed within a Zarih (grille) and became part of the mosque. This sacred place has always been held in special esteem by Muslims, and many exquisite and precious objects have been donated to it, some of which are kept within the Prophet's Zarih.

Introduction

Plan of the interior of the Prophet's (s) Zarih, of which his house and the House of Lady Fāṭima (a) are parts.

The Prophetic Chamber (Arabic: الحجرة النبویة الشریفة, al-Ḥujra al-Nabawiyya al-Sharīfa), also known as "Bayt al-Nabī" (The House of the Prophet)[2] and the Chamber of the Prophet (s), refers to the house of the Prophet (s) and his wife Aisha.[3] After the completion of Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, two chambers were built for the residence of the Prophet (s) and his wives; one for Sawda and another for Aisha.[4]

Rasul Jafariyan, a Shi'a historian, believes that the Prophet (s) was likely buried in an area between the House of Lady Fāṭima (a) and the chamber of Aisha, but Aisha later claimed ownership of that section during the caliphate of ʿUmar.[5] According to some narrations, these houses were built for the Prophet (s) by the Banu Najjar tribe[6] and were located to the east of Al-Masjid al-Nabawī.[7]

The dimensions of the chamber were approximately 4.5 to 5 meters east-to-west and 3.5 meters north-to-south.[8] This place had two doors; one opening to Al-Masjid al-Nabawī and the other to the outside.[9] Today, the Green Dome (al-Qubba al-Khaḍrāʾ) stands above this chamber.[10]

The House of Lady Fatima (a) was located to the north of the Prophetic Chamber,[11] and there was an opening (window) between these two houses through which the Prophet (s) would inquire about his daughter's well-being.[12] Following a dispute between Fāṭima (a) and Aisha, this opening was closed at Fāṭima's (a) request.[13]

Burial of the Prophet (s)

The Prophet (s) passed away in the house where he lived with Aisha in Medina.[14] Upon the suggestion of Imam Ali (a),[15] people entered the house in groups and performed the funeral prayer over his body.[16] Disputes arose regarding the burial site, but eventually, based on Imam Ali's (a) suggestion, the Prophet (s) was buried in the very place where he had passed away.[17]

An illustration based on historical sources showing that the graves were in the southern part of the house and Aisha lived in the northern part of the chamber.[18]

After the demise of the Prophet (s), Abū Bakr and ʿUmar were also buried in this same chamber. According to historical sources, Abū Bakr's head was placed in alignment with the Prophet's shoulders, and ʿUmar's head was placed in alignment with Abū Bakr's shoulders.[19] After ʿUmar's burial, Aisha installed a curtain between her living quarters and the graves, which historians state was due to ʿUmar being non-mahram to her.[20]

Imam al-Hasan (a) had requested in his will to be buried next to the Prophet (s), considering himself more entitled to this than others.[21] However, Aisha, the Prophet's wife, opposed this and prevented Imam al-Ḥasan (a) from being buried next to the Prophet (s).[22] Template:See Also

Reconstructions

During the reign of Walid b. Abd al-Malik (r. 86/705 – 96/715), an Umayyad caliph, the house of the Prophet (s) was reconstructed with stone. The Umayyad caliph ordered pentagonal walls to be built around the Prophetic Chamber, a design reportedly chosen deliberately to prevent any resemblance to the Ka'ba.[23] This expansion resulted in the Prophet's house being entirely enclosed within Al-Masjid al-Nabawī.[24]

One of the trains transporting gifts from the Prophetic Chamber to Istanbul during the Ottoman era. Reports indicate the transfer of 269 pieces of these gifts to Istanbul.[25]

In 557/1162, due to concerns about a potential attack by Christians via the Red Sea, a layer of lead was poured underground around the Prophet's shrine to prevent unauthorized access.[26]

In 668/1269-70, Baybars, the Mamluk Sultan, built a rectangular grilled enclosure (Zarih) around the pentagonal area, which also encompassed the House of Lady Fatima (a).[27] In this reconstruction, the chamber of the Prophet (s) and the chamber of Lady Fāṭima (a) were surrounded by an iron grilled Zarih, and this complex was situated inside the mosque, a few meters from the eastern wall of the mosque.[28]

Inside the Chamber

In the 7th/13th century, Ibn Abī l-Hayjāʾ, one of the Isma'ili rulers in Egypt, established the tradition of installing a curtain (kiswa) over the Prophet's shrine. He placed the first curtain, upon which Sura Ya-Sin was inscribed, on the Prophetic shrine.[29] This tradition has continued to this day, and an adorned cloth is always draped over the Prophet's Zarih.[30]

The Prophetic Chamber has always been a subject of special attention for Muslims and rulers. Gold and silver chandeliers, similar to those found in the Ka'ba,[31] along with other exquisite gifts of jewelry and artworks, have been donated by kings and prominent figures.[32]

In the era prior to the Al Saʿūd, a poem from the 12th/18th century was inscribed in gold water around the Zarih. After the Al Saʿūd came to power, parts of the verses were removed due to accusations of Shirk (polytheism). Defenders of these poems believed that their content was an indication of legitimate Tawassul.[33]

Notes

  1. ↑ Al-Ḥarbī. "Taʿarraf ʿalā abraz mawjūdāt wa tafāṣīl al-Ḥujra al-Nabawiyya" (Get to know the most prominent contents and details of the Prophetic Chamber). Al-Arabiya.
  2. ↑ Anṣārī, ʿImāra wa tawsiʿat al-Masjid al-Nabawī al-Sharīf ʿabr al-tārīkh, 1996, p. 61.
  3. ↑ Al-Madina Newspaper. "Al-Ḥujra al-Nabawiyya. Al-Malāʾika yaḥiffūn bi-l-qabr al-sharīf" (The Prophetic Chamber. Angels surround the noble grave).
  4. ↑ Pīshvāʾī. "Charā Payāmbar-i Islām dar khāna-yi khūd bih khāk supurda shud?" (Why was the Prophet of Islam buried in his own house?). Portal-i Jāmiʿ-i ʿUlūm-i Insānī.
  5. ↑ Jaʿfariyān, Sīra-yi Rasūl-i Khudā (s), 1383 Sh, p. 683.
  6. ↑ Maqrīzī, Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ, 1420 AH, vol. 1, p. 67.
  7. ↑ Anṣārī, ʿImāra wa tawsiʿat al-Masjid al-Nabawī al-Sharīf ʿabr al-tārīkh, 1996, p. 61.
  8. ↑ Dalīlak ilā l-Madīna al-Nabawiyya. "Al-Ḥujra al-Nabawiyya, al-Masjid min al-dākhil" (The Prophetic Chamber, The Mosque from Inside).
  9. ↑ Pīshvāʾī, "Charā Payāmbar-i Islām dar khāna-yi khūd bih khāk supurda shud?".
  10. ↑ Ismāʿīl. "Tafāṣīl wa asrār 'yarwīhā' qalīlūn dakhalū al-Ḥujra al-Nabawiyya al-Sharīfa" (Details and secrets 'narrated' by the few who entered the Noble Prophetic Chamber). Al-Arabiya.
  11. ↑ Qāʾidān, Darsnāma-yi amākin-i madhhabī-yi Makka-yi Mukarrama wa Madīna, 1390 Sh, p. 177.
  12. ↑ Ṣaghīr, Al-Imām ʿAlī (a) sīratuh wa qiyādatuh, 2002, vol. 1, p. 31.
  13. ↑ Ṣabrī Bāshā, Mawsūʿat mirʾāt al-Ḥaramayn al-Sharīfayn, 2004, vol. 3, p. 262.
  14. ↑ Ibn al-ʿUmrānī, Al-Inbāʾ, 2001, p. 45.
  15. ↑ Mufīd, Al-Irshād, 1413 AH, vol. 1, p. 188.
  16. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, Al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, 1410 AH, vol. 2, p. 220.
  17. ↑ Irbilī, Kashf al-ghumma, 1421 AH, vol. 1, p. 19.
  18. ↑ Saudi Press Agency. "Al-Ḥujra al-Nabawiyya.. Qabr al-Rasūl al-Muṣṭafā wa ṣāḥibayh Abū Bakr wa ʿUmar" (The Prophetic Chamber.. The Grave of the Chosen Messenger and his two companions Abu Bakr and Umar).
  19. ↑ Anṣārī, ʿImāra wa tawsiʿat al-Masjid al-Nabawī al-Sharīf ʿabr al-tārīkh, 1996, p. 62.
  20. ↑ Anṣārī, ʿImāra wa tawsiʿat al-Masjid al-Nabawī al-Sharīf ʿabr al-tārīkh, 1996, p. 62.
  21. ↑ Ṭūsī, Al-Amālī, 1414 AH, p. 160.
  22. ↑ Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 225.
  23. ↑ Anṣārī, ʿImāra wa tawsiʿat al-Masjid al-Nabawī al-Sharīf ʿabr al-tārīkh, 1996, p. 63.
  24. ↑ Ibn Kathīr, Al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, 1407 AH, vol. 9, p. 75.
  25. ↑ Al-Madina Newspaper. "Al-ʿUthmāniyyūn. Min qaṣf al-Kaʿba ilā sariqat muqtanayāt al-Ḥujra al-Sharīfa" (The Ottomans. From shelling the Ka'ba to stealing the contents of the Noble Chamber).
  26. ↑ Jaʿfariyān, Āthār-i Islāmī-yi Makka wa Madīna, 1387 Sh, p. 218.
  27. ↑ Jaʿfariyān, Āthār-i Islāmī-yi Makka wa Madīna, 1387 Sh, p. 243.
  28. ↑ Pīshvāʾī, "Charā Payāmbar-i Islām dar khāna-yi khūd bih khāk supurda shud?".
  29. ↑ Jaʿfariyān, Āthār-i Islāmī-yi Makka wa Madīna, 1387 Sh, p. 256.
  30. ↑ Ismāʿīl, "Tafāṣīl wa asrār 'yarwīhā' qalīlūn dakhalū al-Ḥujra al-Nabawiyya al-Sharīfa".
  31. ↑ Ismāʿīl, "Tafāṣīl wa asrār 'yarwīhā' qalīlūn dakhalū al-Ḥujra al-Nabawiyya al-Sharīfa".
  32. ↑ Ṣābān. "Muqtanayāt al-Ḥujra al-Nabawiyya al-Sharīfa bi-mūjib taqrīr ʿUthmānī ʿām 1326 H".
  33. ↑ Dalīlak ilā l-Madīna al-Nabawiyya. "Al-Ḥujra al-Nabawiyya, al-Masjid min al-dākhil".

References

Template:Al-Masjid al-Nabawi

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