Banu Hashim District: Difference between revisions

'''Banū Hāshim District''' was a district in [[Medina]] where [[Banu Hashim]] resided. The houses of [[the Prophet Muhammad (s)]], [[Imam 'Ali (a)]], and [[Fatima al-Zahra (a)]] as well as the houses of [[Imam al-Sajjad (a)]] and [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] were located in this district. The district and its alleys are mentioned in mourning ceremonies of the [[Shi'as]] for Fatima al-Zahra (a) because of the events in the district which led to her [[martyrdom]]. Some relics of the district were still there until 1985 when it was completely destroyed by the [[Wahhabi]] government.

The District of Banu Hashim was located on the southeastern side of [[Masjid al-Nabi]] (the present building). It extended from Bab Jabra'il to [[al-Baqi']] Cemetery. There were two houses in this district known as “Dar 'Ali b. al-Husayn” (the House of Imam al-Sajjad (a)) and “Dar of Ja'far b. Muhammad” (the House of Imam al-Sadiq (a)). Some Shiite sources have recommended saying [[prayers]] in these two houses. According to al-Samhudi, the House of Imam al-Sadiq (a) was adjacent to the house of [[Abu Ayyub al-Ansari]]. There was a water well in this house which was donated by Imam al-Sadiq (a) as a charity. The grave of [[Isma'il b. Ja'far al-Sadiq (a)]] was located in the House of Imam al-Sajjad (a), which was later moved to al-Baqi' Cemetery.

During different expansions of Masjid al-Nabi (the Mosque of the Prophet) in different Islamic periods, parts of the historical structure of Medina were destroyed and added to the area of the mosque. One of the earliest changes made in the District of Banu Hashim happened in 91/709 when the mosque was expanded, at the command of [[Walid b. 'Abd al-Malik]], the [[Umayyad]] [[caliph]], on its eastern side where the Prophet’s (s) chambers were located. He ordered that a wall be constructed around the Prophet’s (s) grave and the mosque be expanded on that side as well. When the people of Medina heard about the destructions, they started to moan and cry. At that time, Fatima’s (a) house was resided by [[Fatima al-Sughra]], the daughter of [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]]. People protested because they wanted to preserve the relics of the Prophet (s) so that future generations know about his simple life. [[Sa'id b. Musayyib]] said: “I wish the houses remained as they were so that visitors of Medina saw how parsimonious the Prophet (s) was, and how he instructed people to avoid gathering money and adopt asceticism instead.”

In recent years, during the anniversaries of Fatima’s (a) martyrdom, maquettes of the District of Banu Hashim and the House of Fatima al-Zahra (a) are built in some cities, especially in [[Qom]] and [[Tehran]], and they are visited by people.