Hijaz: Difference between revisions

'''Hijaz''' is a land located at the West of [[Saudi Arabia]], having lotteral border with Red Sea. This land is the area where Islam emerged from and is regarded as the most important part of [[Arabian Peninsula]]. Having embraced the two cities [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]], it has always been significant in Islamic geography; many important events of newly established Islam and Shi‘a had occurred there.

The word “Hijaz” means something standing between. It is said that this land was named Hijaz since it was positioned between Najd and Tahamah.  

There are different ideas about width of Hijaz. Generally, it is 1200 kilometers from North to South, and it starts from Jordan and Saudi Arabia borders, stretching from Red Sea to ‘Asir region in South of Saudi Arabia. The area of this land is about 436,454 square kilometers. The important cities of Hijaz are Mecca, Medina, Jaddah, Ta’if, Tabuk, and Yanbu‘.

1. Coastal plains of Red Sea by the name of Tahamah.

2. The mountainous region which brings the highest degree of precipitation to Hijaz. The mountain ranges in this region are the most important mountains of Saudi Arabia and Arabian Peninsula.

3. Hijaz plateau which stretches from the East of Madyn Mountains to the great Nafud plain and Aja and Sallami Mountains. The plateau slopes towards North and East.

Due to lack of rain, Hijaz does not have a rich agriculture. However, agriculture had always been present there, as Ta’if is known as one of the richest regions of Hijaz. Currently, thanks to the developing of science some dams and deep wells have been constructed, leading to the development of agriculture. Nowadays, planting grain, wheat, corn, and various vegetables is prevalent in the cities around Hijaz such as Ta’if, Jaddah, Medina, and Yanbu‘. Medina is famous for its date. Animal husbandry is prevalent in mountainous regions and high plateaus.  

In the past, the geographical location of Hijaz had made it a talented area for commerce. The long coasts of Red Sea in Hijaz, and being neighbor with Sham in North and Yemen in South had prepared a very good circumstance for merchants of Hijaz in term of making deals with merchants of other lands. The commercial caravans traveling from Yemen to Sham or Egypt had to pass Hijaz, making their way to the North. Hijaz had always been the host for commercial ships from Ethiopia, China, India, and Egypt. This had made Mecca, Medina, Ta’if, and Jaddah famous cities for trade and commerce. In references, Mecca was said to be an area for trading. It also provided caravans with water and financial assistance to continue their travels.

Ka‘bah played an important role in the economy of Hijaz. The importance of Ka‘bah was raised after Islam, since millions of Muslim visit Ka‘bah every year from different parts of the world, trading along with making pilgrimage. The adjacency of Mecca to Jaddah harbor has resulted in developing the trade of Jaddah.

Hijaz was the scientific center of Arabian Peninsula when Islam emerged. It had always had a fundamental role in preserving Islamic sciences and inheritances. During the time of Haj, when Muslims assembled in Hijaz from different lands, scientific debates and meetings were held in Mecca. Scientific meetings in Masjid al-haram and Masjid al-nabi constituted a significant part of the cultural and scientific activities. Many religious school existed there whose purpose was to raise the importance of religious sciences and to teach Qur‘an interpretation (tafsir).

Before Islam, there were two lifestyles in Hijaz, one was living in deserts, and the other was urbanity. Primitive lifestyle was more prevalent in Hijaz, for a vast part of it was dry and desert like the rest of the areas of Arabian Peninsula. Cities and villages were developed in fertile oases or on the way of caravans and rest positions. Great primitive tribes such as ‘Adnan, Qahtan, and Qada‘ah lived in Hijaz.Quraysh tribe lived in Mecca, Thaqif tribe inhabited Ta’if, and Aws and Khazraj tribes dwelled Yathrib (Medina).  

Jewish tribes lived in the following cities: WadiQura, Yathrib, Khaybar, Fadak, Tima’, and Adhrah. In Yathrib, in addition to Aws and Khazraj tribes, three Jewish tribes were prominent by the names of BaniQinqa‘, Bani Nadir, and BaniQarayzah. Some Iranians and Romans, and some Ethiopian Jews and Christians who had commercial activities lived in Mecca as well.

After Islam emerged, Hijaz became more respectful and noteworthy. The Islamic government established by the prophet (s) caused the whole Arabian Peninsula to get united. After the prophet (s) passed away, caliphs focused their efforts on expanding governance of Islam over Arabian Peninsula and other regions. After ‘Uthman b. ‘Affan’s death, Imam Ali (a) became caliph. He moved the capital of the Islamic government to Kufah. At this point, many tribes migrated to Kufah. In 41 AH, Mu‘awiya became the caliph of Muslims. He then selected Sham as the center of his government and Damishq was his capital.

Although the capital in Umawi age was Sham and in ‘Abbasi age was Baqdad, it did not lowered the importance of Mecca and Medina. Hijaz was a province under the control in Umawi and ‘Abbasi ages, yet it still was significant and worthy in view of Muslims.

In 145 AH, Muhammad b. Abd Allah, well-known as NafsZakiyyah whose ancestor was Imam al-Hasan (a), rebelled against Mansur ‘Abbasi in Medina. He took the control of Medina, Mecca, and Yemen, but he was defeated by ‘Abbasi army after two months and a half and was killed. ‘Abbasi rulers were famous for their cruelty with Imam Ali (a)’s family. Mansur had deprived Imam Ali (a)’s family from receiving properties. At the same time, Hijaz was experiencing poverty and misery. The poverty and other parameters resulted in the science being stagnant and disregarded; however, fiqh and hadith sciences were not influenced that much.

In 301 AH, ‘Alawiyyun accessed to the lands under the control of ‘Abbasiyyun by using the precious time of Haj when Muslims always assembled. Their leader was Muhammad b. Sulayman who announced himself the caliph of Muslims. He was a grandchild of Sulayman b. Dawud whose father was Hasan Muthanna, and Hasan Muthanna was son of Imam al-Hasan (a).

When ‘Abbasiyyun grew weaker and weaker, people in Hijaz began to rebell against the government. They were tortured by famine, hunger, and Qaramatah of Bahrain who attacked caravans of Ka‘bah pilgrims. For a period of time, Hijaz was governed by a number of different rulers.  

In 358 AH, after Egypt was conquered by Fatimiyyun, Ja‘far b. Muhammad b. Hasan, who was a grandchild of Imam al-Hasan (a), declared his independence in Mecca, and the name of Fatimi caliph was mentioned in the sermon (khutbah) of Friday Prayer. In 360 AH, Tahir b. Muslim Husayni declared independence in Medina as a Fatimi caliph, calling himself Mu‘iz al-din Allah. He made a sermon (khutbah) in Friday Prayer as well. Therefore, some of Alawiyyun became rulers in Mecca and Medina. Because of the dignity (sharafat) of having relation with the prophet (s), the rulers were named Sharif, and their government became known as Shurafa’ (plural form of the word “sharif”).

Fatimiyyun started to lose their control over Egypt and Hijaz since 567 AH.  At this time, Salah al-din Ayyubi attacked Hijaz and Yemen in 569 AH. The commander of his army was his brother Turanshah. Turanshah accessed to Mecca without facing any defense or obstacle. Sharif ‘Isa bin Khalifah accepted him with open arms. He then promised to mention Salah al-din after the name of caliph in his sermons.

One of the notable measures taken by Ayyubiyyun was guarding holy places against crusaders. In 577, ruler of Kirk province (located in the East of Bahr al-mayyit) who was a crusader attacked Hijaz in order to expand the territory of crusaders, to attack holy places of Muslims in HaramainSharifain, and to gain control over the marine lines where pilgrims of Ka‘bah passed. In 578, when crusaders’ navy set out for Hijaz from ‘Idhab harbor, Ayyubiyyun defended the holy places.

In the first half of the seventh century, Ayyubiyyun government collapsed and BanuRasul gained control instead of them. The rulers of Medina conformed to the orders of BanuRasul kings. In 656 AH, ‘Abbasiyyun were thrown by Mongols, resulting in BanuRasul ruling all over Hijaz.

In 1335 AH, Husayn b. Ali Sharif Makkah took the power of Mecca from Ottoman Empire. He established an independent country which The Great Britain guaranteed its independence. At the same time, The Britain had promised the third Abd al-‘Aziz, Ibn Saud, to support him in ruling the country. Therefore, Ibn Saud declared war against Sharif Husayn in 1343 AH by attacking Hijaz. He conquered Mecca, Medina, and Jaddah, and then introduced himself as the king of Hijaz and Najd. He called himself officially the king of Saudi Arabia in 1932 AD.