The second holiest city in Islam is Madinah, the "City of the Prophet," in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia. It has a population of about 600,000 people. The long form of the Arabic name for Madinah (Madinat Rasul Allah) means "City of the Prophet of Allah," while the short form (Al-Madinah) just means "the City." Muslims always add salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam ("peace be upon him") after mentioning the Prophet Muhammad, so the full form of the city's name is actually "Madinat Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam"!

Madinah has great historical significance as the city to which Muhammad fled when he was initially driven out of Makkah (Mecca) as well as the place where he attracted his first followers. Madinah's importance as a religious site derives from the presence there of the Masjid al-Nabawi, the Prophet's Mosque, which was built on the site of Muhammad's home and is where he is buried. The oldest mosque is also located in Madinah and is known as Masjid al-Quba, the Quba Mosque.

Virtues of Madinah by the Saying of Prophet Muhammad (peace & blessings be upon him):

Narrated Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) said, "Madinah is a sanctuary from that place to that. Its trees should not be cut and no heresy should be innovated nor any sin should be committed in it, and whoever innovates in it a heresy or commits sins (bad deeds), then he will incur the curse of Allah, the angels, and all the people." (Bukhari)

Narrated Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) came to Madinah and ordered a masjid to be built and said, "O Bani Najjar! Suggest to me the price (of your land)." They said, "We do not want its price except from Allah" (i.e. they wished for a reward from Allah for giving up their land freely). So, the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) ordered the graves of the pagans to be dug out and the land to be levelled, and the date-palm trees to be cut down. The cut date-palms were fixed in the direction of the Qibla of the (Grand) masjid. (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) said, "I have made Madinah a sanctuary between its two (Harrat) mountains." The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) went to the tribe of Bani Haritha and said (to them), "I see that you have gone out of the sanctuary," but looking around, he added, "No, you are inside the sanctuary." (Bukhari)

Narrated `Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): We have nothing except the Book of Allah and this written paper from the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) (where-in is written:) Madinah is a sanctuary from the `Air Mountain to such and such a place, and whoever innovates in it an heresy or commits a sin, or gives shelter to such an innovator in it will incur the curse of Allah, the angels, and all the people, none of his compulsory or optional good deeds of worship will be accepted. And the asylum (of protection) granted by any Muslim is to be secured (respected) by all the other Muslims; and whoever betrays a Muslim in this respect incurs the curse of Allah, the angels, and all the people, and none of his compulsory or optional good deeds of worship will be accepted, and whoever (freed slave) befriends (take as masters) other than his manumitters without their permission incurs the curse of Allah, the angels, and all the people, and none of his compulsory or optional good deeds of worship will be accepted. (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him): Allah`s Apostle said, "I was ordered to migrate to a town which will swallow (conquer) other towns and is called Yathrib and that is Madinah, and it turns out (bad) persons as a furnace removes the impurities of iron." (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Humaid (may Allah be pleased with him): We came with the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) from Tabuk, and when we reached near Madinah, the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) said, "This is Tabah (meaning the good one)." (Bukhari)

Jaabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) says; "I heard Rasulullah (peace & blessings be upon him) say: ` Verily Allah named Madinah, Taabah (meaning the good one) or Tayyibah (the pure)."

Sa`ad (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) said: "I declare haraam that area between the rocky lands on both sides of Madinah, that it`s vegetation be not cut down nor that animals be hunted within its area." The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) also said: "For the believer, Madinah is the best place. If only they could understand its virtue fully, they would never leave it, and whoever departs from Madinah, having become disenchanted with it, Allah will send someone better to replace him. And whoever bears patiently the ordeals of Madinah, for him shall I be an intercessor (or witness) on the Day of Qiyaamah." (Muslim)

Narrated Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him): If I saw deers grazing in Madinah, I would not chase them, for Allah`s Apostle said, "(Madinah) is a sanctuary between its two mountains." (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him): I heard Allah`s Apostle(peace & blessings be upon him) saying, "The people will leave Madinah in spite of the best state it will have, and none except the wild birds and the beasts of prey will live in it, and the last persons who will die will be two shepherds from the tribe of Muzaina, who will be driving their sheep towards Madinah, but will find nobody in it, and when they reach the valley of Thaniyat-al-Wada`, they will fall down on their faces dead." (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Zuhair (may Allah be pleased with him): I heard Allah`s Apostle(peace & blessings be upon him) saying, "Yemen will be conquered and some people will migrate (from Madinah) and will urge their families, and those who will obey them to migrate (to Yemen) although Madinah will be better for them; if they but knew. Sham will also be conquered and some people will migrate (from Madinah) and will urge their families and those who will obey them, to migrate (to Sham) although Madinah will be better for them; if they but knew. `Iraq will be conquered and some people will migrate (from Madinah) and will urge their families and those who will obey them to migrate (to `Iraq) although Madinah will be better for them; if they but knew." (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him): Allah`s Apostle (peace & blessings be upon him) said, "Verily, Belief returns and goes back to Madinah as a snake returns and goes back to its hole (when in danger)." (Bukhari)

Narrated Sad (may Allah be pleased with him): I heard the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) saying, "None plots against the people of Madinah but that he will be dissolved (destroyed) like the salt is dissolved in water."

Narrated Osama (may Allah be pleased with him): Once the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) stood at the top of a castle amongst the castles (or the high buildings) of Madinah and said, "Do you see what I see? (No doubt) I see the spots where afflictions will take place among your houses (and these afflictions will be) as numerous as the spots where rain-drops fall." (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Bakra (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) said, "The terror caused by Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal will not enter Madinah and at that time Madinah will have seven gates and there will be two angels at each gate guarding them." (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him): Allah`s Apostle (peace & blessings be upon him) said, "There are angels guarding the entrances (or roads) of Madinah, neither plague nor Ad-Dajjal will be able to enter it." (Bukhari)

Narrated Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) said, "There will be no town which Ad-Dajjal will not enter except Makkah and Madinah, and there will be no entrance (road) (of both Makkah and Madinah) but the angels will be standing in rows guarding it against him, and then Madinah will shake with its inhabitants thrice (i.e. three earth-quakes will take place) and Allah will expel all the nonbelievers and the hypocrites from it." (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him): Allah`s Apostle (peace & blessings be upon him) told us a long narrative about Ad-Dajjal, and among the many things he mentioned, was his saying, "Ad-Dajjal will come and it will be forbidden for him to pass through the entrances of Madinah. He will land in some of the salty barren areas (outside) Madinah; on that day the best man or one of the best men will come up to him and say, `I testify that you are the same Dajjal whose description was given to us by Allah`s Apostle .` Ad-Dajjal will say to the people, `If I kill this man and bring him back to life again, will you doubt my claim?` They will say, `No.` Then Ad-Dajjal will kill that man and bring him back to life. That man will say, `Now I know your reality better than before.` Ad-Dajjal will say, `I want to kill him but I cannot.` "(Bukhari)

Narrated Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him): A Bedouin came to the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) and gave a pledge of allegiance for embracing Islam. The next day he came with fever and said (to the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) ), "Please cancel my pledge (of embracing Islam and of emigrating to Madinah)." The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) refused (that request) three times and said, "Madinah is like a furnace; it expels out the impurities (bad persons) and selects the good ones and makes them perfect." (Bukhari)

Narrated Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him): When the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) went out for (the battle of) Uhud, some of his companions (hypocrites) returned (home). A party of the believers remarked that they would kill those (hypocrites) who had returned, but another party said that they would not kill them. So, this Divine Inspiration was revealed: "Then what is the matter with you that you are divided into two parties concerning the hypocrites." (4.88) The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) said, "Madinah expels the bad persons from it, as fire expels the impurities of iron." (Bukhari)

Narrated Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) said, "O Allah! Bestow on Madinah twice the blessings You bestowed on Makkah." (Bukhari)

Narrated Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): Whenever the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) returned from a journey and observed the walls of Madinah, he would make his mount go fast, and if he was on an animal (i.e. a horse), he would make it gallop because of his love for Madinah. (Bukhari)

Narrated Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): (The people of) Bani Salama intended to shift near the mosque (of the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him)) but Allah`s Apostle disliked to see Madinah vacated and said, "O the people of Bani Salama! Don`t you think that you will be rewarded for your footsteps which you take towards the mosque?" So, they stayed at their old places. (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) said, "There is a garden from the gardens of Paradise between my house and my pulpit, and my pulpit is on my Pool of water (Al-Kauthar)." (Bukhari)

Narrated `Aisha (may Allah be pleased with him): When Allah`s Apostle reached Madinah, Abu Bakr and Bilal became ill. When Abu Bakr`s fever got worse, he would recite (this poetic verse): "Everybody is staying alive with his People, yet Death is nearer to him than His shoe laces." And Bilal, when his fever deserted him, would recite: "Would that I could stay overnight in A valley wherein I would be Surrounded by Idhkhir and Jalil (kinds of good-smelling grass). Would that one day I could Drink the water of the Majanna, and would that (The two mountains) Shama and Tafil would appear to me!" The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) said, "O Allah! Curse Shaiba bin Rabi`a and `Utba bin Rabi`a and Umaiya bin Khalaf as they turned us out of our land to the land of epidemics." Allah`s Apostle then said, "O Allah! Make us love Madinah as we love Makkah or even more than that. O Allah! Give blessings in our Sa and our Mudd (measures symbolizing food) and make the climate of Madinah suitable for us, and divert its fever towards Aljuhfa." Aisha added: When we reached Madinah, it was the unhealthiest of Allah`s lands, and the valley of Bathan (the valley of Madinah) used to flow with impure colored water. (Bukhari)

Narrated Zaid bin Aslam from his father: Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, O Allah! Grant me martyrdom in Your cause, and let my death be in the city of Your Apostle." (Bukhari)

Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever has the means to die in Madinah, let him die there for I shall intercede on behalf of everyone who dies there." (Ahmad, Tirmidhi) 

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) has said: " O Allah ! Grant fertility to the fruits of Madinah and to our measures. Ibrahim was Your servant and friend. I am also Your servant and Prophet. He (Ibrahim (may Allah be pleased with him) had prayed to You for fertility for Makkah, but I pray to You for the fertility of Madinah and twice more than him." (Muslim).