The Madinah Cemetary

Baqi'a alGharqad is the principal cemetary of the people of al-Madinah al-Munawarah and has been since the time of Prophet Mohammed (the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him). It is the closest to al-Masjid an-Nabawi (the Prophet's Mosque) of all of the historic places in Madinah. It is located opposite the southeastern section of the wall of the masjid.
Recently, some contiguous property was added to it, to increase the area available for burials. An imposing new, high marble wall has been erected around the entire perimeter of Baqi'a, so that the old and new areas have been united. Its total area presently amounts to fifty six thousand square metres. The Baqi'a contains the mortal remains of thousands upon thousands of Muslims.

This cemetary has been the final resting place of the residents of Madinah, as well as those of nearby, neighboring areas and visitors since the Hijrah (migration to Madinah). It was the preferred final resting place of the Noble Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet, Peace be upon him, )This is evidenced by the fact that over ten thousand of the Noble Sahabah , are buried within. Among other notable Muslims interred therein are the Mothers of the Believers ( the wives of the Prophet, Peace be upon him, ), with the exclusion of Khadijah ( May Allah be pleased with her) and Maimoonah ( May Allah be pleased with her).

Also buried here are the Prophet's daughter, (Peace be upon him), Fatimah-az-Zahrah (A.S), the Prophet's son Ibrahim (Peace be upon him, May Allah be pleased with him), the uncle of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet's aunt Safiah (Peace be upon him, May Allah be pleased with her) and the grandsons of the Prophet (Peace be upon him), IMAM HASAN B. ALI (2ND IMAM), IMAM ALI B. AL-HUSAYN (4TH IMAM), IMAM MUHAMMAD B. ALI (5TH IMAM), & IMAM JA'FAR B. MUHAMMAD (6TH IMAM), PEACE BE UPON THEM.  There are many, many other respected Muslim's from throughout the history of Islam buried here that are too numerous to mention.

Several hadith(sayings and actions of the Prophet Peace be upon him) mention that visiting the Baqi'a is both virtuous and meritorious. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) visited it at the end of the night and prayed for those who were buried there, by saying "Peace be upon you, Oh Believers, I grant you my pledge that tomorrow truly we will be lofty and worthy, Allah willing. Oh Lord, forgive the residents of Baqi'a al-Gharqad". Thus, it is desirable, preferable and recommended to visit al-Baqi'ah and supplicate Allah for those buried in its noble earth. Further, it is in compliance with and adhering to the Sunnah (the ways) of al-Mustapha (the Chosen, and is a reference to Mohammed, the Beloved Prophet of Allah).