Al-Baqi Cemetery

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Al-Baqīʿ
ٱلْبَقِيْع
Al-Baqi Cemetery, 2021
Details
Established	C.E. 622
Location	Medina
Country	Saudi Arabia
Type	Muslim
Owned by	Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah, and Guidance

Jannat al-Baqi (Arabic: ٱلْبَقِيْع, "The Baqi'", Hejazi Arabic pronunciation: [al.ba.ɡiːʕ, al.ba.qiːʕ]) is the oldest and first Islamic cemetery of Medina^[1] in the Hejazi^[2] region of present-day Saudi Arabia. It is also known as Baqi al-Gharqad (Arabic: بَقِيْع الْغَرْقَد, meaning "Baqiʿ of the Boxthorn").^[1]

Al-Baqi is reportedly founded by Muhammad and is the burial place of many of his relatives and companions, establishing it as one of the two holiest cemeteries in Islamic tradition. Monuments and mosques built on or near al-Baqīʿ were demolished under the Emirate of Diriyah in 1806 and, after their reconstruction, again in 1926 under the Sultanate of Nejd, in accordance with their Wahhabi interpretation of Islamic law on idolatry.^[1] These demolitions were condemned across the Islamic world, but the Saudi government has rejected calls for reconstruction.^[1]