BABA Faqir emerged from a narrow street of Medina, like a biblical character dressed in white long robes and a staff in his trembling hand with a toothless smile. That smile disappeared as soon as our driver told him that we were not VIPs. Baba Faqir made it very clear that normally he only took around VVIPs
“What would you like to see?” he asked arrogantly.
“Babaji just take us to the places and spots which were honoured with the presence of our Prophet (Peace be upon him), that’s all.”
Babaji originally belonged to Multan area and had been staying in Medina for last thirty years or so. He earned his living by taking the guests of Pakistan embassy and consulate around the historical sights of Medina and in turn was paid for his services. And this time, he reluctantly became our guide.
Our first stop was an ancient graveyard which is famed to be the site of Um-ul-Momnin, Hazrat Maria Qibtia’s house. She was the only wife of the Holy Prophet who did not reside in the hujras adjacent to Masjid-e-Nabvi. Rather, she had separate lodging on the outskirts of Medina. She had the honour of giving birth to Prophet’s last son, Hazrat Ibrahim who died at a very young age leaving the Prophet shattered, as he loved him to the limits.
Our next stop was Bagh-e-Salman Farsi. This unique garden of date trees is now no more. Only a few years back, there were some fruit bearing trees from the times of our Prophet but these were chopped down because people revered their fruit and wood.
The well of Hazrat Usman cannot be visited now because it is inside a municipal building and a tube well has been installed to draw its ancient waters. It is the same historical well, which Hazrat Usman Ghani had bought from the local Jews and presented it to the fellow Muslims who were facing shortage of drinking water.
Most of these sites are well known and are visited by the pilgrims. But it was only due to Baba Faqir that we were able to reach some very unknown and historically very important sights. One of them was the castle of Kaab Bin Ashraf.
The ruins are situated on the outskirts of Medina and a few walls; a courtyard and a disused well still exist. It is on record that our Prophet used to come here to negotiate with the Jews and on one of his visits they tried to kill him by pushing a rock onto him. Later on the Muslims laid siege to this castle and the incident is quoted in Holy Quran.
The ruins hardly cover an area comprising three or four kanal of land. But the word ‘castle’ conjures up different images in different lands. In Arabia, a castle was in fact a big haveli or a residential area whereas in our part of the world, it is something as big as the Lahore Fort. It is exactly due to this disparity that I am in favour of preserving these historical ruins because once they disappear, every mind will visualize a castle according to his environments. Beside that without a reference, gradually the fact turns into a myth; without the present ruins of Kaab bin Ashraf’s castle, with the passage of time it will grow bigger in people’s imaginations, the doors will touch the skies, the walls will become higher and higher and reality will turn into fiction.
To my simple mind the basic difference between Islam and other religions lies in the fact that its history can be proved by the villages, cities and spots where it happened. Whereas in most of other religions it is based on myths which cannot be proven by references. The need is to protect and preserve these and other ruins so as to save our history from turning into a myth.
When I asked our driver, Maula Bux as to why the locals are disinterested in preserving the reference points of Islamic history and Prophet’s life, he came out with a very philosophical explanation, “Sain Tarar these people are well fed, whereas we are the thirsty ones the hungry ones. Why should they bother because they have had enough of it and we will never have enough of it.”
Later we saw the sights where once lived the Jews of Medina, including Banu Nuzair and Banu Qariza.
Baba Faqir by now had softened up and asked us, “Would you like to see an ancient well where the Prophet rested while going to Quba from Medina?”
The sun was scorching. Beside a deserted road we could see the building of a school and underneath the outer walls there was a structure piled with stones and a corrugated metallic sheet. I could see certain roundness in the structure but there was no way I could peep inside, it was totally blocked. In the meantime two young Pakistanis emerged from the school building and approached us, they were part of the teaching staff there. Fortunately they recognized me and offered me a cup of tea. However, I was interested in drinking from the well of my Prophet.
“There used to be a small hole in the wall through which one could peep inside but that has been filled”, said one of them.
“Anyway let us be a little illegal.” He carried a small rock from a nearby pile, placed it beside the structure and then with a little effort displaced a small stone.
“You can peep inside from here but don’t take too long, somebody might report us”.
I stood on the shaky rock, craned my head inside and tried to see inside. It took me sometime to get used to the eternal darkness of ages and then the darkness thinned and I could clearly see a large well built of huge lava rocks. But unfortunately my position was such that I could not see the water level, just the musty ancient stones and some wild plants protruding from the cracks. Now you must visualize my position, my head was inside the hole where there was coolness of ages and rest of my body was exposed to sun and present age. I felt as though I had gone back to the times of the Prophet and breathing the same air. This certainly was the well that was situated in between Medina and Quba. The Prophet broke the journey here and quenched his thirst from its waters. I have read that a certain well was the favourite of my Prophet and often he would sit on its edge, dangling his inside to feel the cool of it. It is also said that he wished to be bathed after his departure with the waters of the same well and Hazrat Ali fulfilled his desire. However, I am not sure if it is the same well. Still, I would like to be enlightened if any of the readers have historical information in this regard.
While we were on our way back, Baba Faqir told Maula Bux, “You see that orchard of date palms, right in the middle of it are ruins of a mosque which was called Hiranuna and the Prophet said whosoever prays in this mosque, his prayers are answered. Lets go there.”
“Baba Faqir there is no such mosque there, I have been here in Medina for last so many years and I have never heard of such a mosque,” Maula Bux did not obey his instructions.
“Yes there is a mosque.” Babaji thundered.
“No there is not,” Maula Bux was quite adamant, “If there was one I would know.”
“Alright, you win, there is no mosque,” Babaji sulked.
“Maula Bux there is no harm in checking,” I suggested.
There was a fence around the date orchard, which was rather sprawling and the iron gate was locked. We could see a few young men tending the orchard. Maula Bux rightly guessed that they were from Sindh, Pakistan and addressed them in their language; they came running, opened the gate for us and took us inside. And Baba Faqir was right.
In the middle of orchard there were ruins of a mosque and one could spot the remains of a Mihrab, piles of dates were drying in the ruins.
“Please leave quickly, if our sheikh comes back and sees you, he will turn us out for letting you in,” one of the young men requested urgently and we hurried out. However, before leaving, those brothers presented us with fresh Medina dates. As we were putting the bags in the back of the car, one of them requested my wife, “Begum sahiba, please do not place the Ajwa dates in the back of the car, they are the favourite dates of our Prophet and from a tree whose ancestors provided the fruit for our Prophet; put them in your lap.”
My wife almost cried while putting the Ajwa dates in her lap and guarded them as she would her other valuables.
Thus ended our visit to Medina with a present of same dates, which were favourites of the Prophet.
BABA Faqir emerged from a narrow street of Medina, like a biblical character dressed in white long robes and a staff in his trembling hand with a toothless smile. That smile disappeared as soon as our driver told him that we were not VIPs. Baba Faqir made it very clear that normally he only took around VVIPs
