Jannat al-Baqiʿ (Baqiʿ al-Gharqad) has been the principal cemetery of the people of Madinah al-Munawwarah since the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. It is situated to the southeast of the Noble Masjid al-Nabawi.
Answer Uthman ibn Maz’un (RA)*
He was the first Companion buried in Jannat Al-Baqi’. He died in the 3rd year of Hijrah (624 CE). The Prophet ﷺ placed a stone at the head of his grave as a marker and said: _”He has preceded us.”_
After that, when anyone passed away, the Prophet ﷺ would say: bury him near Uthman ibn Maz’un.
It was established in the third year after Hijrah (3 AH). The first person among the Muhajirun (Emigrants) to be buried there was the noble Companion ʿUthman ibn Mazʿun رضي الله عنه, while the first among the Ansar (Helpers) was Asʿad ibn Zurarah رضي الله عنه.
Its present area covers approximately 180,000 square metres. It contains the remains of thousands upon thousands of people who passed away in Madinah and its surrounding areas throughout the centuries, foremost among them being the noble Companions of the Prophet ﷺ.
It is narrated that approximately ten thousand Companions were buried there, including:
– Dhu al-Nurayn, ʿUthman ibn ʿAffan رضي الله عنه, the third of the Rightly Guided Caliphs.
– The Mothers of the Believers, the wives of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, with the exception of Sayyidah Khadijah and Sayyidah Maymunah.
– His daughter, Sayyidah Fatimah al-Zahra رضي الله عنها.
– His son, Ibrahim رضي الله عنه.
– His uncle, al-ʿAbbas ibn ʿAbd al-Muttalib رضي الله عنه, and his paternal aunt, Safiyyah bint ʿAbd al-Muttalib رضي الله عنها.
– His grandson, al-Hasan ibn ʿAli رضي الله عنهما.
– Members of the Ahl al-Bayt, including ʿAli ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-ʿAbidin, Muhammad al-Baqir, and Jaʿfar al-Sadiq رحمهم الله.
– His wife, Sayyidah ʿAʾishah bint Abi Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنها.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ frequently visited al-Baqiʿ and supplicated for its inhabitants. Reports concerning its virtues mention that its inhabitants will be among the first to be resurrected from the cemeteries of the earth, after the Prophet ﷺ and his two Companions, Abu Bakr and ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما. It is also reported that seventy thousand people from the inhabitants of Baqiʿ al-Gharqad will be resurrected with faces shining like the full moon and will enter Paradise without reckoning.
Al-Baqiʿ may not be the largest cemetery in the world in terms of geographical area, but it holds an exceptionally honoured place in the hearts of Muslims because of the noble men and women whose remains lie within it.
O Allah, forgive the inhabitants of Baqiʿ al-Gharqad. O Allah, resurrect us among them on the Day of Judgement, beneath the banner of Your beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Amin.
