Wadi Rabigh

Wadi Rabigh is a wadi situated inland of the town of Rabigh, extending along the border of the Al Madinah and Makkah provinces of Saudi Arabia.

A natural lake near Haggag, some 35 km inland, fringed with reeds Phragmites and fed by several permanent freshwater springs provides a natural wetland unique on the Tihamah north of Jiddah.

Ghadir Al-Khumm

Ghadir Al-Khumm (Arabic غدیر الخم "Pond of Khumm", Persianized Ghadir(-e) Khur or Khu') is a location in the Wadi Rabigh mentioned in the Hadith of the pond of Khumm.

It is historically famous for an event in which Muhammad said what is known as the Hadith of the pond of Khumm, equally accepted by both Sunni and Shia Muslims, though the exact content and meaning of the statement is disputed. It was a pond or marsh formed by a spring in the wadi, located to the east of the road from Medina to Mecca, three (according to other sources two) Arab miles (roughly 4 to 6 km) from Al-Johfa (modern Rabigh), roughly 180 km from both Mecca and Medina, at ca. coord|22|49|30|N|39|4|30|E|. The Arab geographers mention the thick trees that surround it and the mosque of the Prophet lying between it and the spring.

It was situated on the Incense Route between Syria and Yemen where travelers could replenish their resources of water in the most arid part of Arabia between Mecca and Medina.

On the 18th of Dhul-Hijjah, 10 AH (roughly 15 March, 632 C.E.), the caravan of Muhammad coming from his Farewell hajj stopped at the pond of Khumm, along with a group of Muslims returning to Medina from Hajj. Muhammad was returning from his last Hajj from the city of Mecca. Here he delivered a sermon, the content of which is a matter of much dispute; Sunni Muslims consider it to be a defense of Ali by Muhammad in the face of unjust criticism while Shia Muslims to be a designation of Ali's leadership of the Muslim community. Shia Muslims celebrate this anniversary each year, as Eid al-Ghadeer.

Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri has written a comprehensive book on the Ghadir declaration and the status of Imam Ali (Alaihis Salaam).

References

*E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936, s.v. "Ghadir al-Khumm", p. 135 f. [http://books.google.com/books?id=xd5VonTOppMC&pg=PA134&lpg=PA134&dq=Wadi+al-Khumm&source=web&ots=gJjrRvvpuA&sig=zinJ3m6rlBnhrEu_Ry4zpQN5eAY#PPA135,M1]

ee also

* Succession to Muhammad
* Hadith of the pond of Khumm
* Eid al-Ghadeer

External links

* [http://www.birdlife.org/regional/caribbean/factsheet.html?action=SitHTMDetails.asp&sid=8270&m=0 Wadi Rabigh springs] BirdLife IBA Factsheet
* [http://www.rabigh.com Rabigh city] rabigh city website
* [http://research.com.pk/home/fmri/books/eng/ghadir/index.minhaj?id=0 The Ghadir Declaration] The Ghadir Declaration by Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri
* [http://www.khetabeghadir.com/ خطابه غدیر]