Arabian Tongue Institute Blog (Important cities in Islam )

Important cities in Islam

Islam like all religions have some important places, they have stories associated with them which make them different from other places. Let us take a look at some cities which kept their importance throughout history of Islam,

Mecca (Saudi Arabia)
The most important city in Islamic religion is Mecca. Mecca is where Muhammad was born and where he founded the religion of Islam. The city is still the most important city in Islam today. When Muslims pray each day they pray toward the city of Mecca. Also, each Muslim, if able, is required to make a pilgrimage (called the Hajj) to Mecca at least once in their life.

Madinah Munawarrah (Saudi Arabia)
ranks as the second most holiest place in Islam after Makkah. It is the city that gave refuge to the Prophet Muhammad and the early Muslims upon their migration from Makkah and where lies the burial place of the Prophet

Al-Quds (Palestine)
Al-Quds is one of the oldest cities in the world and is considered holy by all three Abrahamic faiths. It is also known as ‘al-Quds’, literally meaning ‘The Holy One’, and is the location of Masjid al-Aqsa – the third holiest place in Islam. Jerusalem is also where many Prophets and companions of the Prophet are buried.

Damascus (Syria)
The Islamic Empire took control of Damascus in 634 CE. It was the first major city of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire) to fall to the Arabs. In 661 CE, Damascus became the capital of the Islamic Empire under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate ,(661-750 CE). For nearly 100 years, it was the political center of the Islamic Empire.

Baghdad (Iraq)
The city was founded in 762 as the capital of the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, and for the next 500 years it was the most significant cultural centre of Arab and Islamic civilization and one of the greatest cities of the world. It was conquered by the Mongol leader Hülegü in 1258, after which its importance waned.

Cairo (Egypt)
One of the greatest centres of education in the Islamic world since time immemorial. When the Fatimid dynasty came to Egypt in 969 AD, they constructed a new capital north of the existing city to serve as their administrative center. This new city, named Al-Qahira (meaning The Vanquisher in English), gave the modern city its name.

Cordoba (Spain)
Cordoba was the center of Islamic rule in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). At first it was part of the Umayyad Caliphate, but it broke away when the Abbasids took control. Cordoba became the major city (and sometimes capital) of the Islamic presence in Spain (called Al-Andalus). For a period of time, the Umayyads rose to power and claimed the Caliphate of Cordoba.