Jannatul Baqi

Jannatul Baqi (Garden of Heaven) is the main cemetery of Madinah. Buried there are many members of the Prophet’s (s.a.w.) close family, around ten thousand of his companions (Sahabah) and many prominent, pious personalities.

- Aisha (r.a.) reported (that whenever it was her turn for the Prophet (s.a.w.) to spend the night with her) he would go out towards the end of the night to al-Baqi and say: “Peace be upon you, abode of a people who are believers. What you were promised would come to you tomorrow, you receiving it after some delay; and God willing we shall join you. O Allah, grant forgiveness to the inhabitants of Baqi al-Gharqad.” [Muslim]

- Baqi means the land in which the roots of different trees are embedded, Gharqad is the name of a thorny tree (Boxthorn) which were abundant in Baqi. Hence the cemetery also came to be known as Baqi al-Gharqad.

- The first person to be buried in al-Baqi was As'ad Bin Zararah (r.a.), an Ansari companion who died soon after the Prophet ‘s (s.a.w.) migration to Madinah. The Prophet (s.a.w.) chose the spot to be a cemetery. The first of the Muhajirun (Emigrants) to be buried there was Uthman bin Mazoun who died shortly after the Prophet (s.a.w.) returned from the battle of Badr.

- Some of the blessed personalities resting in Jannatul Baqi are:

All the wives of the Prophet (s.a.w.), also known as the Mothers of the Believers including Aisha, Hafsa, Sawdah (r.a.) etc. except for Khadijah bint Khuwaylid who is buried in Makkah and Maymuna bint al-Harith who is buried in Sarif.
The daughters of the Prophet (s.a.w.), Fatima, Ruqayyah, Zainab and Umme Kulthum (r.a.)
Ebrahim (r.a.), the son of the Prophet (s.a.w.) by Maria al-Qibtiyya
Abbas (r.a.), the uncle of the Prophet (s.a.w.)
The aunts of the Prophet (s,a,w,), Safiyyah and Aatikah (r.a.)
Uthman (r.a.), the third Caliph and son-in-law of the Prophet (s.a.w.)
Halimah Saadia , the wet-nurse of the Prophet (s.a.w.)
Sa’ad bin Abi Waqqas (r.a.)
Abdur-Rehman bin Auf (r.a.)
Abdullah bin Mas’ood (r.a.)
Abu Saeed Khudri (r.a.)
Imam Malik (r.a.)

The Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “On the day of Qiyaamah my grave shall be opened first and I shall step forth. Then shall Abu Bakr (r.a.) step forth and then Umar (r.a.). Then shall I proceed to Baqi and take all its inmates with me. Then shall we await the inmates of the graveyard of Makkah, who shall meet me halfway between Makkah and Madinah.” [Tirmidhi]

During different times of history many domes and structures were built or rebuilt over many famous graves in Al-Baqi in order to identify the inhabitants. On April 21, 1925, mausoleums, domes and structures in Jannatul Baqi were demolished by the order of King Abdul Aziz Al Saud with the objective of complying with the hadith of the Prophet (s.a.w.) to not cover or build structures over any grave and to prevent people from seeking help from the dead.

It is virtuous to visit Jannatul Baqi (preferably on a Friday) and supplicate to Allah (swt) for all those buried in its noble earth.

References:
History of Madinah Munawwarah – Dr. Muhammad Ilyas Abdul Ghani
Wikipedia
Virtues of Hajj – Sheikh Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhalvi