ʿUmar's Wish to Die a Martyr in Madīnah

ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allah be pleased with him, became Khalīfah. He wanted to die in Madīnah, and he also wanted to die as a martyr — he wanted them both. So he would make duʿāʾ to Allah, saying, "O Allah, I want to die as a martyr in the town of Your Prophet." His daughter Ḥafṣah would tell him, "O my father, how can you become a martyr in Madīnah when it is safe? Madīnah is the capital of the Muslim empire. If you want to die as a martyr, you need to go to Iraq, you need to go to Syria — it is not in Madīnah." ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb would say, "If Allah wants something to happen, He will make it happen." So not only did ʿUmar die as a martyr in Madīnah, he died as a martyr in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and in ṣalāh.

Madīnah is also the refuge of īmān. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says in Bukhārī that a believer seeks refuge in Madīnah, or goes back to Madīnah, like a snake would go back to its hole: inna al-īmāna la-yaʾrizu ilā al-Madīnati kamā taʾrizu al-ḥayyatu ilā juḥrihā. Madīnah cleanses itself from the impure, or the unclean. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says, wa-alladhī nafsī bi-yadihi lā yakhruju minhā aḥadun raghbatan ʿanhā illā akhlafa Allāhu fīhā khayran minhu; alā inna al-Madīnata ka-l-kīri tanfī khabathahā — by the One in whose hand his soul is, nobody leaves Madīnah because he does not want it anymore, except that Allah will replace him with someone better than him. And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says that Madīnah cleanses itself from the people who are impure, or the people who are evil, and that the Day of Judgment will not occur until Madīnah drives out all of the evil people in it, like the fire would drive out the impurities of iron.

Allah (swt) protects Madīnah. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says, lā yakīdu ahla al-Madīnati aḥadun illā ināʿa kamā yanmāʿu al-milḥu fī al-māʾ — whoever plots against the people of Madīnah, Allah will make him dissolve like salt dissolves in water, and this hadith is in Bukhārī. And Madīnah is also sacred, so the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says that it is not allowed to cut down trees in Madīnah, it is not allowed to hunt in Madīnah, it is not allowed to carry weapons in Madīnah, because of its sanctity. So these are some of the blessings of the Madīnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).