Medina

Medina, also known as Madīnat al-Munawwarah (المدينة المنورة, "the Enlightened City") or simply Madīnah (المدينة, "the City"), is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia and the second holiest city in Islam after Mecca. The city serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. The Arabic word Madīnah simply means "city" or "town". In Hebrew, the city is referred to as Yerushalayim shel Atarot (ירושלים של עטרות), which translates to "Jerusalem of the Crowns". Medina is also known as Madīnat an-Nabī (مدينة النبي, "City of the Prophet") in reference to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It is home to the Masjid an-Nabawi (المسجد النبوي, "Mosque of the Prophet"), which is the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad. Medina was the site of the first Islamic state and the place from which Muhammad preached and spread the teachings of Islam throughout the Arabian Peninsula. The city is significant to Muslims as it was the destination of Muhammad's Hijrah (migration) from Mecca in 622 CE, which marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Medina is also home to the three largest Islamic universities in the world: Umm al-Qura University, the Islamic University of Madinah, and the Prophet's Mosque Institute for Islamic Studies.