Masjid-u-Shajarah, Pilgrimage miqat station in Abyar Ali, Saudi Arabia
Masjid-u-Shajarah is a mosque in Abyar Ali, in Medina Province, Saudi Arabia, that serves as a miqat, one of the designated boundary points where pilgrims must begin their sacred state before reaching Mecca. The complex includes multiple domes, minarets, and dedicated areas where pilgrims can change and wash before continuing their journey.
The site was used as a miqat for pilgrims coming from Medina from the earliest period of Islam and has kept that role ever since. The building was rebuilt and expanded over the centuries under different rulers, though its purpose never changed.
The mosque marks the point where pilgrims traveling from Medina put on the ihram, the white seamless garment worn during the pilgrimage. Groups arrive dressed in everyday clothes and leave wrapped in white, making the shift visible to anyone passing through.
The mosque sits partway between Medina and Mecca and is easy to reach from either city by road. The site can get very busy during peak pilgrimage seasons, so arriving outside of rush periods makes it easier to move around and complete the preparations comfortably.
The site is also known as Dhul Hulaifa, an Arabic name meaning 'place of the small acacias', referring to trees that once grew there. The trees are long gone, but the old name still appears in religious texts and is used by scholars alongside the more common name.
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