Dying in Madina
The scholarly ruler of Bhopal during British colonial rule - Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan - travelled to perform Hajj and visited the blessed city of Madina. He thereafter authored a brief work about his journey wherein he mentioned some virtues of dying in the city of Madina. He said in Rihlah al-Siddiq ila Balad al-Atiq (p.157):
Malik, al-Bukhari and Razin al-Abdari narrate: that Umar bin al-Khattab said:
O Allah bless me with martyrdom in your path, and make my death in the city of your Messenger
And al-Bayhaqi narrates in a marfu form:
Whom so ever is able to die in Madinah, then let him die in it. For whoever dies in Madinah I will be an intercessor and witness for him
And in a version:
For whoever dies in it, I will intercede for, and be a witness for
And this version was mentioned by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih.
Al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, Ibn Majah, al-Bayhaqi, Abd al-Haq who graded it Sahih narrate that Ibn Umar said:
The Messenger of Allah said: Whom so ever is able to die in Madinah, then let him die in it. For I will intercede for the one who dies in it
It was also reported by al-Tabarani in al-Kabir with a Hasan chain, al-Tirmidhi said: This is a hadith which has a Hasan Sahih Gharib chain.
Al-Tabarani narrates in a marfu form:
The first of my community whom I will intercede for will be the people of Madinah, then the people of Makkah, then the people of Taif
Reported by al-Tirmidhi
To sum up: The like of the encouragement of dying in Madinah is not established for any other (city). Its being chosen as a place of residence is well known from the practice of the early Muslims (hal al-salaf). There is no doubt that residing in Madinah during his (Allah bless him and give him peace) earthly life is superior (afdal) by consensus. And it is recommended after his passing away…
In the two Sahihs (it is narrated):
O Allah, make Madinah beloved to us like our love for Makkah, and more!
And in them both:
O Allah place in Madinah double that which you have placed in Makkah of blessings (barakah)
And from Abu Hurayrah:
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: O Allah bless us in our dates, bless us in our city, bless us in our Saa’, bless us in our Mudd. O Allah, indeed Ibrahim is your servant, friend and Prophet. And I am your servant and Prophet. He prayed to you for Makkah, and I am praying to you for Madinah for the likes of that which he prayed to you for Makkah, and the like of it in addition
Reported by Muslim, and it has other wordings mentioned by the authors of the Sunan works.
