Before the emigration of the Messenger and Prophet
of Allah, Mohammed (Peace be upon him), the city of Al-Madinah
Al-Munawwarah was called 'Yathrib'. This name has been mentioned in
the Glorious Qur'an, in the words of Allah, (the Most High),
concerning the tongues of the hypocrites, (Surah #33 Al-Ahzaab, The
Confederates, Verse #13), "O people of Yathrib there is no stand
(possible) for you (against the enemy attack". It is also mentioned
in an authenticated hadith (tradition of the Messenger of Allah,
Peace be upon him) that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him)
changed the name from Yathrib to Madinah, and prohibited anyone from
using the old name. He said "Who says for Madinah, Yathrib, should
seek the forgiveness of Allah". (Imam Ahmed 285/4).
The new name of the city, Madinah, is mentioned in
the Glorious Qur'an three times, as follows:
"And among the Bedouins round about you some are
hypocrites, and so are some among the people of Al-Madinah..." ,
(Surat #9, Al-Tawbah, The Repentance, Verse #101), and "It was not
becoming of the people of Al-Madinah and the Bedouins...", (Surat
#9, Al-Tawbah, The Repentance, Verse #120, and "They (hypocrites)
say: 'If we return to Al-Madinah...' ", (Surat #63, Al-Munaafiqoon,
The Hypocrites, Verse #8).
The Messenger of Allah exalted Madinah by calling
it other names in a number of hadith; important among them are
'Taabah' (Pleasant) and 'Taibah' (Goodness). It is possible the
reason that the old name was discarded and changed is because it has
such an offensive and repugnant linguistic sense. The word
'Yathrib', in the richness and depth of the Arabic language, is
derived from 'Al-Turtheeb', which literally means 'severely blamed,
or rebuked'. It can also be taken to mean 'spoiling', 'corrupting'
and 'confusion'. Thus, its former name was widespread and renowned.
The name Yathrib also appears in engravings and books other than
Arabic. It appears in the geography of 'Batlimos (Ptolemy) the
Greek, by the name 'Yathripa' and in a book by 'Istafaan Al-Byzanti,
as 'Yathrip'. The name appeared on inscriptions on stone columns in
Madinah as 'Hiraan' (stubborn or reluctant), (Itribo).
In any case, it is truly prohibited to use the old
name, since Islam granted it a new name to be infinitely associated
with it. This relation encourages us in researching its earliest
origins and the conditions in it, in the long periods before Islam.
What emerges is the appearance of clear dimensions of change that
occurred before Islam in all aspects, beginning with the time that
concludes with the arrival of early cultural aspects of civilisation
and progresses with what follows in the analysis of its roots since
the phase of the original founding.