Before Islam this city was called Yathrib...

Before Islam this city was called Yathrib, but after the Holy Prophet's migration to this city it was renamed as Madina tur Rasul (City of the Prophet). Later, however, the last word was dropped for the sake of abbreviation and it began to be called only Madina. History tells us that the first people who settled here were a group of Amaliqah. Those who followed them were a sect of the Jews and the tribes of Aws and Khazraj who came to be known amongst the Muslims as Ansar (helpers).

Unlike other regions of Arabia the Hijaz remained safe from the raids of the conquerors and the traces of the civilisations of Rome and Iran, two big empires of the world before the birth of Islam, cannot be observed here. This was so, because its barren and uninhabitable lands did not make it worth while for the foreigners to undertake military expeditions to occupy it and then to return empty-handed, after facing thousands of difficulties necessarily involved in gaining control over it.

In this connection the following story may be studied carefully. It has been quoted by the Greek historian, Diodore (B.C.): "When the great Greek Chief Demetrius arrived at Patra (one of the oldest cities of the Hijaz) with the intention of occupying Arabia, the residents of the city said to him, "O Greek Chief! Why should you fight with us? We live in a desert in which indigence of all sorts is the source of livelihood.

We have selected this dry and barren desert so that we may not have to obey the orders of anyone. So please accept our insignificant gifts and presents and refrain from occupying our territory. And incidentally, if you are inclined to persist in your intentions, we do hereby announce that in the near future you will be confronted with thousands of difficulties and hardships. And be it known to you that the 'Nabtis' are not inclined to give up their way of life.

In case, therefore, you held some of our people as captives by force and wish to carry them away this will be of no use to you, because they will be malevolent and misbehaving slaves only and will not be prepared to change their way of life". The Greek chief accepted their message of peace and good-will and abandoned the idea of attacking and occupying the Arabian territory ".

[^1] The central and eastern region, which is called 'The Arabian Desert' and is inclusive of the Najd Zone, is a sparsely populated plateau.