() is a traditional

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

nasheed A ''nasheed'' (, ) is a work of vocal music, partially coincident with hymns, that is either sung ''a cappella'' or with instruments, according to a particular style or tradition within Sunni Islam. Nasheeds are popular throughout the Islamic ...

that the Ansar Muslims of

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

sang for the

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

upon his arrival at

. Many sources claim it was first sung as he sought refuge there after being forced to leave his hometown of

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. Some others, disagree by saying the second line reads "From the valley of Wada" (ﻣﻦ ﺛﻨﻴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻮﺩﺍﻉ). The valley of Wada was the place where people would walk with their loved ones who were travelling and say goodbye. It is located north of Medina and Mecca is south and Muhammad arrived at

Quba Quba () is a city and the administrative centre of the Quba District (Azerbaijan), Quba District of Azerbaijan. The city lies on the north-eastern slopes of Mount Shahdagh, Shahdag mountain, at an altitude of 600 metres above sea level, on the ...

which is south, so it is geographically impossible that it was sung at the

Hijrah The Hijrah, () also Hegira (from Medieval Latin), was the journey the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers took from Mecca to Medina. The year in which the Hijrah took place is also identified as the e ...

, some say. The alternative opinion mainly put forth by

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (; 18 February 1372 – 2 February 1449), or simply ibn Ḥajar, was a classic Islamic scholar "whose life work constitutes the final summation of the science of hadith." He authored some 150 works on hadith, history, ...

is that it was sung for Muhammad upon his arrival at Medina, to welcome him after completing the

Battle of Tabuk The Expedition of Tabuk (; ''Ghazwat Tabūk''), also known as the Campaign of Hardship (''Ghazwat al-ʿUsrah''), was a military campaign that was initiated by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in October 630 CE (Rajab AH 9), in response to reports of ...

Lyrics

Performances

Recorded versions

There have been many renditions of the song most notably by Payam Azizi,

Mishary Rashid Alafasy Qari Mishary bin Rashid Alafasy () is a Kuwaiti ''qāriʾ'' (reciter of the Quran), imam, preacher, and nasheed artist. He studied in the Islamic University of Madinah's College of Qur'an, specializing in the ten qira'at and tafsir. Alafasy ...

, Oum Kalthoum,

Sami Yusuf Sami Yusuf (born 21 July 1980) is an Iranian-British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer of Azerbaijani descent. He gained international attention with the release of his debut album, ''Al-Muʽallim'', in 2003. As of 2020, ...

, Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens,

Mesut Kurtis Mesut Kurtis (; ) is a Turkish-Macedonian singer who is represented by and signed to Awakening Records. He has released four albums namely "Salawat", "Beloved", "Tabassam", and "Balaghal Ula" and one mini album namely "Azeem Al-Shan". Backgro ...

, Native Deen,

Raef Raef is a male given name. Arabic Raif, Raif, Raaif or Raef (Arabic: رَائِف ''rā’if'') is an Arabic male given name meaning "kind, compassionate, affectionate, benign" or "sympathetic, merciful". The name comes from the Arabic verb ''ra� ...

Maher Zain Maher Zain (; born 16 July 1981) is a Lebanon, Lebanese-Sweden, Swedish Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter and music producer. He released his debut album ''Thank You Allah'', an internationally successful album produced by Awakening Reco ...

Junaid Jamshed Junaid Jamshed Khan (3 September 1964 – 7 December 2016) was a Pakistani Islamic preacher, singer-songwriter and television personality. Jamshed first gained nationwide and international recognition as the vocalist of Vital Signs. Their ...

, Marufur Rahman and others.

Other performances

* It was used in the soundtrack of the 1976 film '' The Message'', directed by

Moustapha Akkad Moustapha al Akkad (; July 1, 1930 – November 11, 2005) was a Syrian Americans, Syrian-American film producer and Film director, director, best known for producing the original series of ''Halloween (franchise), Halloween'' films and dire ...

, and used in scene depicting Muhammad's ''hijra'' to

. * It song by

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

as an interlude on her twenty-first album,

Grace and Gratitude ''Grace and Gratitude'' is the twenty-first studio album by Australian singer Olivia Newton-John. The album was released 25 August 2006 through EMI exclusively by Walgreens to benefit various charities of cancer and re-released on 14 September 2 ...

(2006). * ''

Little Mosque on the Prairie ''Little Mosque on the Prairie'' is a Canadian television sitcom created by Zarqa Nawaz and produced by WestWind Pictures, originally broadcast from 2007 to 2012 on CBC. Filmed in Toronto, Ontario, and Indian Head, Saskatchewan, the series was ...

'' - Canadian

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

- The song plays during the

closing credits Closing credits, aka end credits or end titles, are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television show, or video game. While opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to or at th ...

, performed by

Maryem Tollar Maryem Tollar (born 1968 in Cairo, Egypt) is a Toronto-based singer who primarily sings Arabic songs. She played with her own band called Mernie!. Born in Cairo, Maryem went to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada with her parents when she was one yea ...

. * It was used in a piano and symphony piece ''The Moonlight'' by Syrian German composer

Malek Jandali Malek Jandali (, ) (born 1972) is a West Germany, West German-born Syrian-Americans, American composer and pianist, whose music integrates Middle-Eastern modes and Arabic maqams into Western structures of classical music. He is the founder of th ...

* An arrangement by Canadian composer, Laura Hawley, was sung at a holiday concert in Ottawa by a children's choir when Syrian refugees first began arriving in Canada in December 2015. *

sampled the song in his song "Medina" in his 2016 album ''

One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

''. * Marcus Viana, (A Brazilian composer) created an arrangement for the poem and used it in his 2003 Album "Poemas místicos do oriente" * Omar Esa performed it in 2018 in the album My Muslim Family. * It was sung in the fifth episode of first season of the Turkish series '' Diriliş: Ertuğrul''. * In May 2021, it was sung collectively by Indian music composers, A. R. Ameen and

Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja (born 31 August 1979), is an Indian composer and playback singer. He mainly scores music for Tamil films along with few Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use o ...

External links

Tala‘a al-Badru ‘Alayna
at MuslimHymns.com

References