The History of the Grave of the Prophet ﷺ

The Grave in the first Ottoman period

The Ottoman Empire eventually took control over Madinah at some point in the 18th century of the Gregorian calendar. They renovated the Mosque of the Prophet ﷺ extensively, and gave it the shape that the building is best known for now. The mosque was expanded and decorated with gold and precious gemstones. The tomb chamber in particular was adorned from most sides with rare, yet shiny, jewels. It seemed likely that the Ottomans also placed jewelled wooden cenotaphs over the blessed graves; they did the exact same things with the graves of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ such as those of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari and Abu Shaibah al-Khudri in Istanbul.

Later on in the year 1220 Al-Hijri, the Najdis under the command of Saud bin Abdulaziz were able to conquer Madinah. Saud bin Abdulaziz ordered the demolitions of the mausoleums and mosques in the nearby cemetery of Al-Baqi' in Madinah and Jannat al-Muwalla in Makkah. The dome above the grave of the Prophet ﷺ was raided and looted. The Najdis took away all the decorations, like the jewels, and levelled the graves. The dome itself was untouched, likely because the Najdis could not destroy it without fearing any damage to the blessed graves below. Saud bin Abdulaziz also prevented people from seeking blessings from the grave; guards were stationed to prevent the practicing of shirk at the graves.