The History of the Grave of the Prophet ﷺ

The Grave in the second Ottoman period

The Ottomans reconquered Madinah in the year 1233 Al-Hijri. It wasn't a peaceful reconquest; it was a bloody one. The scholars of Diriyah, such as Shaykh Sulayman bin Abdullah, were tortured. In the case of Shaykh Sulayman, he was blasted with music and then executed by the Ottoman soldiers. This was all done under the reign of Ottoman ruler Mahmud the Second, a man who was influenced by the views of modernism and liberalism. Most of his army were also reported to have been irreligious.

Mahmud II ordered the construction of a large dome over the grave of the Prophet ﷺ and his companions. This dome was very large, and it had a very sharp point made out of gold at the top. This dome was the same dome that we know and are familiar with today, but it was not green in colour yet. It was built out of bricks and had a window on top. At some point of time, the window was chained up and never opened.

Many years later, in 1253 AH, the Ottoman ruler, Abdulhamid II, ordered a restoration of the mosque. New plaster works were done to the exterior. The dome of the tomb chamber was painted green. And from that year onwards, the dome remained green. Interestingly, the window was never opened and the chain was also painted over along with the dome in green.

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Myth: There is a grave on top of the Green Dome, where a Wahhabi who tried to demolish the dome but got struck by lightning is buried.

Debunk: This is a baseless story which makes no sense. Furthermore, if one dug a hole through the dome, the body would fall through and hit the inner structure above the graves. So, this is a hoax and a fabricated tale. The purported “grave” is in fact just the window with the chains above it. As the chains have been folded in such a way, the resulting appearance of the window resembles a grave with soil on top of it.