I remember the story about a time in the prophet’s life where the 12 tribes of the Quraysh were in disagreement and in an argument about who should lift the covering over the Ka’bah. Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) intervened and asked each head to take a piece of the cloth and he would take the final piece and they would all lift and cover the Ka’bah together.
The messaging behind this I think was really important especially in current world affairs. Despite our disagreements, we fundamentally want the same things – safety, security, peace, recognition and unity. To get there together I think the key symbolic meaning with all the heads of the tribes lifting together is uplift others collectively with due regard.
Another section of the museum was dedicated to stories and hadiths on animals. One exhibit and story I read was about a man’s compassion to a thirsty dog. I think that it’s well known that Muslim families and Muslims don’t have dogs as pets and try to avoid them quite a lot.
Personally, I love dogs, I think they’re adorable and bring you so much joy. I did an internship in Brazil – probably fifteen years ago now – and the family that I stayed with had a pet dog called Mary. She was so sweet and lovely and interestingly a bit of a mind reader.
I had a small gathering / house party and she could tell I fancied another intern who was doing another project in our city! She became a little hostile towards her, always barking whenever she was close by! I had to step in a couple of times to calm Mary down! I love dogs, I really do!
With the hadith it is written that a man went down into a well to collect some water and when he returned, he found a dog that was so thirsty it was trying to lick any moisture off the ground. The man went down again to collect water for the dog and it is written that prophet muhammed (PBUH) said that showing compassion to any of God’s animals is a good deed and has its reward. If you can be kind to an animal, kindness to another human being is more regarded and rewarded in the afterlife. I loved this hadith.
On returning, I did share this hadith with friends and family but there are many counter stories which may or may not be true about why you can’t keep a dog in the house. I’m not saying these are false but I guess it’s something I need to find out a bit more about. I would still value a dog as a pet when I’m older but this I get might be controversial to some Muslims.
I loved the museum and I found it a lot more educational than the years of going to mosque after school as a child. I would recommend anyone visiting Madinah to visit this Museum as you may learn one or two things that you didn’t know that will surprise you. It is a small museum, just one floor but I think that has its benefits as it forces you to read as you move around the exhibits which forces you to learn.
I can’t remember how much the entry was but I think SAR 14. The only improvement they could make is to have a dedicated prayer area. I heard the Azan whilst I was there but there was no dedicated prayer area as far as I could tell.
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