Abar 'Ali: Difference between revisions

'''Ābār ʿAlī''' ({{ia|آبار علي}}), an area covered with date palm groves in the south of Medina having water wells which attributed to Imam 'Ali (a). This area was in the old Medina-Mecca route and now is located in the new Medina-Mecca highway. It is said that it was named Abar 'Ali since Imam 'Ali (a), who did not have an position in the time of the three first caliphs, dug some wells in this area for the pilgrims of hajj and other people. One of the contemporary Sunni scholars attributed 'Abar 'Ali to 'Ali b. Dinar, the sultan of Darfur, south of Sudan; but mentioning the name of 'Abar 'Ali in the Muslim sources before 'Ali b. Dinar's travel to Mecca rejects this claim.

Ābār or abyār is the plural form of bi'r (Arabic: {{ia|بئر}}) and means wells<ref>al-'Ayn, Vol.8, P.290; Lisan al-'arab, Vol.4, P.37; Taj al-'arus, Vol.6, P.43, {{ia|"بأر"}}.</ref> . Abar 'Ali is the name of an area 7 or 9 kilometers away from the south of Medina<ref> 'Umdat al-qari, Vol.25, P.62; al-Bahr al-ra'iq, Vol.2, P.555; Manasik-i hajj, Safi, P.27.</ref> at the route to Mecca. It is located in Wadi l-'Aqiq in the west side of Mount 'Ir which is close to Dhu l-Hulayfa. This area has abundant water wells and palm dates.<ref>See: al-Ma'alim al-athira, P.103; Mu'jam alfaz al-fiqh al-Ja'fari, P.198.</ref>  

It is referred to as abyār and ābyār in Shia<ref>Manasik-I hajj, Safi, P.57; Mu'jam alfaz al-fiqh al-Ja'fari, P.198; al-hajj wa l-'umra, P.175</ref> and Sunni<ref>al-'Uhud al-Muhammadiyya, P.60; al-Durr al-mukhtar, Vol.2, P.522; Fatawi al-lujna, Vol.11, P.181 & 238.</ref> jurisprudential sources as well as books of hajj rituals. Many Sunni writers of 9th century afterwards, believe that Abar 'Ali, Dhu l-Hulayfa, and the mosque of al-Shajara are the names of one place which is the miqat for Medinans.<ref>'Umdat al-qari, Vol.17, P.225; Vol.25, P.62; Mawahib al-Jalil, Vol.4, P.41.</ref> The famous name of that area is Abar 'Ali.<ref>Kalimat al-taqwa, Vol.3, P.230; A'mal al-haramayn, P.13; Manasik-I hajj, Safi, P.27.</ref>  

#The old Medina-Mecca route, which exits from Bab 'Anbariyya, passes Hijaz railway to Syria, and goes towards Mecca.

#The new Medina-Mecca highway, which starts from the square of Quba Mosque.<ref>Mu'jam alfaz al-fiqh al-Ja'fari, P.198.</ref> On the traffic sign there, the names of Abar 'Ali, Dhu l-Hulayfa, and al-Shajara Mosque come together.<ref>Kalimat al-taqwa, Vol.3, P.230; A'mal al-haramayn, P.13; Manasik-I hajj, Safi, P.27.</ref>  

Wells of Imam 'Ali (a)

Regarding the naming of this area as Abar 'Ali, Some Sunni sources said: Imam 'Ali (a) has dug many wells there.<ref>I'anat al-talibin, Vol.2, P.341.</ref> Shia sources also said that Imam 'Ali (a) has dug many wells there during the time of the three first caliphs when he did not have an official position; then he endowed them for the pilgrims of hajj and other people.<ref>See: Manasik-I hajj, Abtahi, P.54-5; Chahardah nur-I pak, Vol.12, P.1671-2.</ref>  

It is said in some sources that these wells existed even before the Prophet's (s) migration to Medina, and Imam 'Ali (a), due to the Prophet's (s) order, fought against some tribes of jinn alongside the wells and defeated them harshly. Sunni sources emphasizing on its falsehood, have considered this story as common tales.<ref>See: al-Bahr al-ra'iq, Vol.2, P.555; al-Durr al-mukhtar, Vol.2, P.522-3, Kashf al-khafa', Vol.2, P.418.</ref> “Its content and source has not proven to us”, one of contemporary Shia marja's has said about that report.<ref>See: Sirat al-najat, Vol.2, P.451.</ref>  

One of the contemporary Sunni scholars in Egypt, not referring to any source, has attributed Abar 'Ali to 'Ali b. Dinar, the sultan of Darfur, south of Sudan; he has rejected the verity of its attribution to 'Ali b. Abi Talib (a). in his view, 'Ali b. Dinar rebuilt the water wells of Dhu l-Hulayfa during his hajj travel in 1898/1315 AH, since then the area was named Abar 'Ali after him,<ref>See: http://www.yabdoo.com, http://www.ibtesama.com http://www.sohbanej.com, http://www.daralansar.com.</ref> but since Abar 'Ali was mentioned in the sources which were written before the hajj travel of 'Ali b. Dinar, this view is not accepted.

A photo of the area Abar 'Ali in Medina