Whenever we drive from Riyadh to Madina, we've always wondered about the sudden black terrain that we hit near the outskirts of Madina. The shift is quite dramatic, from the expected light-colored sand and dirt that we see most of the way to the pitch-black lava fields that suddenly surround both sides of the highway.
And so it was pretty cool when I stumbled upon this satellite image of the area:
(h/t Cellar IotD, click to see larger image)
"The western half of the Arabian peninsula contains not only large expanses of sand and gravel, but extensive lava fields known as haraat (harrat for a named field). One such field is the 14,000-square kilometer Harrat Khaybar, located approximately 137 kilometers to the northeast of the city of Al Madinah (Medina). According to scientists, the volcanic field was formed by eruptions along a 100-kilometer long north-south linear vent system over the past 5 million years; the most recent recorded eruption took place between 600 - 700 A.D. Harrat Khaybar contains a wide range of volcanic rock types and spectacular landforms, several of which are represented in this view."
8 comments:
Assalaamu alaikum,
Cool! Thanks for posting this! I always thought there must be some volcanic explanation for the blackness of the terrain but never looked into it. Interesting. Umm Ibrahim
On the way there, we were told by the shuyukh of a Prophetic (صلي الله عليه و سلم) prophecy about the coming of Judgement Day. The prophecy was that one day there would be such a great fire in the land of the Hijaz (Makkah and Madina) that the light from that fire will be seen from the Shaam (Greater Syria) - hundreds of miles away.
True enough, in the 12th Century, there was an earthquake in Madinah which caused a fire to rage for almost two days. The light from this fire was seen by numerous witnesses in Syria, thus fulfilling the prophecy.
Additionally, the earthquake caused incredible amounts of lava to rise forth. The molten rock flowed for miles and miles and was threatening to overtake the city of Madinah. At this point, the people of Madinah - certain this was the end of their lives, prayed intensely for Allah's forgiveness. Even the Amir set about righting all the wrongs in his city. And then suddenly, the lava flow changed direction and Madinah was saved.
A Welsh geologist who dedicated his life to researching this area, joined us on the visit to the lava tracks. He, a non-Muslim, said, "The course of the lava flow was redirected abruptly 8km from Madinah. The only explanation for such a change in the flow is the intense prayers of the people of Madinah. We honestly have no other explanation."
http://q-rihla.blogspot.com/2005/07/lava-of-madinah.html
What a great photo! I have never made that drive before between Riyadh and Madinah, and I also had no idea there was ever active volcanoes here! Interesting explanation by Anonymous too. Thanks!
hmm.. Usually I travel at night [am an Insomniac] cuz my old car's AC doesnt work tht good w/ the SUN bearing down... guess I miss this :|
nice brief here br. naeem, its amazing to be in that area and as anonymous say to know that it stopped right before reaching the haram area. many probably know, but maybe some don't-that not all of madinah is a haram/sacred area.. we go down there every few months just to get that awe feeling rush!! there's are cracks in the surface there that if you throw a rock down through you really can't hear when it stops and lands, subhanAllah..
its like 30 minutes away from masjid an-nabawi-so many visitors don't head that way, but it is certainly a sight to see..
jazakAllah kheir br.naeem and anonymous who commented with detailed info..i was relieved to see that info was up here too or i would have felt the need to go dig for my post on it and shortly summarize.. :-)
Assalamu Alaikum,
When syedunna Salman al-Farsi was searching for the Prophet before he was sent by Allah, one of the monks he had spent time with told him where to go by describing it as an area near volcanoes and lava.
I've noticed the dark and rocky terrain on my drive to Madinah, and wondered if this is how he, radia Allah 'anhu knew the place.
wassalm
The best drives I have ever been on were the ones in Saudi while growing up there ... the drive to Medina from Jeddah were always the best even with the old highway in the 80's. The best ones were at night with literally millions of stars visible and the full moon that kept hiding behind those mountains ... superb!
did a earthquake happen at madina a few days ago?
i thought this might have something to do with the topic....
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