Much like most of the Hejaz, Medina has seen numerous exchanges of power within its comparatively short existence. A larger portion of the Qur'an was revealed in Medina in contrast to the earlier Meccan surahs. Medina is home to three prominent mosques, namely al-Masjid an-Nabawi, Masjid Qubaʽa, and Masjid al-Qiblatayn, with the Masjid Quba'a being the oldest in Islam. ' Community')-composed of Medinan citizens ( Ansar) as well as those who immigrated with Muhammad ( Muhajirun), who were collectively known as the Sahabah-gained huge influence. Medina was the capital of a rapidly-increasing Muslim caliphate under Muhammad's leadership, serving as its base of operations and as the cradle of Islam, where Muhammad's Ummah ( lit. The city existed for over 1,500 years before Muhammad's migration from Mecca, known as the Hijrah. Saudi road signage uses Madinah and al-Madinah al-Munawwarah interchangeably. 'The City'), from which the English-language spelling of 'Medina' is derived. 'The Enlightened City') before being simplified and shortened to its modern name, Madinah ( lit. 'City of the Prophet' or 'The Prophet's City') after Muhammad's death and later to al-Madinah al-Munawwarah ( lit. The original name of the city before the advent of Islam was Yathrib ( Hebrew: יתריב Arabic: يَثْرِب), and it is referred to by this name in Chapter 33 ( Al-Aḥzāb, lit. Observant Muslims usually visit his tomb, or rawdhah, at least once in their lifetime during a pilgrimage known as Ziyarat, although this is not obligatory. 'The Prophet's Mosque') is of exceptional importance in Islam and serves as burial site of the last Islamic prophet, Muhammad, by whom the mosque was built in 622 CE. The city is considered to be the second-holiest of three key cities in Islamic tradition, with Mecca and Jerusalem serving as the holiest and third-holiest cities respectively. Medina is generally considered to be the 'cradle of Islamic culture and civilization'. Located at the core of the Medina Province in the western reaches of the country, the city is distributed over 589 km 2 (227 sq mi), of which 293 km 2 (113 sq mi) constitutes the city's urban area, while the rest is occupied by the Hejaz Mountains, empty valleys, agricultural spaces and older dormant volcanoes.

As of 2020, the estimated population of the city is 1,488,782, making it the fourth-most populous city in the country. Medina, officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah ( Arabic: المدينة المنورة, romanized: al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah, lit.'The Enlightened City', Hejazi pronunciation: ) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah ( المدينة, al-Madina, Hejazi pronunciation: ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the Medina Province of Saudi Arabia.

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