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Fatwa CenterOrigin of names Makkah and Madeenah
Question
What are the names Makkah and Madeenah derived from? What do they mean?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
Regarding the meaning and root of Makkah, Al-Baghawi 
said in his Tafseer (exegesis) book, “Makkah was given this name due to the scarcity of its water. The Arabs used the verb ‘makka’ to mean ‘sucked something dry’, as in a young camel when it drinks all the milk in its mother's udder.”
Lisaan Al-‘Arab (an Arabic lexicon) reads, “Makkah is the sacred city. It was said that Makkah was given this name due to the scarcity of its water. The verb ‘yamtakk’ means to extract (water), as Makkans used to dig up underground water wells therein.
It was also said that Makkah was given this name because it destroys anyone who oppresses people and blasphemes therein; the verb ‘yamukk’ means to destroy.”
As for the word Madeenah, it means a place where people settle down. It is derived from the Arabic root 'ma-da-na', meaning to stay and settle (in a place). Al-Qamoos Al-Muheet (an Arabic lexicon) reads, “The verb 'madana' means settled. Its derivative, madeenah, means fortress, and its plural is 'madaa'in' and 'mudun'.”
Allah knows best.
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