Mount Ayr: Mountain upon the Gate of Hell

Jabl Ayr (Mount Ayr) is the second largest mountain in Madinah after Uhud and marks the southern boundary of Madinah. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) described it as a mountain of Hell.

Madeenah is sanctified between `Ayr and Thawr.” Ayr is a mountain near Dhul Haleefah [Masjid-e-Ali where the people of Madina and the pilgrims coming to Makkah after staying in Madina, wrap ahram and do niyeet for umra. It is Meeqat for Madina people] and its rear side resembles the back of an Ayr which is a donkey. Thawr is a small mountain near and it does not refer to Mount Thawr that is in Makkah.

The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) declared, “Uhud is a mountain which loves us and which we love, it is upon the Gate of Heaven;” adding, “And Ayr is a place which hates us and which we hate, it is upon the Gate of Hell.”

‘Ayr’ means a ‘wild ass’, whereas Uhud is derived from Ahad, meaning ‘one’, — so called because it is fated to be the place of victory to those who worship one God. The very names, say Muslim sages, make it abundantly evident that even as the men of Al-Madinah were of two parties, friendly and hostile to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), so were these mountains.