{{Short description|Poor companions of Muhammad}} {{More citations needed|date=May 2023}} [[File:Al-Masjid_Al-Nabawi_5.jpg|thumb|350x350px|The modern day ''Dikkat al-Aghwat'',<ref name="madainaghwat">{{cite web |title=Dikkat al-Aghwat |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803221106/https://madainproject.com/dikkat_al_aghwat |archive-date=3 August 2022 |url=https://madainproject.com/dikkat_al_aghwat |website=Madain Project |access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref> usually identified with the Suffah<ref name="madainsuffah">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803221135/https://madainproject.com/suffah_(masjid_al_nabawi) |archive-date=3 August 2022 |title=Suffah (Masjid al-Nabawi) |url=https://madainproject.com/suffah_(masjid_al_nabawi) |website=Madain Project |access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref> area in the [[Al-Masjid an-Nabawi|Prophet's Mosque]]]]'''Al-Ṣuffah''' ({{langx|ar|الصُّفّة}}), or ''Dikkat Ashab As-Suffah'' ({{lang|ar|دِكَّة أَصْحَاب الصُّفَّة}}) was a sheltered raised platform<ref name="madainsuffah" /> that was available at the rear side of the [[Al-Masjid an-Nabawi|Prophet's Mosque]]<ref name="madainsuffah" /> during the [[Muhammad in Medina|Medina period]] (622–632) of early [[Islam]]. It was initially available at the northeastern corner of the mosque and [[Muhammad]] ordered it to be covered by palm leaves in order to provide shade, hence it was called ''al-Suffah'' or ''al-Ẓullah'' ({{lang|ar|الظلة}}) "the shade". It was moved several decades later into another place in the mosque during an expansion project.
Homeless and unmarried [[Muhajirun]] ([[companions of the Prophet]] who migrated from [[Mecca]]) who did not have relatives in [[Medina]], dwelt in al-Suffah where they were mainly learning the [[Quran]] and [[Sunnah]]. These people were called ''Aṣhab al-Ṣuffah'' "Companions of the Ṣuffah".
==Legacy== Muhammad used to sit with them, chat together, and used to call them to his meal, sharing together his drinks, so they were counted as his dependents. The [[Companions of the Prophet]] used to take two or three of the Ashab al-Suffah to feed them at home and used to select the best dates and hand them out in al-Suffah's ceiling for meals.
Due to the scarcity of jobs caused by a combination of trade boycott and military threat,<ref name="IE">{{cite web|title=Ahl Al Suffah أهل الصفة|url=http://islamicencyclopedia.org/islamic-pedia-topic.php?id=88|website=Islamic Encyclopedia|accessdate=14 March 2017|date=13 October 2014}}</ref> members of Ashab al-Suffah had little income. It is estimated that al-Suffah held up to 300 people at a time, but they were merely increasing and decreasing in numbers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.islamiclandmarks.com/madinah-masjid-e-nabwi/ashab-us-suffah-platform|title=Ashab us-Suffah platform|website=Islamic Landmarks|language=en-GB|access-date=2016-03-11}}</ref> They could have reached about 400 total members, and it lasted about nine years till they became rich before the death of Muhammad. Later, every one of them became a ruler or an [[emir]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}
== Location == The Suffah was originally situated in the north-east corner of the Mosque. When Muhammad was ordered by [[Allah]] to face the new [[qibla]] (prayer direction) to be towards Mecca at the south of Medina, the Suffah was left at the rear of the mosque, where it remained.
When [[al-Walid I]], the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad Caliph]], expanded the mosque, Al-Suffah's location was changed to where it is now called: ''Dikkat Al-Aghwat''.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}
== See also == * [[Sufism]]
==References== {{reflist}}
[[Category:Medina]] [[Category:Prophet's Mosque]]
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