RIYADH: The National Museum in Riyadh opened the “Hijrah: In the Footsteps of the Prophet” exhibition this week, showcasing defining moments in the history of Islam.
The exhibition shows the Prophet Muhammad’s journey from Makkah to Madinah, which he was forced to take to escape persecution for his religious teachings.
The exhibition is organized as a cooperation project between the National Museum and the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, with the participation of specialized technical teams and more than 70 researchers and artists.
It is set to move after six months from the National Museum in Riyadh to Madinah, and then to other cities around the world.
The exhibition is built on the exhaustive research and fieldwork conducted by Atiq Al-Biladi and Abdullah Alkadi. (AN photo by Abdulrahman bin Shulhub)
“The exhibition highlights the values that came out of this story, and what are the incidents that led the Prophet to decide to move from Makkah, his birthplace, and move his community to another location,” said Kumail Almusaly, curator of traveling exhibitions at Ithra.
“It also mainly highlights the route that the Prophet migrated through from Makkah to Madinah which is an unprecedented route.”
HIGHLIGHTS
• The exhibition shows the Prophet Muhammad’s journey from Makkah to Madinah, which he was forced to take to escape persecution for his religious teachings.
• The exhibition is organized as a cooperation project between the National Museum and the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, with the participation of specialized technical teams and more than 70 researchers and artists.
The exhibition covers the Prophet Muhammad’s journey through 14 interactive stations, arranged in eight sections for each of the eight days of the journey, with immersive audio-visual installations and films.
The exhibition is built on the exhaustive research and fieldwork conducted by Atiq Al-Biladi and Abdullah Alkadi. (AN photo by Abdulrahman bin Shulhub)
It explores the material culture of pre-Islamic Makkah and Madinah through a range of artifacts and is complemented by new commissions from artists and craftspeople from all over the world.
The exhibition is built on the exhaustive research and fieldwork conducted by Atiq Al-Biladi and Abdullah Alkadi.
Both researchers are leading authorities on Hijrah, and Alkadi traveled the exact route taken by the Prophet Muhammad across the desert from Makkah to Madinah, passing through the Kingdom’s rocky Hijaz mountains to provide a comprehensive story of the event.
The exhibition is built on the exhaustive research and fieldwork conducted by Atiq Al-Biladi and Abdullah Alkadi. (AN photo by Abdulrahman bin Shulhub)
“We are highlighting the great effort by Abdullah Alkadi, in terms of identifying the exact location that the Prophet went through in his journey,” said Almusaly.
He added: “The exhibit highlights this story in parallel with the route on so many different levels, and this is what makes it different from any of the exhibitions I worked on.”
The exhibition also includes interactive seminars, workshops, and activities for visitors of all ages.
