Jannat al-Mu'alla (Arabic: جَنَّة ٱلْمُعَلَّاة, romanized: Jannah al-Muʿallāh, lit. 'The Most Exalted Paradise'), also known as the "Cemetery of Ma'la" (Arabic: مَقْبَرَة ٱلْمَعْلَاة Maqbarah al-Maʿlāh) and Al-Ḥajūn (Arabic: ٱلْحَجُوْن), is a historic cemetery located to the north of Masjid al-Haram, and near the Mosque of the Jinn in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
It is believed to be the burial place of several of the prophet Muhammad’s relatives and companions.
Al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad (Arabic: القاسم بن محمد) was the eldest of the sons of Muhammad and Khadija bint Khuwaylid. He died in 601 CE (before the declaration of his father's prophethood in 609), after his third birthday, and is buried in Jannat al-Mu'alla cemetery, Mecca. Ibn Majah mentioned that he died before completing his milk age.
Khadija bint Khuwaylid (Arabic: خَدِيجَة بِنْت خُوَيْلِد) (c. 554 – November 619) was the first wife of Muhammad. Born into an aristocratic clan of the Quraysh, she was an affluent merchant in her own right and was known to have a noble personality within her tribe. She employed Muhammad to manage a trade caravan to Syria and, impressed by his skills, subsequently offered him marriage, which he accepted.
The couple had two sons, Qasim and Abd Allah, and four daughters, Zaynab, Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum and Fatima. In the aftermath of Muhammad's first revelation, Khadija is credited to have been the first convert to Islam. She continued to support her husband throughout her life and died in November 619 (Ramadan BH 3); the year was reportedly termed the "Year of Sorrow" by Muhammad. Her remains are located at the al-Mu'alla in Mecca and attract many Muslims for ziyarat.
Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (Arabic: عبد العزيز بن عبد الرحمن آل سعود; 15 January 1876 – 9 November 1953), known in the Western world as Ibn Saud (Arabic: ابن سعود; Ibn Suʿūd), was a Najdi statesman and tribal leader who became the founder and first king of Saudi Arabia, reigning from 23 September 1932 until his death in 1953. He had ruled parts of the kingdom since 1902, having previously been Emir, Sultan, King of Nejd, and King of Hejaz.
Ibn Saud was the son of Abdul Rahman bin Faisal, Emir of Nejd, and Sara bint Ahmed Al Sudairi. The family were exiled from their residence in the city of Riyadh in 1890. Ibn Saud reconquered Riyadh in 1902, starting three decades of conquests that made him the ruler of nearly all of central and north Arabia. He consolidated his control over Najd in 1921, then conquered the Hejaz in 1925. He extended his dominions into what later became the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. Ibn Saud's victory and his support for Islamic revivalists would greatly bolster pan-Islamism across the Islamic world. Concording with Wahhabi beliefs, he ordered the demolition of several shrines, the Al-Baqi Cemetery and the Jannat al-Mu'alla. As King, he presided over the discovery of petroleum in Saudi Arabia in 1938 and the beginning of large-scale oil production after World War II. He fathered many children, including 45 sons, and all of the subsequent kings of Saudi Arabia as of 2025.