Rabigh in the context of "Banu Mustaliq"

The Ghadīr Khumm (Arabic: غَدِير خُمّ) was a gathering of Muslims to attend a sermon delivered by the Islamic prophet Muhammad on 16 March 632 CE. The gathering is said to have taken place by the ghadir (Arabic: غَدِير, lit. 'pool') in the wadi (Arabic: وَادِي, lit. 'valley') of Khumm, located near the then settlement of al-Juhfa on the path between Mecca and Medina, where Muhammad halted the large caravan of Muslims who had accompanied him in the Farewell Pilgrimage, his only Hajj ritual.

In the sermon, made shortly before his death in June 632, Muhammad made a declaration in favor of Ali ibn Abi Talib, his cousin and son-in-law, by saying: "He whose mawla I am, Ali is his mawla" (Arabic: من كنت مولاه فهذا علي مولاه). Mawla (Arabic: مولاه) is a polysemous Arabic word, which can mean 'patron', 'master', 'leader', or 'friend', depending on its context. Shi'a Muslims believe this sermon to be a clear designation of Ali to lead the Muslim community after Muhammad and celebrate the anniversary of the event as Eid al-Ghadir. The Sunni community meanwhile regards the declaration as a simple affirmation of Muhammad's esteem for Ali.

Mecca Province (Arabic: مِنْطَقَة مَكَّة, romanized: Minṭaqat Makka, Arabic pronunciation: [ˈmin.tˤa.qat ˈmak.ka]), officially Makkah Province, is one of the 13 provinces of Saudi Arabia. It is the third-largest province by area at 153,128 km (59,123 sq mi) and the second most populous with 7,769,994 inhabitants as of 2022. It is located in the historic Hejaz region, and has an extended coastline on the Red Sea. Its capital is Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, and its largest city is Jeddah, which is Saudi Arabia's main port city. The province accounts for 26.29% of the population of Saudi Arabia and is named after the Islamic holy city of Mecca.

Historically, the area was inhabited by the Quraysh, the Banu Kinanah and the Thaqif, among other tribes. Part of the Hejaz region, the province has seen several exchanges of power between many Islamic realms within a short period of time. The province gains its significance as it contains the city of Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad, and several other historic Islamic sites, such as the village of Hudaybiyyah, where the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah is said to have been agreed upon. More recently, the province was modernized under the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after the oil boom.Most of the population is concentrated in three cities: Jeddah, Mecca and Taif. Jeddah is the largest city in the province and the second-largest in Saudi Arabia with an estimated population of 2,867,446 as of 2020. Mecca is the second-largest city in the province and third-largest in the kingdom at 1,323,624. After the city of Ta'if at third place, Rabigh, Shafa, Turbah and Jumum are other populous cities and towns in the region. The region receives Muslim pilgrims of the Umrah and the Hajj around the year and its population increases by up to 2 million during the Hajj. It has approximately 700 kilometres (430 mi) of coastline on the Red Sea and hosts oil refineries in Rabigh, port and oil export facilities in Jeddah, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and the King Abdullah Economic City. The province also hosts part of the Haramain High Speed Railway line, which is Saudi Arabia's first and only high-speed railway line.

King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC, /ˈkeɪk/; Arabic: مدينة الملك عبد الله الاقتصادية) is a planned city in Rabigh Governorate, Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia. It was announced as a megaproject in 2005 by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. It is located in close proximity to Thuwal, almost 100 km (62 mi) north of Jeddah.

It was one of six megaprojects that were announced in 2005 and is the only one that was launched. By 2018, The Financial Times wrote that the city had not attracted investment or become a hub for logistics and manufacturing, contrary to the grand plans behind the project. By 2018, the city had a population of 7,000.