Al-Aqiq: the valley as a place of ihram and the carnelian stone in law (aqiq)

In the lexicon, al-aqiq is a valley cut by a torrent, and a red stone used for the settings of rings ¹.

The Shafi'is prefer that people of the east begin ihram from al-Aqiq; the Malikis and Hanbalis hold that the station for the people of Iraq is Dhat 'Irq ².

The majority do not allow tayammum with it, while the Hanafis allow it as being of the kind of earth. The majority hold that it carries no zakat unless it is held for trade; the Hanbalis require zakat on it ². It is not subject to riba; the schools differ on advance sale of it, and most jurists allow men to wear it as an adornment ³.

Stations of ihram are treated under «mawaqit», tayammum under «tayammum», and zakat under «zakat» ².

The Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.) treats al-'Akik as the name of several valleys, mines and places in Arabia and elsewhere. A valley is a bed cut out by a stream. The best-known 'Akik is the valley just west of Medina, separated from the city by Harrat al-Wabra; it runs north to join Wadi al-Hamd, the classical Idam, which empties into the Red Sea south of al-Wajh. After heavy rain it fills with a broad river, and when the rains fail only its wells remain. ⁴

In the Prophet ﷺ's time the first stage of the route from Medina to Mecca ran through al-'Akik to Dhu l-Hulayfa, as the modern road does. The traditions describe Muhammad's fondness for the "blessed valley", where he was once told by a messenger from God to pray. As the valley lay in the territory of Muzayna, he gave it as a fief to Bilal b. al-Harith of that tribe, and he set up a reserve (hima) for the horses of the Muslims at al-Naqi', up the valley from Medina. When Bilal did nothing to improve the land, the caliph 'Umar took most of it and distributed it among deserving Muslims. For several generations the valley flourished, with wells, gardens and fields, and with the country houses of the 'Alids and other notables of Medina. ⁴

Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas retired to his estate in al-'Akik when 'Ali became caliph. The poets praised the scene and its famous wells: Bir Ruma, later known as Bir 'Uthman after 'Uthman b. 'Affan, who bought it from its Jewish owner and gave its water to the Muslims, and Bir 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr. The water of al-'Akik was so sweet that it was sent as far as Harun al-Rashid in Iraq. With the decline of 'Abbasid power and the growth of insecurity in the Hijaz, the valley lapsed into its old somnolence for centuries. ⁵

Another 'Akik, called 'Akik Dhat Irq by the older authors, runs north from the neighbourhood of al-Ta'if along the inner side of the Hijaz range. Some writers connect it with 'Akik al-Madina, but recent hydrographic studies show that it drains into a large swampy basin called al-Akul, between Mecca and Medina. A great valley in central Arabia was known as 'Akik al-Yamama or 'Akik Tamra; it is identified with the Wadi l-Dawasir, where the settlement still bears the name Tamra and a nearby salt flat is still called al-'Akik. Al-Hamdani describes Tamra as a town with 200 Jews. Other valleys in Arabia bear the name, one of them in Iraq south of the Euphrates, and on the Red Sea coast of the Sudan a village named 'Akik stands on a gulf of the same name. ⁵