Talaʽ al-Badru ʽAlayna

Tala al-Badru Alayna (Arabic: طلع البدر علينا, romanized: Ṭalaʿ al-Badru ʿAlaynā) is a traditional Islamic nasheed.

Many sources state that it was first sung when the Islamic prophet Muhammed (PBUH) reached Medina after leaving his hometown of Mecca during the Hijra. The second line reads “from the Thaniyāt al-Wadāʿ” (ﻣﻦ ﺛﻨﻴﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻮﺩﺍﻉ). Some interpret this as referring to a pass north of Medina and therefore argue that the report is geographically unlikely, since Muhammad is said to have first arrived at Qubāʾ, south of the city. However, classical geographical sources indicate that more than one location bore this name. The medieval geographer Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī described Thaniyat al-Wadāʿ as a pass used by travellers heading toward Mecca, and other early writers likewise mention a similarly named pass on the Meccan side of Medina. The poem itself uses the plural “Thaniyāt,” which some scholars have taken to imply multiple passes. Ibn Hajar al-ʽAsqalani recorded that many authorities identified a Thaniyat al-Wadāʿ on the Mecca road, while also acknowledging another of the same name on the Syrian side. Reports cited by the historian al-Samḥūdī describe Muhammad approaching from Qubāʾ and then passing near an area identified as Thaniyat al-Wadāʿ before entering the city. On this basis, a number of historians regard the geographical objection as inconclusive and consider the reference compatible with a southern as well as a northern approach.

The alternative opinion mainly put forth by Ibn Hajar al-ʽAsqalani is that it was sung for Muhammad upon his arrival at Medina, to welcome him after completing the Battle of Tabuk.^[1][2]