Five Things About Al Ukhdud Historical Site in Najran

 

1.     Situated in the Southern part of Najran City. A fence and an entrance gate surround the place for the visitors. The visitor must submit a valid ID to one the guards before entering the site.

2.    The name “Al Ukhdud” translates to “ditch” or “groove.” In year 523 B.C.E, it was told in history that thousand of Christians were burned because they refused to renounce their faith to Judaism ordered by a Jewish king.

3.     Al Ukhdud is mentioned in the Holy Book of Qu’ran Chapter 85:1-10: “By the sky containing great stars, and by the promised day and by the witness and what is witnessed, cursed were the companions of the trench, containing the fire full of fuel. When they were sitting near it and they, to what they were doing against the believers, were witnesses. And they resented them not because they believed in Allah, the Exalted in might, the Praiseworthy. To whom belongs the dominion of heavens and earth. And Allah, over all things is witness. Indeed, those who have tortured the burning men and burning women and then have not repented will have the punishment of Hell, and they will have the punishment of the Burning Fire.

4.    The place was once a part of Yemen then in 1934 it became a part of the territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

5.    Home to artifacts and important historical and archaeological discoveries not just for the whole kingdom but for all Arabian Peninsula as well. On the walls were old carvings of manuscripts and drawings of animals and symbols dating back from Byzantine, Umayyad and Abbasid periods. There were relics of ancient houses and a mosque as evidenced by blocks and pebbles in the area.