History of Ta’if of Saudi Arabia

Ta’if had its beginning as a city as far back as 670 BC and enjoyed the prestige of a commercially strategic center for more than 1000 years.

Ta’if was an important city during the Prophet Muhammad’s lifetime and a center of worship for one of several pagan goddesses.

The prophet had preached his message of monotheism and moral accountability at Ta’if in 620. But the people there sent out their slaves and children to stone the prophet in the streets.

The name Ta’if comes from the Arabic word, meaning ‘to surround’. Ta’if acquired its name after the Thaqif tribe defeated and expelled the Hawazin bani amir from the oasis and the built a wall to prevent their being force out.

This walled area was called Madinah Jahiliyah and controlled the oasis in the pre-Islamic period. The Thaqif remade the oasis to support a substantial agricultural community. They developed irrigation canals, improved cropping, regulated the right and liabilities of farmers and landowners and exported their agricultural products.

In the days of the trade routes, Ta’if served as a welcome refuge from the hardships of a long, arduous journey. In more recent times it has become a retreat from the oppressive summer heat of Jeddah and other lowland areas.
History of Ta’if of Saudi Arabia