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The utum (tower-fortresses) of Yathrib

آطام يثرب

An utm is a high fortified tower; pre-Hijra Yathrib was a town of separate towers rather than contiguous houses — Ibn al-Najjar counts fifty-nine utum for the Jews and thirteen for the Arabs settled among them before the Aws and Khazraj, and Ibn Zabala names many. Al-Samhudi names several: the Shab'an tower of Banu 'Ukka in Thamgh of 'Umar's endowment, the Shar'i tower of the Shawt folk below Dhubab, the Walij tower by its end toward Qanat, the two 'Shaykhan' towers held by Jews at the depression of the mosque where the Prophet ﷺ prayed marching to Uhud, and the two towers of the Zabala folk by Abu'l-Hurra's mound 1. Among the Aws–Khazraj towers after the Jews' subjugation: 'Waqim', built by Banu Abd al-Ashhal for Hudayr ibn Simak and giving its name to the quarter; 'al-Ra'l' of Sakhra umm Banu Abd al-Ashhal, their battle-pride at Bu'ath; 'al-Musayyir' of Banu Haritha, in which they were besieged; and 'al-Rayyan' of Banu Mujadhdhi'a ibn Haritha by their mosque in their second quarter 2.

Depth

At a glance

Era
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Region
Arabia
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Architecture

Overview

An utum (singular of atam) is a high, fortified palace-tower. Yathrib before the Hijra, as al-Samhudi presents it, was a city of isolated towers and not of connected houses. 3

The number of towers

Al-Samhudi transmits from Ibn al-Najjar fifty-nine towers belonging to the Jews, and thirteen towers belonging to the Arabs who lived among them before the Aws and the Khazraj. Ibn Zabala gives the names of many of them. 3

Named towers

Among those named in Wafa al-wafa: the tower of al-Shab'an of the Banu 'Akwa, the tower of al-Shar'i of the people of al-Shawt, the tower of the people of al-Walij, the two well-known towers called "the two shaykhs" of the Jews, and the two towers of the people of Zabala. 3

Among the towers of the Aws and the Khazraj after the humiliation of the Jews: "Waqim" of the Banu 'Abd al-Ashhal, "al-Ra'l," "al-Muyassar" of the Banu Haritha, and "al-Rayyan" of the Banu Mujdha'a. 4

See the city of Medina.

Connections

Explore the connections

Related to
Medina

People and things also explored

Mosque of the Two Qiblas· Prophet's Mosque· The Sanctuary of Medina· Judaism in Arabia before Islam· Medina's society at the Hijra· Abu Bakr leads the prayers during the final illness· Abu Sufyan's mission to Medina· al-Ahnaf's Petition to Umar for Basra

Sources

  1. Wafa al-Wafa bi-akhbar dar al-Mustafa — al-Samhudi (older print), p. 177
  2. Wafa al-Wafa bi-akhbar dar al-Mustafa — al-Samhudi (older print), p. 202-204
  3. Wafa al-Wafa bi-akhbar dar al-Mustafa — al-Samhudi (older print), p.177
  4. Wafa al-Wafa bi-akhbar dar al-Mustafa — al-Samhudi (older print), p.202-204
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The utum (tower-fortresses) of Yathrib”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/utum-yathrib/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.

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Mosque of the Two Qiblas

The Banu Salama mosque of Medina, named 'of the two qiblas' because the qibla was turned in it: Ibn Zabala reports that a man of Banu Salama reached them at dawn prayer with word of the change and they turned mid-prayer to the Kaaba — while al-Zamakhshari and the sira tradition make the change fall at zuhr when the Prophet had prayed two rak'as with his Companions, then turned to face the Mizab, the men and women exchanging places; Ibn Hajar reconciles the reports, and al-Majd notes that on Ibn Zabala's version Quba mosque would better deserve the name. Ibn Zabala ascribes the mosque to Banu Sawad ibn Ghanm of Banu Salama by al-Midhad, against al-Matari's ascription to Banu Haram.