Hafar Al-Batin

Hafar al-Batin (Arabic: حفر الباطن Ḥafar al-Bāṭin), also frequently spelled Hafr al-Batin, is a city in the Hafar al-Batin Governorate, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It is located 430 km north of Riyadh, 94.2 km from the Kuwait border, and about 74.3 from the Iraq border. The city lies in the dry valley of the Wadi al-Batin, which is part of the longer valley of the river Wadi al-Rummah (now dry), which leads inland toward Medina and formerly emptied into the Persian Gulf. The name of Hafar al-Batin (Arabic: حفر الباطن, "the inner hole") is derived from its location; the water hole in the desert.[citation needed]. In the 1st Islamic century after hijrah or 638 CE, Hafar al-Batin was just a highway oasis in the desert that pilgrims passed while traveling to Mecca for Hajj. It falls on the route from Asia towards the Red Sea. It's an ancient desert trail that delivered silk and metals coming from China towards Mecca and Jeddah. The new formed Muslim Caliphate moved in immediately and gained hold of the area. At the time of Islam's arrival, there was little water available in the area, so the pilgrims travelled from Iraq to Mecca on a long route without much water. During the reign of Uthman (644 - 656 CE), many pilgrims complained about the lack of water, and Abu-Musa al-Asha'ari, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad was placed in charge of the area and responded by digging new wells along the route. He ended up leaving a heavy impact on the oasis which eventually turned it into a desert stop. His descendants also resided in the area afterwards in which became a small town.