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Midian (Madyan) is one of the few place names in the story of Moses (Musa) (peace be upon him) that the Quran gives clearly. Allah says: « وَإِلَىٰ مَدْيَنَ أَخَاهُمْ شُعَيْبًا » (“And to [the people of] Madyan [We sent] their brother Shu'ayb”, Surat al-Aʿraf, 7:85, translation of the meaning, Sahih International). It is also towards Midian that Moses (peace be upon him) heads after leaving Egypt: « وَلَمَّا تَوَجَّهَ تِلْقَآءَ مَدْيَنَ قَالَ عَسَىٰ رَبِّىٓ أَن يَهْدِيَنِى سَوَآءَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ » (“And when he directed himself toward Madyan, he said, ‘Perhaps my Lord will guide me to the sound way.’”, 28:22).
The Quran does not say where Midian was. It is the Arab geographers who place it here. Yaqut al-Hamawi (died 626 AH) writes, based on Abu Zayd al-Balkhi: « مدين على بحر القلزم محاذية لتبوك على نحو من ست مراحل » (“Madyan is on the Red Sea, opposite Tabuk, about six stages away”). He adds that the well where Moses (peace be upon him) watered the flocks of Shuʿayb is found there (see no. 02).
What you see today: tombs cut into the sandstone. The study published in 2024 describes 35 of them, in two necropolises; the figure of 80 sometimes quoted also counts simple chambers. The façades bear pilasters, friezes and stepped crenellations, as at Hegra, but more eroded. Inside: chambers, burial niches, stairs cut into the rock. To the east, the remains of the ancient town of al-Malha. Further on, an Ottoman fort of the Egyptian hajj road, al-Burj.
These tombs are Nabataean: they date from the 1st century BC to the 2nd century AD, long after the time of Moses (peace be upon him). The name “caves of Shuʿayb” was given later by local people. It does not mean that Shuʿayb (peace be upon him) lived here or is buried here.
A Saudi-French mission (Heritage Commission, King Saud University, CNRS) surveyed the site in 2017 and has been excavating it since 2018. It found very early, Neolithic occupation, then traces from the end of the 2nd millennium BC. In 2021, its researchers published their conclusions: in their view, al-Badʿ is indeed the Madyan of the Arab geographers.
The Prophet ﷺ did not pass through al-Badʿ. During the expedition of Tabuk, in 9 AH, he stayed in Tabuk and received there the delegations of Ayla, Maqna, Jarba and Adhruh.
What is certain and what is not
- Certain: Midian and Shuʿayb (peace be upon him) are in the Quran (7:85; 9:70; 28:22-23). The tombs are Nabataean, from the 1st century BC to the 2nd century AD (archaeological mission).
- Arab geographers: Midian is placed here, opposite Tabuk, on the Red Sea (Yaqut, based on al-Balkhi). Ibn Kathir places it further north, towards Maʿan.
- Tradition: the name “caves of Shuʿayb”. Neither his tomb nor his house is known.
- Reminder: we visit to learn and to reflect on the history of earlier peoples. We do not come here to seek baraka.
Sources
1. Quran, al-Aʿraf 7:85; at-Tawba 9:70; al-Qasas 28:22-23 (text verified, Sahih International translation).
2. Yaqut al-Hamawi, Muʿjam al-buldan, vol. 5, pp. 76-77, entry « مدين ».
3. Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa n-nihaya, vol. 1, p. 426 (Madyan « من أرض معان »).
4. Charloux, Sahlah, Badaiwi, “Madian revealed?”, Semitica et Classica 14, 2021.
5. French Ministry of Culture, Archaeology, al-Badʿ: https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/en/al-bad
6. Saudipedia, “Al-Bad' archaeological site”.
7. Bigot-Demereau L. et al., Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, September 2024 (35 tombs), via The National, 19 September 2024.