Located near the Hukuru Miskiiy in Maldives, Medhu Ziyaaraiy is the tomb of a religious scholar from Morocco named Abdul Barakat Yoosuf Al Barbary. He is given the credit of converting the Maldives to an Islamic nation back in 1153 AD.
According to the legends, a long time ago, the people of the country were terrorized by a sea demon named ‘Rannamaari’. In order to appease it, a virgin had to be sacrificed every month, if not the people had to suffer the wrath of the demon. Thus, on the last day of each month, a virgin girl was chosen by the king to be shut inside a secluded temple during the night and she was found dead the following day. One day, Abdul Barakat had volunteered to spend the night preventing the king from sacrificing the life of another girl. He had spent the night reciting from the Quran until the fierce sea demon, which had eventually emerged and heard him reciting, had fled. Once the king learnt about the incident, he had made a special agreement with Abdul Barakat. He had promised to convert to Islam only if Abdul could get rid of the demon for good. The challenge was accepted by the Moroccan traveller and when the sea demon didn’t appear again for the next two months, the king, as an act of keeping his promise, ordered the whole nation to embrace the Islamic religion.
People visit Medhu Ziyaaraiy to pay their respects to Abdul Barakat Yoosuf Al Barbary for introducing the enlightenment of Islam to Maldives. Due to the tomb’s close proximity to Hukuru Miskiiy, it is also included in the sights-list of the regular tour guides’ circuit. In addition to locals, many interested tourists also visit the tomb to learn more about this site of historical value.
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