Madina means 'city' or 'town', but in Islam the word Madina is actually the name of a city that the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh&hp) migrated to from Mecca. It was previously called Yathrib but was changed to 'Madina al-Munawarah' (The light-filled city) in honor of the Prophet's arrival. It was thus called Madina from thereon as the short form of the name. Madina lies north of Mecca.

The Arabic true form shown says 'al-madina al-Munawara'.