Madina: The owner of a private school in Madina has been accused of appropriating an ancient well dating back to the time of the Prophet (pbuh) by painting and incorporating it into the school perimeter wall. The Ghars Well in Qubaa' in Madina now stands beside a shaded staff parking lot with visitors able to view it through an iron-grated window. Next to that is the school sports ground. On Monday the mayoralty began delving into its archives to see if a license had been issued for construction work at the site, and the Qubaa' municipality has been asked to “urgently provide” all its documents related to building work at the school. Mayoralty spokesman Ayed Al-Bulaihishi warned, meanwhile, that the authority would have “no hesitation in repossessing the well if one inch of land is found to have been taken illegally”. The owner himself has claims that he has done no wrong, saying the well lies on property he has owned for 40 years, and that the Tourism and Antiquities Commission “did not respond to my repeated requests for it to be protected from vandals”. “People have been throwing in clothes of the dead and burning them,” he said. “I wanted to set up a place for prayer, but I was surprised by the strong resistance for which no reason was given.” Tanaidhib Al-Faidi, a former head of Madina Education and reputed historian, said the school owner had “encroached on the well with no consideration for its historical value”. “We should not ignore this crime,” he said. “The authorities should look into the issue as soon as possible. According to Al-Faidi, the well is one of the seven mentioned in authenticated Hadiths. “The well is of historical value since the Prophet (pbuh) used its water for ablution and poured the remainder back,” he said. “He later asked Ali Bin Abi Taleb (May Allah be pleased with him) to wash him with its water when he died,” he said. Increasing instances of Islamic and historic sites being taken over by private landowners have led historians and locals to demand action from Madina's Tourism Department. “These practices have been going on for a long time with the full knowledge of some officials,” one person said.
