The ruling on describing the city of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as al-Munawwarah

Question : And is it called al-Munawwarah, or described in some other way? The name al-Madinah al-Munawwarah has become well known among people now.

Answer : There is no doubt that al-Madinah al-Munawwarah is illuminated by the message, but this illumination is not specific to it; every land that Islam enters is illuminated by Islam. So the best description is to say al-Madinah al-Nabawiyyah. If you must describe it, say al-Madinah al-Nabawiyyah or the city of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) migration, but that is long, so say al-Nabawiyyah. I have not heard al-Madinah al-Munawwarah in the books of the early scholars, and I do not know when this title came about.