IT is equally difficult to define, politically and geographically, the
limits of Al-Hijaz. Whilst some authors, as Abulfeda,[FN#1] fix its
Northern frontier at Aylah (Fort Al-'Akabah) and the Desert, making
Al-Yaman its Southern limit, others include in it only the tract of
land lying between Meccah and Al-Madinah. The country has no natural
boundaries, and its political limits change with every generation;
perhaps, therefore, the best distribution of its frontier would be that
which includes all the property called Holy Land, making Yambu' the
Northern, and Jeddah the Southern extremes, while a line drawn through
Al-Madinah, Suwayrkiyah, and Jabal Kora-the mountain of Taif-might
represent its Eastern boundary. Thus Al-Hijaz would be an irregular
parallelogram, about two hundred and fifty miles in length, with a
maximum breadth of one hundred and fifty miles.
Two meanings are assigned to the name of this venerated region. Most
authorities make it mean the "Separator," the "Barrier," between Nijd
and Tahamah,[FN#2] or between Al-Yaman and Syria. According to others,
it signifies the "colligated," i.e. by mountains. It is to be observed
that the people of the country, especially the Badawin, distinguish the
lowlands from the high region
[p.377]by different names; the former are called Tahamat al-Hijaz-the
sea coast of Al-Hijaz, as we should say in India, "below the Ghauts;"
the latter is known peculiarly as Al-Hijaz.[FN#3]