Interactive resemiotization and Sacred Timespace: multimedia representations of Prophet Muhammad’s life in Medina after <i>hijrah</i>

Abstract The International Fair and Museum of the Prophet’s Biography employs immersive, technologically enabled multimedia to depict socio-historical moments from the life of Prophet Muhammad and his companions in Medina (formerly Yathrib) following the sacred event of hijrah . Informed by this, the study develops a tripartite theoretical framework to analyze these depictions. Data are drawn from selected exhibits, including representations of ancient Medina after hijrah , the Prophet’s Chamber, and the Minbar within the Prophet’s Mosque. The analysis yields three key findings. First, Sacred Timespace emerges as a dialectical construct linking past and present, generating a-temporal moments that transform historical archetypes into an enduring present. Second, the museum cityscape of Medina post- hijrah illustrates a kinetic semiosis that evokes topophilia – an affective bond between visitors and sacred place. Third, the resemiotized visual-ideational meanings of the Prophet’s Chamber and Minbar articulate Sacred Timespace, where interactive narration and architectural representation confer sanctified, extratemporal qualities.