Quote · Before the Hijrah, while still in Makkah
أمرت بقرية تأكل القرى يقولون يثرب وهي المدينة
I have been commanded to emigrate to a city that shall devour all other cities. They call it Yathrib, but it is Madinah.
~Around the time of the Hijrah, 622 CE · 1 BH
Madinah was originally called Yathrib. Two years before the Hijrah, while still in Makkah, the Prophet ﷺ told the Muslims of a dream that he would emigrate to a land of many date palms; he first thought it might be al-Yamamah or Hajar, but it turned out to be Madinah. He also taught that he had been commanded to emigrate to a city that would devour all other cities ("they call it Yathrib, but it is Madinah") and that whoever calls the city Yathrib should seek istighfar, because it is al-Tabah/Taybah ("the Pure"). After this, the Qur'an and the Prophet ﷺ only ever call the city Madinah; the name Yathrib appears in the Qur'an only on the tongues of the munafiqun.
Islamically, Muslims are not permitted to call the city Yathrib anymore, since the Prophet ﷺ changed its name himself.
Other events recorded in 1 BH. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.
أمرت بقرية تأكل القرى يقولون يثرب وهي المدينة
I have been commanded to emigrate to a city that shall devour all other cities. They call it Yathrib, but it is Madinah.
Whoever calls Madinah Yathrib should say istighfar, because it is al-Tabah, because it is al-Tabah, because it is al-Tabah.
وَإِذْ قَالَت طَّائِفَةٌ مِّنْهُمْ يَا أَهْلَ يَثْرِبَ لَا مُقَامَ لَكُمْ فَارْجِعُوا
“And when a faction of them said, "O people of Yathrib, there is no stability for you [here], so return [home]."”
The name Yathrib appears in the Qur'an only on the tongues of the munafiqun.
وَمِمَّنْ حَوْلَكُم مِّنَ الْأَعْرَابِ مُنَافِقُونَ ۖ وَمِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ
“And among those around you of the Bedouins are hypocrites, and [also] from the people of Madinah.”
Allah and the Prophet ﷺ always call the city Madinah.