Within the framework of the cultural activities of the Encyclopaedia Project, H.E. Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, the Chairman of Al-Furqan, delivered a lecture at Leiden University on the 14th of November 1997, entitled "Uncovering the Home of Prophet Muhammad in Makkah".
The lecture focused on the history of the house of Khadija (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). It follows the history of this house from the marriage of the Messenger (peace be upon him), until his migration (Hijrah), and hence, the passing of the house into the hands of ‘Aqil, and then Mu’awiya ibn Abu Sufyan, then the Abbasid caliphs, then the Mamluks, the Ottomans, the time of King Abdul Aziz, up to the excavations undertaken by Sheikh Yamani in 1989.
The lecture was part of the Symposium which marked the 70th Anniversary of the establishment of the Institute of Oriental Studies at Leiden.
After the lecture, Sheikh Yamani and the delegation with him visited the exhibition, which was set up in the home of the well-known orientalist, Christian Snouck Hurgronje, where he exchanged speeches and symbolic gifts (among which were original manuscripts and rare photographs) with the Director of the Institute.