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Over 13,000 spend last 10 days of Ramadan at Prophet’s Mosque

Arab News
June 18, 2017

Madinah, Jun 18: The Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques announced the number of mutakifeen — those who seclude themselves in the Prophet’s Mosque for the last 10 days of Ramadan — numbered 13,575.

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Of this number, 11,432 are men and 2,143 are women, according to an undersecretariat official, Saud Al-Saedi, who was quoted by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Three areas have been designated for men and one for women. Both areas are provided with trained employees and technical equipment, he said, adding that all stayers are registered within an electronic system. There are rules that must be followed, such as keeping the area clean, not disturbing other worshipers, not damaging the mosque walls and furniture, and ending their stay by the end of Isha prayer, the night of Eid Al-Fitr.

Al-Saedi said that next year, those who plan itikaf at the Prophet’s Mosque — from within and outside the country — can register online and receive cards before they arrive at the mosque.

SR250,000 for a suite in Makkah

In Makkah, the price for a 10-day stay in a five-star, Haram-overlooking suite is SR250,000 ($66,664), while prices start from SR40,000 in hotels around the Grand Mosque but not overlooking it, according to an Al-Eqtisadiah report. Lower hotel prices are found in more distant areas.

The Emergency Forces Department in Madinah is operating under directions from the king, crown prince and deputy crown prince regarding visitors to the Two Holy Mosques. During the last 10 days of Ramadan, the department’s Prophet’s Mosque Force continues to organize and handle the masses, grouping them on the basis of capacity, from Al-Salam Gate to the Holy Rawdha, and then to the Baqeea Graveyard Gate, said Commander Col. B’jad bin Majed Al-Harbi.

He said the number of worshipers will significantly increase in the last two days of Ramadan and more staff will be deployed to prevent people from blocking walkways.

Comments

shamon
 - 
Monday, 19 Jun 2017

It is illogic for the Hotels in Makkah and Madinah for charging too high. Saudi Govt should take note of this. Hoteliers swhould not misuse the opportunity. This is illegal and illogic. what will be their answer ont he day of judgement?

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Agencies
April 8,2020

Riyadh, Apr 8: Saudi Arabia's health minister has warned the number of COVID-19 cases in the country could reach 200,000 in coming weeks.

As of Tuesday, the kingdom registered a total of 2,795 coronavirus infections, including 41 deaths.

"Within the next few weeks, studies predict the number of infections will range from a minimum of 10,000 to a maximum of 200,000," health minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah was cited as saying by the official Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia extended the duration of daily curfews in four governorates and five cities to 24 hours.

The kingdom imposed round-the-clock lockdowns in the capital Riyadh, Tabuk, Dammam, Dhahran and Hofuf, the interior ministry said on Twitter.

The same measures were also imposed on the governorates of Jeddah, Taif, Qatif and Khobar, the ministry added.

Authorities had already sealed off the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, barring people from entering and exiting as well as prohibiting movement between all provinces.

Last month, Saudi Arabia suspended the year-round "Umrah" pilgrimage over fears of the coronavirus pandemic spreading to Islam's holiest cities.

Authorities are yet to announce whether they will proceed with this year's Hajj, scheduled for the end of July. Last week, authorities urged Muslims to temporarily defer preparations for the annual pilgrimage.

Last year, about 2.5 million people travelled to Saudi Arabia to take part in the Hajj, which all Muslims must perform at least once in their lives if able.

The Arab world's biggest economy has also closed down cinemas, malls and restaurants and halted flights as it steps up efforts to contain the virus.

King Salman has warned of a "more difficult" fight ahead against the virus, as the kingdom faces the economic double blow of virus-led shutdowns and crashing oil prices

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Makkah, July 30: Like every year, the Kiswa (black cloth) of holy Kaaba was replaced on Wednesday night, a process administered by the staff of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques in accordance with the annual tradition, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al-Mansouri, deputy head of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques and director-general of the King Abdul Aziz Complex for the Kaaba, said in a statement that the Holy Kaaba was donned with a new Kiswa, constituted of four sides and a sitar (curtain) for the door.

Each of the four parts of the Kiswa was separately raised, in preparation for stretching it on the old side. The side was consolidated from above by tying it and dropping at the other end after the old side’s ropes were untied by moving the new side up and down.

Then, the old side was removed from the bottom and the new side remained, and the process was repeated four times for each section until the operation was complete and the belt was sewn in a line, straight with the four sides, Al-Mansouri said.

Al-Mansouri added: “The process began from the side of the Hateem (a semi-circular wall opposite the northwest wall of the Kaaba), because Al-Mizab (a rainwater spout made of gold) requires a special opening at the top. After consolidating all the sides, the corners were fixed by sewing them from the top of the cloth to the bottom.

Then, the curtain that required more time and hard work was installed by making a small opening with an approximate width of 3.30 meters. Three other holes were made in the black cloth to put the curtain in place under the cloth, and the sides were sewn in the black cloth of the dress, Al-Mansouri said, adding that the Kaaba cloth is made of 670 kg of high-quality silk, 120 kg of gold threads, and 100 kg of silver threads.

As many as 200 Saudi craftsmen are engaged in producing the black curtain at the King Abdul Aziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswa, Al-Mansouri said.

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Agencies
May 31,2020

Riyadh, May 31: Over 90,000 mosques in Saudi Arabia reopened their doors to worshippers on Sunday morning after over a two-month closure as part of an ease in the curfew restrictions to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The worshipers were allowed to enter the mosques, except the mosques in Makkah, from Fajr prayers today morning (Shawwal 8) with a limit of 40 per cent capacity.

The reopening of mosques was be undertaken in accordance with the guidance of Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr Abdullatif Al Asheikh, and in line with advice issued by the Senior Council of Ulemas.

The ministry has embarked on a vigorous media campaign to urge all worshippers to abide by preventive measures for their own safety to curb the spread of Covid-19.Among the instructions are doing ablution at home, hand-washing and using sanitisers before going out to the mosque and after coming back home.

On Saturday, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has approved opening the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah in stages to the public.

The elderly and those with chronic diseases are advised to perform their prayers at home. Reading and reciting the Holy Quran online is advised, too, from one's own mobile phone or at least reading from a privately owned copy of the Holy Quran.

Bringing one's prayer mat to perform prayers in mosques is highly recommended as well as keeping a two-metre distance between one another prayer.

Accompanying children under the age of 15 to the mosques is prohibited. Putting on a face mask and avoiding shaking hands and other contact is also recommended.

Meanwhile, the ministry managed, during the closure of mosques, to undertaking a massive cleaning, sanitising and maintenance drive in all mosques Kingdom-wide, according to world-class standards and best known practices. This included sanitising over 10 million mosques, 43 million copies of several sizes and volumes of the Quran, more than 600,000 Holy Quran cupboards, in addition to repairing and maintaining about 176,000

water closets, annexed to mosques.

 

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