Kingdom is ready to welcome Ramadan
Saturday 13 June 2015
RIYADH: Imams in mosques across the Kingdom, including those in Makkah and Madinah, used Friday's sermons to welcome the holy month of Ramadan with an immense sense of piety and requested their respective congregations to strictly follow the teachings of the Holy Qur'an during the fasting month.
Ramadan is expected to begin Thursday, depending on the visibility of the crescent. Next week, the Supreme Court in Riyadh will make a call on all Muslims in the Kingdom to sight the crescent of the month of Ramadan to determine the beginning of the month.
In his sermon at a mosque in Malaz in Riyadh, an Imam described Ramadan as the month of charity and requested Muslims to help alleviate poverty from society. “Helping the less fortunate is a must during the holy month,” he stressed.
He urged the members of the congregation to cultivate the habit of fasting among their children during the holy month. He added that such habits will go a long way in the children's life since they are the future generation of the Kingdom
An imam in another mosque said that Islam allows the sick to abstain from fasting but he stressed that they have to feed the poor in compensation for their loss of fasting days.
Pregnant and feeding mothers can refrain from fasting but they have to cover up the lost days during their healthy period. "The month is an ideal opportunity for people to relinquish their bad habits and cultivate healthy behavioral patterns", the imam said.
Quoting a well-known Islamic saying, an imam at a mosque in Nasseriyah said: "A day of fasting during this holy month will keep a Muslim away from hell for 70 years."
"You must mentally prepare yourselves to perform meritorious work during the holy month of Ramadan which comes once a year," the imam.
Last week, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, approved the emergency plan of General Directorate of Civil Defense for Ramadan in Makkah and Madinah, which aims to strengthen preventive measures related to the works of civil defense and maintain the safety of Umrah performers throughout the holy month.
http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/761221
38 medical centers to serve Ramadan visitors
Sunday, 14 June 2015 - 27 Shaban 1436
JEDDAH — Makkah Health Affairs has reported that there will be 38 medical centers open for Umrah pilgrims during Ramadan.
Makkah Haj and Umrah Director Tawfiq Abu Talib said there will be two medical centers inside the Grand Mosque.
“The first center will be located at Gate 85 on the first floor on the western side of the mosque and the second center will be located near Al-Salam Gate on the eastern side of the mosque. There will also be 36 medical centers set up outside the Grand Mosque,” said Abu Talib.
He said the centers are fully equipped with the required machinery, technology and medical and administrative staff.
“If cases need to be transferred to hospitals, the medical staff is ready to transport the patients to any hospital in Makkah.
The centers will be open 24 hours a day, every day of the week. There are separate sections for women and men,” said Abu Talib.
He said Al-Juhfah Center on the Madinah-Makkah Highway will aid pilgrims and visitors driving from Madinah to Makkah.
“We have contracted with Ajyad Hospital, King Abdulaziz Hospital, Hiraa Public Hospital, Al-Nouf Specialized Hospital, Maternity and Children's Hospital and many others.
They are all fully equipped and have enough capacity to receive pilgrims or visitors of the Grand Mosque who fall sick,” he said.
A source from Ajyad Hospital said the hospital has contracted with Makkah Health Affairs to ensure that certain medical services will be available when needed during Ramadan.
“We are ready to receive patients in our intensive care unit, emergency ward, cardiovascular diseases ward and gastronomical diseases ward.
We have dedicated an entire team of medical staff to serve visitors of the Grand Mosque. We have also carried out maintenance of our facilities in order to offer smooth and optimum medical treatment to patients during Ramadan,” said the source.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20150614247193 Non-Muslims urged to respect holy month 
Saturday 13 June 2015
RIYADH: With Ramadan likely to start on Thursday, non-Muslims have been urged to respect the holy month and abstain from eating, drinking and smoking in public.
The Ministry of Interior issues a notice every year to ensure that those of other faiths understand and abide by the country’s laws. Failure to do so can result in legal trouble.
For Muslims, it is a month of spiritual training where they do everything they can to get closer to Allah. There is not only abstention from food and drink and marital relations during daylight hours, but also striving to help others in need.
For those who are overweight and obese, the month of fasting can assist in losing those extra kilograms, which are the cause of so many chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.
Some non-Muslim expatriates here have been known to fast, in an attempt to gain an understanding of this religious duty and achieve some spiritual enlightenment.
“I consider Ramadan as the best time for spiritual molding by controlling my worldly desires. This is the month I practice abstaining from arrogance, vanity, gossiping, backbiting, cursing, disrespecting others and the like,” expatriate Saleh Bucay told Arab News.
“I humbly appeal to our non-fasting fellow expats to be curious and cautious at the same time. As a sign of respect, they should avoid eating or drinking in front of those who are fasting, particularly in public areas.”
A Filipino worker, Neil Grajo, told Arab News that he fasted last year to lose weight, change some of his bad habits, and show some respect for his Muslim colleagues at work.
“Ramadan could be good for a country such as the Philippines where smoking and drinking alcohol is widespread, which has not only cost people money but also their lives,” Grajo said. He said bad habits and immorality cannot be changed without actual physical training.
Sa’dullah Khan, in an article entitled ‘Why Do Muslims Fast,’ stated: “Through fasting, the human being comes to grips with his carnal self, taming his physical appetites, subduing his greed and lust, and thus traversing a path which progressively elevates his consciousness from the physical to the moral and ultimately to the spiritual dimension of his being.”
http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/761211 
the leftover spaces will probably be used for lamps
