Saudi Arabia permits conducting marriage at 2 holiest sites of Mecca and Medina
28 Jan 2024
Saudi Arabia authorities have allowed conducting marriage contracts at Islam’s two holiest sites in Mecca and Medina.
The permission was granted as part of initiatives launched to enrich the experiences of pilgrims and visitors, according to Gulf News.
The initiative was unveiled by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah allowing the well-organized conducting of nuptial contracts with comfort and ease at the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.
Experts have termed the initiative a “chance” for companies to come up with innovative ideas to organize such events with reverence for both places taken into consideration.
Musaed Al Jabri, Saudi mazoun (known as a marriage official), said conducting a marriage contract at the mosque is permissible in Islam.
He said that the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) is known to have conducted a companion’s nuptial rite at the mosque.
Al Jabri mentioned that conducting the marriage contract at the Prophet’s Mosque is already common among the Medina locals.
“This is due to several reasons,” he said.
“Some of them have the tradition of inviting most relatives of the would-be married couple. Often, the house of the wife-to-be’s family can’t accommodate all the invitees. So, the nuptial contract is conducted at the Prophet’s Mosque or the Qaba Mosque (the first mosque built in Islam),” he added.
Some people, he argued, believe that conducting a marriage contract at the mosque brings “blessing and good luck”.
On rules that attendees of the ceremony should observe, he said they include averting the distraction of worshippers by loud voices.
“It is also important to heed the sanctity of the place and avoid bringing in a lot of coffee, sweets, or food," Al Jabri added.
Millions of Muslims from inside and outside Saudi Arabia annually go to the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah and visit the Prophet’s Mosque and other Islamic landmarks in Medina.
Masjid e nabawi will now turn into a film studio where people will shoot wedding films. There's already a trend where both groom and bride sit side by side inside masajid for their nikah. You'll see brides all dolled up walking through the courtyard of masjid e nabawi drawing attention of ghair mahram men.
It is true that now with the ever increasing crowds and all sorts of bay-adabi taking place in those sacred places, the ruhaniyat aspect of the place is not there anymore, but as Muslims we should be desiring to go anyways because of some form of ibaadaat being possible only there. I suppose this too is a test from Allah.
We can't enter mataaf without ihraam clothes. Then that "unique opportunity for ibaadah" is also lost. Yes, we can offer salah in haram (outside mataaf).
Sitting in Riyadhul Jannah is restricted to one in an year.
I turned a Vegetarian during my 36 days stay there.
Children’s strollers not allowed in mataf January 29, 2024
The General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque announced that there are designated areas for taking in children’s strollers inside the Grand Mosque in Makkah
Okaz/Saudi Gazette
MAKKAH — Children’s strollers will not be allowed to bring in the ground floor of mataf (circumambulating area around the Holy Kaaba), according to the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque.
The authority announced that there are designated areas for taking in children’s strollers inside the Grand Mosque in Makkah. The locations permitted to bring children’s strollers inside the Grand Mosque included the upper floors of mataf, as well as mas’a (running area between Safa and Marwa) where the entry of strollers shall be through the King Fahd Expansion Area.
The authority stated that children’s strollers are also prohibited from entering the holy mosque if there is overcrowding at the mataf and mas’a floors.
Saudi Arabia's Makkah hosted the second Saudi Open Yoga Asana Championship on 27th January, Saturday. Hosted by Al-Wehda Saudi Club, the event saw the participation of several girls and 10 boys who competed at the championship.
Recently in India this incident happened. An organisation is conducting program "visit masjid for non-muslims"
One school students took part in this, non muslim students visited the masjid. They washed their face, hands and legs and entered the masjid, they didn't do wudhu and they watched the activities in masjid.
Non-muslims locals objected to this, they lodged a police complaint, they objected to students doing islamic ritual, the principal of school was arrested, the organisation was sent a show cause notice, a big hangama followed.
Hajj Ministry: Domestic pilgrims will be compensated in the event of violation in accommodation
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah stated that the pilgrim will be compensated with 10 percent of the value of his package in the event of delay for more than two hours for getting accommodation after his arrival at the designated accommodation in Makkah and the Holy Sites.
Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH � The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah revealed that domestic pilgrims are entitled to get compensation in the event of the failure on the part of the Hajj service providing companies and establishments in providing proper accommodation in Makkah and the Holy Sites during the forthcoming Hajj of 2024.
The ministry stated that the pilgrim will be compensated with 10 percent of the value of his package in the event of delay for more than two hours for getting accommodation after his arrival at the designated accommodation in Makkah and the Holy Sites. In such a scenario, the pilgrim can file complaint to the concerned authorities.
The percentage of compensation will be increased to a maximum of 15 percent of the value of the package in the event of monitoring the repetition of the violation by the concerned authorities for a second time. In the event of failure in the provision of the service, housing will be provided under the supervision of the ministry and that is in coordination with the Coordination Council for Domestic Pilgrims Facilities at any cost and the cost will be borne by the concerned Hajj servicing providing firm.
In the event of provision of an accommodation that is contrary to the provisions of the contract, the service provider shall rectify it within two hours and the pilgrim will be compensated on the basis of the delay in providing the service, and the compensation shall be amounted to five percent of the value of the package.
? The compensation also covers the delay in the provision of tent services at the Holy Sites. Every pilgrim, who lodged a complaint about waiting for more than two hours, will be compensated from the value of the package. In the event the pilgrim is not provided housing when he arrived at the tent facility, he will be compensated at a rate of two percent of the value of the package, which is not less than SR300.
If the service provider failed to provide accommodation, the pilgrim will be provided with housing under the supervision of the ministry, and that is in coordination with the Coordinating Council for Domestic Pilgrims Facilities at any cost, and the Hajj service provider shall meet the expense for provision of the service.
If the pilgrim is provided with accommodation that is contrary to the terms and conditions of the contract, he can lodge a complaint with the authorities. If the complaint was proven true, the pilgrim will be compensated at a rate of 10 percent of the value of the package, and that is not less than SR1,500. The ministry also stressed that the maximum time for rectifying these violations should not exceed two hours.
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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