Makkah News and Updates

Eid Mubarak

Eid call: Help crisis-hit fellow Muslims



FERVOR: Makkah’s Grand Mosque was jam-packed with millions of Muslims offering Eid prayers on Monday.

Tuesday 29 July 2014

Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, performed Eid Al-Fitr prayer at the Grand Mosque in Makkah in the presence of a massive congregation.

He was joined by Prince Bandar bin Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, Education Minister Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Prince Ahmad bin Abdulaziz, Prince Khaled bin Fahd bin Khalid and Deputy Crown Prince Muqrin.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah was congratulated on the advent of Eid Al-Fitr by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi and King Abdallah of Jordan via telephone, while former Prime Minister of Lebanon Saad Hariri also attended the prayers.
 

In his Eid sermon, Imam Saleh Al-Humaid said the Muslim nation should be considered a single body, where if one part is in pain, the whole body becomes responsive, just like a healthy body is all-encompassing.

“Muslims in neighboring countries are facing crises, problems and catastrophes provoked by enemies,” he said.

“Muslim orphans, widowers, homeless people, refugees, the less fortunate and the sickly are in need of our support and solace,” he said. “Indeed, many of our fellow Muslims are spending this Eid in misery and humiliation.” He expressed his gratitude for divine bounties while urging Muslims to be pious and God-fearing.

Al-Humaid told listeners that humans are intrinsically social creatures. “People need one another in all aspects of life,” he said. “Everyone should have access to food, housing, clothing, education, treatment and employment, but we humans also have emotional needs that are fulfilled through friendship and networking based on need or mutual interest.”

He added: “Individual morals and ethics are manifested through their relations with others, whether relatives, friends or strangers. “Loneliness and isolation are not conducive for any human being, let alone believers.”

Al-Humaid highlighted the importance of empathizing with the plight of fellow Arabs.

Money is not the only means to help out, said the sheikh.

“Roads to charity include good deeds and sound morals,” he said. “People’s first source of happiness should first and foremost be their belief and faith in God and their desire to engage in good deeds without expecting praise in return.”

Al-Humaid also advised believers to use Eid as an opportunity for reconciliation and to drop grudges and ill-feelings.

Eid at the Prophet’s Mosque

Meanwhile, more than one million performed Eid prayers at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. Sheikh Salah Al-Budair the led prayers and delivered the Eid sermon.

“We must preserve our religion and follow our Prophet’s guidance,” he said. “We also must true understand Qur’anic verses without perverting their original meanings.”

Eid in Riyadh

Riyadh also greeted the beginning of Eid Al-Fitr with zeal and zest.

Eid prayers were offered at around 400 mosques, while special arrangements were made for women by placing improvised partitions just after sunrise.

Riyadh Gov. Prince Turki bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz performed Eid Al-Fitr prayers at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah mosque and later met with princes, scholars, senior officials and a group of citizens, who came to congratulate him on the auspicious occasion.

Prince Turki also visited patients in hospital and wished them a speedy recovery, joy and tranquility.

Riyadh’s governorate and municipality collaborated with several official and unofficial bodies to come up with elaborate arrangements for recreational events and colorful activities throughout the city.

The Riyadh Police has made a comprehensive security plan for the weeklong festivities.

Seven locations, including the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in Malaz and the King Fahd International Stadium in Naseem, were the scenes of much-awaited festivals and dazzling fireworks displays, according to sources from the Riyadh Municipality.

Festive locations were distributed geographically across the city, while the firework show will commence at 11:15 p.m. over a period of three days.
“The fireworks display is fascinating to watch,” said one housewife. “The explosion of various colors against a black sky truly gripped me.”

Another major attraction during the grand celebrations is the fountain dance show at the King Abdullah Park in Malaz.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/609086

Sheikh Ali Al-Hudhaifi:
''A life devoted to piety''

Tuesday, 29 July 2014

MADINAH — Sheikh Ali Abdulrahman Al-Hudhaifi is one of the imams of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.

Al-Hudhaifi was born in the Al-Qarn Al-Mustaqeem village to the north of Makkah and grew up in a pious family. His father was an imam for the Saudi Army.

The young Hudhaifi learned the Qur'an from teachers in his village. He memorized several chapters of the Qur’an as a student and has rigorously studied the Shariah and its sciences.

He joined the private Salafiyah School in Baljurashi in 1961 and finished secondary school there. Then he joined the Scientific Institute in the same Province in 1963 and completed his high school education in 1968.

Al-Hudhaifi continued his undergraduate studies at the College of Shariah at Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, graduating in 1972, and was appointed an instructor at the Scientific Institute where he had studied.

He used to teach Islamic Sciences and Arabic besides being an imam and preacher at a mosque in Baljurashi. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1975 and subsequently a PhD from Al-Azhar University in Cairo.

He joined his alma mater, Imam Muhammad Bin Saud University, in 1977 where he taught Islamic sciences at the College of Shariah. He also taught undergraduate students the Islamic schools of thought and the recitation of the Qur’an at the College of the Holy Qur’an.

Al-Hudhaifi is considered one of the most distinguished Qur’an reciters in the Kingdom and across the Islamic World. He has many national and international recordings and certifications for his recitation from many notable sheikhs including Ahmad Abdulaziz Alziyat, Amer Alsaid Uthman, Abdulfattah Alqadi and Hammad Al-Ansari.

Alongside his academic career, Al-Hudhaifi was an imam at the Quba Mosque. He became an imam of the Prophet’s Mosque in 1979. Except for a brief interval in 1981-82 when he was appointed the imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Al-Hudhaifi continued to lead prayers at the Prophet’s Mosque since then. He also serves as the head of the committee that reviews copies of the Qur’an printed in Madinah as well as a member of the supervisory committee for audio copies of the Qur’an and the higher committee in the King Fahd Qur’an Printing Complex.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20140729212974

Makkah governor orders
confiscation of fake Qur'an copies

Emir takes quick action after
tampered copies of Qur’an found in Jeddah


King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Quran in Madinah. Authorities are warning Muslims
against unauthorized copies of the Qur'an and other reading materials that are being sold in malls and markets in Jeddah.

Friday, 01 August 2014

JEDDAH – Emir of Makkah Prince Mishal Bin Abdullah has issued directives to speedily withdraw tampered copies of the Holy Qur’an found in some stores in malls and shopping centers in the Jeddah governorate, Saudi Press Agency reported Thursday.

Prince Mishal issued orders to form a committee, comprising representatives of the region’s police and the ministries of Islamic affairs, commerce and industry, and culture and information to investigate how tampered copies of the Holy Book entered the country.

The committee will make sure all such copies are pulled out from store shelves and question merchants to discover their source and how they were sold without verifying their accuracy. The committee will present its findings to pertinent authorities for further action.

The tampered copies wrapped in attractive packages were sold at a very low price, prompting many people to buy them without ascertaining their source.

King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Glorious Qur’an in Madinah is the sole agency authorized to print and distribute the Holy Book in the Kingdom. However, copies printed and distributed by reliable agencies in some Arab countries can be purchased from stores in Saudi Arabia.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20140801213233

Makkah 2014

27 July 2014



















http://www.3alyoum.com/news/a/%D9%85...6%D9%90%D9%8A/

29 July 2014

Masjid Al-Mustarah, a witness to history

Saturday, 02 August 2014

MADINAH — Masjid Al-Mustarah, located 2.5 kilometers northwest of the Prophet's Mosque, has acquired its name because the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) rested and prayed at this place after her returned from the Battle of Uhud.

Mustarah in Arabic means to take rest. Whenever the Prophet visited the graves of the martyrs of Uhud, he rested at the place.

It is also called Bani Haritha Mosque because it is located among houses belonging to the tribe.

The mosque was built during the times of the Prophet and Madinah historians say the Prophet prayed in the mosque.

The mosque is located to left of the road leading to Uhud Mountain and is about half a meter above ground.

Due its historical significance, the mosque was renovated and expanded during the Saudi era.

The mosque is rectangular in shape and occupies a 491-square-meter area and is distinguishable by its beautiful dome and minaret. The mosque has entrances from the east, west and north.

Historian Ahmad Murshed said the mosque is located among the homes of Bani Haritha. A Turkish castle that stood west of the mosque was removed in 1995.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20140802213307

General statistics
of the Umrah season 1435/2014



Until 6 Shawal 1435 - 3 August 2014

Total Number of the Mutamirs:

*6,051,620*
______________________________________
Number expected for the whole Umrah season
6,000,000

* Mutamir/s: is/are the one who come into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
to perform Umrah rituals and visit the Prophet's Holy Mosque.