The full name of the mosque Masjid al-Haram. "Masjid" in Arabic means "mosque", that is, a place in which worship is performed, "al-Haram" means "forbidden". In Russian translation it sounds like "Forbidden Mosque".
Holy Kaaba
In the center of the mosque is the famous Kaaba - a place for worship of believers in the form of a cubic structure, completely covered with black fabric, quite large in size: 15 meters high, 10 meters long and 12 meters wide. The building is made of granite and has a room inside. It was erected by the messenger Ibrahim with the aim of worshiping mankind to the only Creator of the universe - Allah. Since then, all devout Muslims, wherever they are, turn towards the Kaaba when performing prayers. Temple al-Haram with the Kaaba are associated with one of the most important rituals - Hajj.
According to Arabic tradition, for the first time a sanctuary on the site of the modern Kaaba was established by Adam. When the punishment in the form of the Flood was sent to the earth, Ibrahim again restored the shrine. Before Allah sent Islam to people, there was a pagan sanctuary of the Quraish here. After the coming of the Prophet Mohammad,s.a.v. The Kaaba has become a place of worship for Muslims - Qibla. Every mosque in the world has a niche, or mihrab, that indicates the location of the Qibla for worshipers.
One of the pillars of Islam is prayer
The believer is convinced that he came into this world with the sole purpose of worshiping the Almighty. All actions and thoughts of a person should be connected with the name of Allah. For any gesture and word, the servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Judgment. One of the main duties of every Muslim is the five times prayer. This is a prayer performed in a state of ablution (ritual purity) at the allotted time five times a day.
In any city where Muslims live and there is a mosque, the muezzin from the minaret calls on the faithful to pray. At this time, it seems that life has stopped, everything is filled with a voice pronouncing the azan. Any Muslim city at this moment stops its usual course, and people are preparing to pray. Nothing on earth can be more important than prayer. Because the Holy Quran says that one rak'ah of prayer is the most precious thing on earth.
The role of the mosque in the life of a believer
A mosque is the place where you can take a break from the mundane and retire with thoughts of the eternal. It is preferable to perform prayer with other brothers and sisters in the premises of the mosque. This is called collective prayer.
Since the time of Islam has firmly taken its place in history, the mosque has become the main element of any city where the followers of the Prophet Mohammad s.a.w. lived.
Etymologically, a mosque is a place where sujud is performed - earthlybow. A person is obligated to worship only before Allah. Islam forbids bowing before anyone else. This, according to faith, is a great sin and is called "Associating God with partners."
The mosque has always combined spiritual, cultural and socio-political functions. From the very beginning of religion, mosques have not only advocated prayer. But they preached the doctrine, helped the poor, and solved the most important social and political issues.
The mosque has always been and is the focus of purity, both spiritual and physical. It is not allowed to enter the Creator's house on earth without observing ritual washing. Also, any work to keep the mosque clean is welcome, for which a person will definitely receive a reward after death.
The Four Pillars of Faith
In addition to prayer, a Muslim must perform four more duties: pronounce the shahada - evidence of monotheism, make a pilgrimage - hajj to Mecca, fast annually at a strictly defined time, give zakat - alms to the poor.
Forbidden Mosque
Currently, the quota for pilgrims from Russia is more than 20,000 people.
Every year, more than 2 million adherents of Islam come to the al-Haram mosque. Many Muslims dream of one day coming to pray at the Al-Haram Mosque (Mecca, Saudi Arabia). This mosque is indicated exactly 15 times in the Koran. She has a very rich history. This mosque is older than the Palestinian mosque of Beit al-Muqaddas.
For the first time, al-Haram wasIt was built in 1570 and today it has 4 main entrances and 44 additional ones. Today, 700,000 people can pray in the mosque at the same time. Nine minarets 89 meters high adorn the main mosque of three floors. There are also underground covered galleries open to pilgrims on weekends. Two huge power plants light up the complex. Everything is built in accordance with the latest technology and the latest trends: radio and TV broadcasting, air conditioning. This is done solely to ensure a comfortable stay for pilgrims. The greatness of al-Haram and the Kaaba is not in rich decoration, but in its simplicity and holiness.
The main shrine of the Muslim world
Masjid al-Haram differs from other mosques in the world in that Muslims from all over the world flock here every year to prostrate themselves before Allah and fulfill one of the pillars of Islam. Thousands of people from different countries and nationalities, different skin colors and social status gather together to glorify the Creator of Earth and Heaven, learn something new or share their experience and knowledge, their problems.
After the death of the last prophet Mohammad S. A. V., and his body was transferred to Medina, the al-Haram mosque (Saudi Arabia) became the single qibla of all Muslims.
At first, following the example of Mohammad, Muslims prayed in the direction of the Beit al-Muqaddas mosque in Jerusalem, as did the Jews. However, the Jews opposed this in every possible way, which upset the great prophet. And then the Almighty sent him a revelation in the form144 verses of Surah Baqarah, in which he pointed out to the prophet a single qibla for Muslims - the al-Haram mosque. Since then, five times every day, millions of Muslim people turn in this direction and pray to the Creator. Entrance to Mecca is open only to devout Muslims who come here in the 12th month of the Muslim calendar.
Reconstruction of the complex
Constantly large funds are spent on the expansion and improvement of the mosque. Not only Saudi Arabia is making its contribution, in whose possessions the mosques of Mecca and Medina are developing, but also Egypt, Iran, Turkey.
One of the serious problems - overcrowding of the mosque and traffic jams - was planned to be solved during the reconstruction by increasing the area. To facilitate the stay of worshipers in Mecca, one metro line was erected, connecting two places of worship.
The last time the mosque underwent a large-scale reconstruction at the beginning of the 21st century, from 2007 to 2012, as a result of which the area increased to 400,000 sq.m. The king of Saudi Arabia laid a symbolic stone to increase the area. The main mosque of al-Haram Saudi Arabia has changed beyond recognition. This can be seen by anyone who decides to visit her. You can also appreciate the beauty of the al-Haram mosque with the help of numerous images (photos are presented below). In the entire history of the mosque, this reconstruction is the most grandiose. Upon completion of construction, the complex became one and a half times larger. And now more than 1.12 million people can pray at the same time.believers, and if we take into account all the adjacent buildings, then the number of participants increases to 2.5 million.
Seizure of the mosque in 1979
It wasn't always so good. In 1979, the pilgrims had to endure a monstrous hostage-taking by terrorists right during the Hajj. About five hundred armed people barricaded themselves in the building of the mosque, and from the height of the minaret, from where they call for prayer, the ringleader Juhayman al-Utaibi outlined his demands. The essence of their actions was that they were the ideologists of a long-standing prediction, according to which, before the Day of Judgment, the Mahdi was to come to the land and purify Islam. The invaders directly opposed the fact that the ruling circles acquired luxury, that people began to make images of people, Saudi Arabia does business with America and sells oil to it, against television, excessive permissiveness in behavior. The invaders urged to worship a new mission - the Mahdi at the walls of the Kaaba. The fact that they decided to shed blood on the Holy Land, the militants explained by the inability to tolerate the oppression of religion.
The fight against the invaders lasted more than two weeks until the Masjid al-Haram mosque was completely freed from the bandits. The Saudi government could not cope on its own and was forced to turn to the French for help. Three specialists flew out of France, whose role was limited to consulting assistance. They were not supposed to take part in the liberation, as they were not Muslims. When the assault ended, the terrorists were beheaded onarea. It was the worst execution in Saudi Arabia in 50 years.
