Mecca is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia and the holiest city according to Islam. It is 70 km (43 mi) inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley 277 m (909 ft) above sea level. Its metropolitan population in 2022 was 2.4 million, making it the third-most populated city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh and Jeddah. Around 44.5% of the population are Saudi citizens and around 55.5% are Muslim foreigners from other countries. Pilgrims more than triple the population number every year during the Ḥajj pilgrimage, observed in the twelfth Hijri month of Dhūl-Ḥijjah. With over 10.8 million international visitors in 2023, Mecca was one of the ten most visited cities in the world.
Saud ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Shuraim ; born 19 January 1966) is a Quranic reciter who was one of the prayer leaders and Friday preachers at the Grand Mosque Masjid al-Haram in Makkah. He also holds a Ph.D degree in Sharia at the Umm al-Qura University in Mecca. Shuraim was recently appointed as dean and "Specialist Professor in Fiqh" at the University.
Abdul Rahman ibn Abdul Aziz al-Sudais, better known as al-Sudais, is the Chief Imam of the Grand Mosque, Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, Saudi Arabia; the President of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques; a renowned Qāriʾ ; he was the Dubai International Holy Qur'an Award's "Islamic Personality Of the Year" in 2005. Al-Sudais has preached Islam's opposition to "explosions and terrorism", and has called for peaceful inter-faith dialogue, but also been criticized for vilifying non-Muslims and especially Jews in his sermons. He has denounced the treatment of Palestinians by Israeli settlers and the state of Israel, and called for more aid to be sent to Palestinians. He has also been noted for identifying women's un-Islamic behavior as in part responsible for the winter 2006 drought in Saudi Arabia. In 2016, he delivered the very important Hajj sermon to a multitude of pilgrims gathered at Arafat after prayers.
The holiest sites in Islam are located in the Arabian Peninsula. While the significance of most places typically varies depending on the Islamic sect, there is a consensus across all mainstream branches of the religion that affirms two cities as having the highest degree of holiness, in descending order: Mecca, and Medina. Mecca's Al-Masjid al-Haram, Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina are all revered by Muslims as sites of great importance.
The Day of Arafah is an Islamic holiday that falls on the ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah of the lunar Islamic Calendar. It is the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage and is followed by the holiday of Eid al-Adha. At dawn of this day, Muslim pilgrims will make their way from Mina to a nearby hillside and plain called Mount Arafat and the Plain of Arafat. It was from this site that the Islamic prophet Muhammad gave one of his last sermons in the final year of his life. Some Muslims hold that part of the Quranic verse announcing that the religion of Islam had been perfected was revealed on this day.
Ṣāliḥ ibn ʻAbd Allāh ibn Ḥumayd, is a Saudi Arabian Imam and politician. He is currently one of the nine Imams of Grand Mosque of Mecca. He is also member of Assembly of Saudi Arabia since 1993 and had served Speaker of Majlis al Shura from February 2002 to February 2009.
Ali Ahmed Mullah, is the veteran muazzin at the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia for the past four decades. Ali Ahmed Mulla is the longest serving muazzin for the Masjid al-Haram and has been following his family tradition in this profession since 1975.
Masjid al-Haram, also known as the Sacred Mosque or the Great Mosque of Mecca, is considered to be the most significant mosque in Islam. It encloses the vicinity of the Kaaba in Mecca, in the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia. It is among the pilgrimage sites associated with the Hajj, which every Muslim must perform at least once in their lives if able. It is also the main site for the performance of ʿUmrah, the lesser pilgrimage that can be undertaken any time of the year. The rites of both pilgrimages include circumambulating the Kaaba within the mosque. The Great Mosque includes other important significant sites, such as the Black Stone, the Zamzam Well, Maqam Ibrahim, and the hills of Safa and Marwa.
Abdullah Awad Al Juhany, is one of the nine Imams of the Grand Mosque Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. He holds a B.A. from the faculty of Qur'an at the Islamic University of Madinah, and a doctorate (Ph.D.) from Umm al-Qura University in Mecca.
Saudi Arabian media often attacks Jews in books, news articles, and mosques with what some describe as antisemitic satire. Saudi Arabian government officials and state religious leaders often promote the idea that Jews are conspiring to take over the entire world; as proof of their claims, they publish and frequently cite The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as factual.
A crawler crane collapsed over the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, around 5:10 p.m. on 11 September 2015, killing 111 people and injuring 394 others. The city was preparing for the Hajj pilgrimage. The collapse has been cited as the deadliest crane collapse in history, with the previous most deadly incident being the collapse of a construction crane in New York City in 2008, killing seven people.
Sheikh Saleh bin Mohammed Al Talib, is a Saudi scholar, Imam, Khatib and judge who has been imprisoned since August 2018. While it is speculated that Sheikh Saleh Al-Talib was imprisoned for giving a sermon challenging mixed gatherings most of these reports came from news outlets who did not verify their sources. Shariah courts are behind closed doors so there is no way to prove that he was imprisoned for his sermon however that is what people think he was imprisoned for.
Masjid an-Namirah or Masjid Nimrah is a mosque in Wadi Uranah near Mecca in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia. It is believed to be where the Islamic prophet Muhammad stayed before delivering his last sermon in 'Arafat. It is one of the most important landmarks during the Hajj, as it is where the khutbahs are delivered to pilgrims during the Day of Arafah during the Dhuhr and Asr prayers. It is located near Mount Arafat.
Maher bin Hamad bin Muhammad Bin al-Mu'aiqly al-Balawi is an Imam and preacher of the Grand Mosque of Mecca, Masjid al-Haram.
Khalil bin Abd al-Rahman al-Qari, was the Sheikh of the Imams of the Two Holy Mosques, and is considered one of the founders of the modern Qur’anic renaissance.
Mohammad bin Abdullah Al-Sebail, was born in the city of Al Bukayriyah in the Al-Qassim Province. He was the imam and preacher of the Masjid al-Haram for forty-four years in general, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, and a member of the Islamic Fiqh Assembly, and the President of the affairs of Al-Masjid al-Haram and Masjid al-Nabawi, and the head of the Al-Haram Committee in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Yasir ibn Rashid al-Dawsari is a Saudi Islamic scholar who has served as one of the imams of Masjid al-Haram since 2019. A khatib, and qāriʾ, he previously led Taraweeh and Tahajjud prayers at Masjid al-Haram starting in the year 2015 and also served as the imam of several mosques in Riyadh since 1995.
Abdulbari bin Awad ath-Thubaity is an Imam and Khatib at the Prophet's Mosque, Medina. And former guest imam for taraweeh at Masjid al-Haram.
Usama bin Abdullah Khayyat, born in 1956 in Mecca, is a Saudi Islamic scholar, imam and preacher. He is among the current imams of Masjid al-Haram.
