Mecca is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia and the holiest city in 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 last recorded population was 2,385,509 in 2022. Its metropolitan population in 2022 is 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 foreigners from other Muslim 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 10 most visited cities in the world.
The Sharif of Mecca or Hejaz was the title of the leader of the Sharifate of Mecca, traditional steward of the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina and the surrounding Hejaz. The term sharif is Arabic for "noble", "highborn", and is used to describe the descendants of Hashim Ibn Abdul Manaf.
Al-Furqan is the 25th chapter (sūrah) of the Qur'an, with 77 verses (āyāt). The name Al-Furqan, or "The Criterion", refers to the Qur'an itself as the decisive factor between good and evil. This Surah is named Al-Furqan from the 4th word in the 1st ayat.
Jabal Thawr is a mountain in Saudi Arabia, located in the lower part of Mecca to the south of the district of Misfalah. The height of the mountain is 750 m (2,460 ft).
The destruction of heritage sites associated with early Islam is an ongoing phenomenon that has occurred mainly in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, particularly around the two holiest cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina. The demolition has focused on mosques, burial sites, homes and historical locations associated with the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his companions, and many of the founding personalities of early Islamic history by the Saudi government. In Saudi Arabia, many of the demolitions have officially been part of the continued expansion of the Masjid al-Haram at Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina and their auxiliary service facilities in order to accommodate the ever-increasing number of Muslims performing the pilgrimage (hajj).
Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Fasi was an Arab Muslim scholar, hafith, faqih, historian, and Maliki qadi (judge) in Mecca.
Masjid al-Haram, also known as the Sacred Mosque or the Great Mosque of Mecca, is a mosque enclosing 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.
The Gate of Mecca, Mecca Gate or Makkah Gate, also known as Qur'an Gate, is an arch gateway monumental on the Makkah al-Mukkarramah road of the Jeddah–Makkah Highway. It is the entrance to Mecca, the birthplace of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and signifies the boundary of the haram area of the city of Mecca, where non-Muslims are prohibited to enter.
Ḥasan ibn Qatādah ibn Idrīs al-Ḥasanī was the Sharif of Mecca from July of 1220 to 1222. He was born to Qatadah ibn Idris and a woman from the Anizah tribe.
Al-Malik al-Manṣūr Nūr al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ‘Umar ibn ‘Alī ibn Rasūl was the first Rasulid Sultan of Yemen, from 1228 to 1249.
Al Jum'ah Mosque is a mosque in Medina, in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia. Also known as Masjid Banī Sālim, Masjid Al-Wādī, Masjid Al-Qubayb, and Masjid ʿĀtikah, it is said by the locals to be where the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his companions performed Salatul-Jumu'ah for the first time, during their hijrah (migration) from Mecca to Medina.
Sayf al-Dīn Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥasan ibn ‘Ajlān al-Ḥasanī was co-Emir of Mecca from 1421 to 1423 alongside his father Hasan ibn Ajlan and his brother Barakat ibn Hasan.
Fuhayd ibn Ḥasan ibn Abī Numayy was Emir of Mecca in partnership with his brother Idris ibn Hasan and his nephew Muhsin ibn Husayn from 1603 to 1610.
Mas‘ūd ibn Idrīs ibn Ḥasan ibn Abī Numayy was Emir of Mecca and ruler of the Hejaz from 1629 to 1630.
‘Abd Allāh ibn Ḥasan ibn Abī Numayy was Emir of Mecca and ruler of the Hejaz from 1630 to 1631.
Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Ḥasan ibn Abī Numayy was Emir of Mecca and ruler of the Hejaz from 1631 to 1632, in partnership with Zayd ibn Muhsin.
Nāmī ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Ḥasan ibn Abī Numayy was Emir of Mecca for three months in 1632.
‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Idrīs ibn Ḥasan ibn Abī Numayy was co-ruler of the Sharifate of Mecca with his cousin Nami ibn Abd al-Muttalib for three months in 1632.
Muhammad Sa'id al-Amudi was a Saudi Arabian journalist, literary critic and official. After graduation from Al-Falah school in Mecca, he worked in commerce for a while, then held several administrative positions, including: head of the editorial board of the General Post and Telegraph Authority and the editor-in-chief of its magazine until 1971, member of the Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia from 1951 to 1954, chief editor of the Muslim World League magazine and Sawt Al-Hijaz newspaper for a while. He also employed by the Ministry of Education for several committees. During his official career, he published many works in the magazines of Al-Muqtataf and Al-Hilal and was a member of the Modern Literature Association in Cairo, which was headed by the poet Ibrahim Nagi. He died after a long illness at the age of 86 in his birthplace. Al-Amudi wrote many essays, short stories, poems, and reviews. A prominent 20th-century Saudi Arabian journalist, his complete works were published in 3 volumes in 2007.
Saudi Arabia 
