Mecca Medina4/17/2021
Turn along this highway to drive another 50 mi (80 km) out of the way to reach the lovely mountain town of Taif.And this is where the Kaaba is in the centre of Islams most sacred mosque, Masjid al-Haram, which is the direction that all Muslims from all over the world face when performing Islamic ritualistic prayer ( salat ).Masjid al-Haram or The Grand and the Sacred Mosque, the largest mosque in the world, is visited by millions of Muslims throughout the year, especially during the last month of the Islamic calendar, to perform Hajj, the pilgrimage which is a mandatory religious duty for every Muslim who can afford it.
Over three million Muslims visit the city during the month of Dhul-Hijjah yearly. Visits outside this month are known as minor pilgrimages or Umrah, which are not compulsory but are strongly encouraged. Since those days, Meccas history and identity has been inextricably linked with Islam. In 622, Muhammad left Mecca for Yathrib (now called Medina ) for fear of being assassinated by the local Quraysh ruling clan, who had declined to accept Muhammad and his beliefs and started persecuting followers of Islam. As Muhammad migrated to Medina and settled there, several armed conflicts followed between followers of Muhammad and local tribes of Mecca, particularly one during which the followers of Muhammad attempted to return to Mecca in 628 for pilgrimage but werent allowed to enter the city. A peace treaty was eventually signed that allowed followers of Muhammad to return to Mecca. According to Muslims, the peace treaty was to also include ceasefire for 10 years but after 2 years, the Quraysh violated the truce by slaughtering a group of Muslims. Muhammad and his followers, companions and allies now much stronger in number, so instead of fighting back, they simply marched across the city of Mecca and thereby triggered the surrender of the Quraysh of Mecca. Eventually, Muhammad Islamicized the city and made it the center of Muslim pilgrimage, Hajj, which is one of the five pillars of Islam. Starting in 1517 CE, with only one short interruption, Mecca and the rest of the Hejaz were under the control and stewardship of the Ottoman Turks and since the 10th century the local religious and temporal leadership of the Hashemite Emirs, who were relocated by the British to serve as the rulers of Transjordan and Iraq in the aftermath of the defeat of the Ottomans in World War I. In 1924, Mecca was conquered by the Saud family of modern-day Saudi Arabia following a short battle. The Saudis operate under a very strictly iconoclastic interpretation of Islam (Salafism, also called Wahhabism by many non-Salafists), and they prefer to demolish the home of any honored figure in Islam, including the Prophet Muhammads birth house which also stood in Mecca until 2014, to prevent people from making pilgrimages to pay their respects at these houses, an action which the Saud family and local religious authorities consider tantamount to idolatry. Documentation will be checked upon entry and anyone not showing proof of being Muslim will be refused entry. As a solitary exception, the Mecca bus terminal (outside city limits) is open to all. The diplomatic missions of Saudi Arabia issue special visas for those making the pilgrimage to Mecca, either Hajj or Umrah. Most pilgrims opt to use a specialist travel agency, which will handle the considerable paperwork for them. As usual in Saudi Arabia, women must travel together with a male guardian ( Mahram ), unless they are over 45, travelling with a group and have their guardians signed consent. In some cases, those who have previously done Hajj have had additional restrictions placed on their next Hajj, in an effort to discourage overcrowding while still accommodating those who have not yet made the pilgrimage. Umrah visas can be obtained at any time of the year except during the Hajj season. If the applicant is not a national of a Muslim-majority country or was not born a Muslim, she must present a certificate notarized by an Islamic center testifying that she is a Muslim. Usually, your mosque will be able to arrange this or at least point the way. Mecca Medina Full Of PilgrimsDuring the Hajj pilgrimage season it is jammed with buses full of pilgrims. At any other time, traffic is extremely light for the size of the road.
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