JEDDAH, 17 November — The Imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah called on Muslims to make use of the holy month of Ramadan to purify their souls and adhere to the teachings of the Holy Qur’an. He cautioned against the fate of past nations, which deviated from the right path saying the ills and weaknesses that afflicted those communities have crept into the body of modern day Muslim nations because they had failed to grasp the lessons contained in the Holy Book.
During rain-seeking prayers held throughout the Kingdom on the eve of Ramadan, Muslims were urged to repent and offer prayers during the fasting month. Skeikh Omar ibn Muhammad Al-Subail of the Grand Mosque said the drought experienced now is the result of people disobeying the will of Almighty Allah and of excessive sins and crimes.
Muslims in most of the countries across the world observed the first day of fasting yesterday to mark the advent of Ramadan.
The imam of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, Sheikh Abdul Bari Al-Thubaiti, said it is only through seeking pardon and asking forgiveness that rain can come.
Sheikh Saud Al-Shuraim told the hundreds of thousands of worshipers who flocked the Holy Haram in Makkah for Friday prayers on the first day of the fasting month that previous communities suffered a spiritual vacuum and were unable to ponder over and draw lessons from the signs that God had sent to mankind, including the miracle of man’s creation.
Ramadan, he said, is a month of spiritual purity, prayers and supplication. Muslims during this month are required to show compassion, mercy and good feelings toward others.
"It is a month of soul searching and conscientiousness. People in this holy month should shun individualistic and self-centered tendencies and refrain from material pleasures and delights" that only bring remorse with them.
"The ills of previous nations have now crept into the body of the Muslim Ummah. This is mainly due to absence of hearts that comprehend and understand, and it is due to the spiritual weakness and vacuum that (rendered people) unable to reflect on the Qur’an or ponder over the signs sent by God," he said.
Sheikh Al-Shuraim said Muslims should reap the benefits of Ramadan by turning the holy month into a time for reciting the Qur’an and reflecting on its meanings.
"The Qur’an is the source of strength and honor for its followers. It is the light, which leads them along the right path. Those who fail to read the Qur’an or work according to its teachings are dead people, even if they lead the life of the living."
Worshipers attending prayers at Jeddah mosques were cautioned against wasting their time watching satellite television during the month. "It is a great sin for Muslims to spend Ramadan evenings glued to those satellite television stations which are waging an undeclared war against Muslims," said one imam at Safa district of the city.
"This is a month of worship and devotion. It is a great gift from God, who promised those who observe proper fasting and behave well during Ramadan to come out washed of all their sins.
"Muslims should not miss the opportunity by spending hours watching those damaging television stations. No one knows whether they would live to witness the next Ramadan," the imam added.
The first day of fasting brought joy when hundreds of prisoners stepped out of prison gates in cities across the Kingdom and were able to celebrate Ramadan with their families under a royal pardon. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd ordered the release of prisoners who had served part of their prison term and were eligible for parole.
According to Col. Saad Al-Khusaifi, director of Makkah Prison Department, more prisoners will be set free over the coming days as committees representing the governorates, prisons and the police continue to review their cases.
The advent of Ramadan also puts an end to the plight of hundreds of indebted prisoners locked behind bars for failing to pay their debts. A local charitable organization, known as the Committee for Assisting the Release of Insolvent Prisoners in Jeddah and headed by Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed, is busy studying cases of prisoners to secure their release by the end of the month after paying off their debts from private donations.
The committee managers said over the past years they secured the release of over 2,000 prisoners including Saudis and expatriates after paying off their debts which amounted to SR145 million. Individuals and private firms provide the money needed for the release of indebted prisoners, some of whom face long jail terms.
Charitable organizations compete with each other to provide iftar meals during the fasting month. In Makkah, pilgrims visiting the Grand Mosque are handed boxes of snack meals while in Madinah visitors to the Prophet’s Mosque find themselves surrounded by young children asking them to join the open iftar parties held by charitable groups and individuals inside the mosque and in the surrounding grounds.
One such organization, Al-Haramain Charitable Foundation, said it plans to spend SR10 million this month on 8 million iftar meals to be distributed throughout Ramadan inside the Kingdom and abroad.
