MAKKAH, 9 October 2007 — More than two million people attended isha, taraweeh and qiyamullail prayers at the Grand Mosque here last night, seeking Lailat Al-Qadr (the night of power), which according to most scholars falls on the 27th night of Ramadan.
The faithful started coming to the holy city since early hours of the day. Security forces including traffic police had to toil hard to control the record crowd of worshippers, who came from abroad and different parts of the Kingdom.
The Grand Mosque overflowed with worshippers and thousands stood in the streets leading to the mosque to join taraweeh and qiyamullail congregations. Many were seen praying on rooftops of nearby buildings.
Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal has been in continuous contact with heads of different government departments in order to make sure that the worshippers are provided with necessary services.
Maj. Gen. Yousuf Matar, commander of the Haram security, said he had called in 1,000 men to handle the crowd. The traffic department banned entry of vehicles to Makkah’s central region one hour before and after prayers in order to facilitate foot traffic to the mosque.
The Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques Affairs had also taken measures to handle the unprecedented crowd by deploying more than 2,000 workers to clean the mosque. The Civil Defense Department kept its forces battle ready to swing into action in case of any emergency. It had also readied about 200 motorbikes to provide first-aid services in the event of fires and other accidents.
Lailat Al-Qadr is a time for prayer, seeking the blessings and forgiveness of God. The 27th night of Ramadan is believed to be the most likely night of the Lailat Al-Qadr, when the first verses of the Qur’an were revealed to the Prophet (pbuh). The Qur’an says this night is better (in reward) than a thousand months.
