MADINAH, 21 October 2007 — Following instructions of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to open the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the mosque has become filled with people catching up on sleep.
While watching worshippers spreading all over the mosque to take a nap after the prayers, Saeed Al-Raddadi, a resident of Madinah, told Arab News that worshippers are abusing the new opening hours.
“It was great news for all when King Abdullah announced the opening of the Prophet’s Mosque 24 hours a day in order to allow worshippers more time to pray and read the Qur’an. We are seeing something else now. We are noticing that people spend more time sleeping than worshipping,” he said.
Al-Raddadi said that he has notified officials at the holy mosque about the problem. “I do not think it is a good idea to let them sleep because the mosque is only for worshipping,” he said.
Mahmoud Al-Masry, an Umrah pilgrim from Egypt, said the new hours is a brilliant opportunity for worshippers to rest after prayers.
“I really praise King Abdullah for issuing an order to open the mosque for worshippers round the clock. It gives us an opportunity to take some time off to rest in between prayers and we can avoid the trouble of going to our hotels after each prayer,” he said.
Nasir Al-Dukhaily, a receptionist at a hotel close to the Prophet’s Mosque, said that many worshippers avoid renting rooms since the new opening hours have been announced.
“Some worshippers nowadays do not look for rooms and spend all their time in the mosque since they can find a corner in the mosque to sleep,” he said.
Al-Masry added that the new hours have allowed pilgrims on limited budgets to save cash. “Some worshippers do not have the ability to pay for hotel rooms and so they see this as an opportunity,” he said.
Meanwhile, a supervisor at the holy mosque, who asked not to have his name published, said guards have not been instructed to stop people from sleeping inside the mosque.
