JEDDAH, 17 November 2007 — Madinah officials are gearing up for the forthcoming Haj, where pilgrims visit the Prophet’s Mosque on their way to the pilgrimage.
Abdul Wahid Hattab, spokesman at the Presidency of the Prophet’s Mosque Affairs, said that new arrangements are being drawn up to accommodate women in Al-Rawda area after night prayers.
Al-Rawda is a very special area in the heart of the Prophet’s Mosque, which extends from the tomb of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to his pulpit.
“During peak time women are getting a wider area in Al-Rawda,” Hattab said. “We have also added a night period to make it easy for women to go in at night. The night period starts after Isha prayer until 12 a.m. This is beside the morning period and the noon period.” The morning period is from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. while the noon period is from 1.30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
This year there would be 440 men and 450 women supervisors, said Hattab. The cleaning and maintenance workers will number 2,880 this year.
Regarding accommodations for pilgrims with special needs, there are elevators and handicapped parking, as well as sign language interpreters for the prayers. There are also 2,000 wheelchairs available for use at Gate 7.
Kadija, who has worked as a mosque staff member, recommends that the devout arrive well before prayer and take their time to leave after prayer in order to reduce pedestrian congestion and crowding. She also said pilgrims should avoid bringing superfluous baggage.
“They should not bring mobiles, cameras or food to the mosque,” she said. “It would be better to keep their stuff in lock boxes. By doing this they help avoid clustering at entrances where bag checks take place.”
