Saudi Gazette Every shopping mall in the Kingdom has a separate carpeted prayer room, for both men and women, which makes it immensely convenient for shoppers to offer obligatory prayers on time in a quiet and secluded area. If shoppers were compelled to wait until they got home, they would probably miss their prayers. Unfortunately, in most shopping malls, when one steps into the women's prayer room, for a minute or two one tends to forget the intended purpose of these room. Women have transformed prayer rooms into fitting rooms. Shopping bags are scattered on the floor and women are twirling around in newly purchased dresses; loudly chatting with their friends to elicit their opinion. Even worse than trying on clothes is the practice of some women to use the prayer hall as a resting area. Many women sit there when the shops close for prayer, to relieve their feet from walking around and they bring their noisy children inside with them. All these unnecessary activities make the prayer halls extremely noisy and dirty. “It is extremely upsetting to find prayer rooms that are dirty. I saw one prayer room that was littered with empty water bottles, soda cans, and bags of popcorn just thrown on the rugs,” complained Mariam Al-Sharari, a teacher, “This is unacceptable. I simply could not pray in that messy place. I think the prayer halls at shopping centers should have a janitor responsible for maintaining cleanliness and looking after the praying area,” she added. One of the main reasons why women use prayer halls as fitting rooms is the lack of specifically designated fitting rooms in malls. For the sake of worshipers, mall authorities should take strict action and install proper women's fitting rooms with mirrors so that prayer halls can be used for the right purpose, instead of being transformed to fitting rooms. Mariam Saif, a specialist in Islamic awareness, expressed her disappointment and said, “Prayer halls should be clean, private, and quiet places where women can concentrate in their prayers and perform their religious duty in serenity. However, what I see today is the exact opposite of cleanliness and peacefulness. Some mothers come in the prayer rooms with their children just to wait for the shops to re-open after the prayers are over. The children play there, shout, scribble on the walls, and eat snacks. The prayer hall becomes smelly, loud, and crowded.” Prayer areas are sacred places, just like mosques and must be kept clean. Women must avoid leaving behind any discarded items in the prayer rooms of the malls. Moreover, mothers should educate their children on the sanctity of mosques, the importance of cleanliness in Islam, and the reverence of worshipers while offering prayers. __
