Nearly two million worshipers thronged the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah, as well as their courtyards and adjacent streets to attend the first Friday prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. The expanded huge Grand Mosque complex, which can accommodate over 1.5 million at a time, overflowed with faithful as hundreds of thousands of Umrah pilgrims from within the Kingdom and abroad flocked to perform the rituals in the annual peak Umrah season. In an unparalleled air of spirituality, the faithful performed Umrah and engaged in supplications, seeking the blessing and forgiveness from Almighty Allah. In his Friday sermon at the Grand Mosque, Sheikh Abdurahman Al-Sudais, head of the Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, urged believers to seize the golden opportunity to occupy the permanent abode in paradise through righteous deeds and increasingly glorifying God, recitation of Qur'an, seeking repentance and forgiveness, besides becoming generous in giving charity in the holy month of Ramadan. He called on the believers to embrace the true spirit of Ramadan in all walks of life and refrain from everything forbidden. "There are some people who observe fast with regard to eating and drinking but they do not observe fast with regard to watching immoral programs on television channels or attending gatherings for gossips and slandering," he said. Sheikh Al-Sudais lamented the fate of those believers who spoil the virtues of fasting through evil doing. "Members of our Ummah are still not fully aware of the trickeries of the enemies, who spread lies and rumors. Don't get carried away with these rumors, unleashed especially by those who work round-the-clock to spread terrorism and sectarianism in the Islamic Ummah, as well as to exploit religious symbols to realize their political ambitions and ulterior designs," he said. Sheikh Al-Sudais urged parents to fear God in raising their children through inculcating in them values of religion, Islamic culture and morals, and Prophetic Tradition so as to safeguard them against wasting their precious time in roaming about streets and souks, and spending sleepless nights surfing TV channels. While recalling that Ramadan is a month of victory, glory and capacity, Sheikh Al-Sudais said it is high time to act to stop the escalating Zionist aggression on the holy city of Jerusalem and Palestine, which continue to remain agonies for the Ummah. He also called for restoring peace and security in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. At the Prophet's Mosque, Sheikh Salah Al-Budair urged the believers to reap boundless lofty rewards from Allah during this holy month.
