[gallery size="medium" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="Sudais asks Muslims to close ranks, help needy " ids="149461,149462,149463,149464"] By Hassan Cheruppa Saudi Gazette OVER 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. All the floors and courtyards and King Abdullah Expansion Project in the Grand Mosque were full of worshipers, and the rows of worshipers spilled over to the streets of the Central Haram Area. In an unparalleled spiritual ambience that the fasting month has offered, the faithful performed Umrah and engaged in supplications, seeking the blessing and forgiveness from Almighty Allah, the Saudi Press Agency reported. 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 close their ranks and unify their hearts, as well as to take initiatives to alleviate the suffering of people in various parts of the world. He also called for promoting world peace with strengthening principles of moderation and tolerance, and shunning terrorism and sectarianism. Sheikh Al-Sudais made a passionate appeal to the members of the Muslim Ummah to come forward to support the oppressed, the displaced and persecuted people everywhere especially in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, as well as in Myanmar where Muslims face extermination, displacement and tyranny during the holy month of Ramadan. At the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah, Imam and Khateeb Sheikh Hussain Al-Asheikh called on the worshippers to reap the fruits of Ramadan in abundance through righteous deeds with an increase in glorification of Allah, recitation of the Holy Qur'an, seeking repentance and forgiveness, besides becoming generous in giving charity in the holy month. The Haram Presidency and the Haram Security Forces have made unprecedented arrangements to receive hundreds of thousands of Umrah pilgrims and worshipers who thronged the Holy Mosques for Friday prayer. The expanded huge Grand Mosque complex, which can accommodate over 1.5 million at a time, overflowed with the faithful. The expanded mataf (circumambulation area around the Holy Kaaba) was used to its full capacity during this Ramadan for the first time. The temporary opening of King Abdulaziz Gate and opening of the pedestrian tunnel linking Jarwal with the northern courtyard of the Grand Mosque made the flow of worshipers much easier and smooth. The Haram Presidency, Haram Security Forces Command, police, traffic, Civil Defense, and all other departments and agencies have swung into operation with mobilizing all their resources to offer the best ever services and facilities for the pilgrims and visitors.
