Saudi Arabia

Module 10: international links

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Population of Saudi Arabia?

• The number of population of Saudi Arabia as of 2013 is estimated to be 26,939,583 including 5,576,076 non-nationals.

Why is Saudi Arabia is important for all Muslim people?

• Saudi Arabia was the birthplace of Islam• Saudi Arabia is important for all Muslim

people because firstly, where the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him (SA) was born and he lived there.

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What is hajj?

• Hajj is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and the largest gathering of Muslim people in the world every year. It is one of the five pillars of Islam, and a religious duty which must be carried out by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so at least once in his or her lifetime. Muslims arrive in Mecca during the last month of the Islamic calendar for the Hajj (zill hijja). The hajj represents the culmination of the Muslim's spiritual life. For many, it is a lifelong ambition.

Why do Muslim have to do hajj?

• The Hajj makes Muslims feel real importance of life here on earth, and the afterlife, by making everyone seem equal. The Hajjis or pilgrims wear simple white clothes called Ihram, every one appears equal.

• From the time of going on the journey to make the hajj, pilgrims often experience a spirit of happiness and excitement; the meeting of so many Muslims of all races and cultures, moves many people deeply.

Diagram of hajj

How many peoples travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj?

• Approximately 2.5 million Muslims arrive in Mecca during the last month of the Islamic calendar for the Hajj. This effects the number of population rises.

What is the effect of so many hajjis on Arafat, Muzdalifah and Medina?

• Due to lack of communication between more than three million pilgrims from all over the globe and the immensity of the gathering itself, there have been many incidents during the Hajj that have led to the loss of hundreds of lives. The worst of these incidents have usually occurred during the Stoning of the Devil ritual. During the 2006 Hajj on 12 January, 362 pilgrims died.

How many times you have to go around the Kaaba?

• You have to go around the Kaaba seven times clockwise. Ka'ba seven times repeating du'as and prayers. This is called the Tawaf. Afterwards you should drink some Zam Zam water.

• Zam Zam water is water from the Zam Zam well, the sacred well which opened in the desert to save Hajira and Is'mail from dying of thirst.

Inside View of Kaaba

• No one can enter the Kaaba only the king of Saudi Arabia and people who work there can enter the Kaaba.

A technical drawing of the Kaaba

What insides the Kaaba?

1. Al-Hajaru l-Aswad, "the Black Stone", is located in the Kaaba's eastern corner.

2. The entrance is a door, the door made of 300kgs of gold. 3. Meezab-i Rahmat, rainwater spout made of gold. Added in the

rebuilding of 1627.4. Hatim, a low wall originally part of the Kaaba. It is a semi-circular

wall opposite, but not connected to, the north-west wall of the Kaaba known as the hatīm. Some believe that the graves of Ismail and his mother Hagar are located in this space.