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Location Information: Ramadan
starts on July 19th.
Al-Masjid
al-Ḥarām (Arabic "The Sacred
Mosque") is the largest mosque in
the world. Located in the city of
Mecca, it surrounds the Kaaba, the
place which Muslims worldwide turn
towards while offering daily prayers
and is Islam's holiest place. The
mosque is also known as the Grand
Mosque.
The current structure covers an area
of 4,008,020 square metres (990.40
acres) including the outdoor and
indoor praying spaces and can
accommodate up to four million
Muslim worshippers during the Hajj
period, one of the largest annual
gatherings of people in the world.
The Haram is the focal point of the
hajj and umrah pilgrimages that
occur in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah
in the Islamic calendar and at any
time of the year, respectively. The
Hajj pilgrimage is one of the Five
Pillars of Islam, required of all
able-bodied Muslims who can afford
the trip. In recent times, about 3
million Muslims perform the hajj
every year.
Some of the rituals performed by
pilgrims are symbolic of historical
incidents. For example, the episode
of Hagar's search for water is
emulated by Muslims as they run
between the two hills of Safa and
Marwah whenever they visit Mecca.
The Hajj is associated with the life
of Islamic prophet Muhammad from the
7th century, but the ritual of
pilgrimage to Mecca is considered by
Muslims to stretch back thousands of
years to the time of Ibrahim
(Abraham). Unlike Hajj, the Umrah or
is a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi
Arabia, performed by Muslims that
can be undertaken at any time of the
year.
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