The true Hajj should include the Baraaat min-al-Mushrikeen (disavowal of disbelievers ritual) and pave the way for enhanced unity among Muslims, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed. If a state or government does so, it would be keeping people back from the Path of Allah, the Leader said, referring to verse 25 of Surah Hajj (“As to those who have rejected (Allah), and would keep back (men) from the Path of Allah, and from the Sacred Mosque, which We have made (open) to (all) men - equal is the dweller there and the visitor from the country - and any whose purpose therein is profanity or wrong-doing - them will We cause to taste of a most Grievous Penalty.”) King Abdullah has put the prominent Wahabi cleric and imam of the Grand Mosque, Abdul Rahman al-Sudais, in charge of the expansion while the Saudi Binladin Group – one of the country’s largest firms – has won the construction contract.Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca and Prophet’s (PBUH) Mosque in Medina belong to all Muslims not just to those in control of the holy land, the Leader said, speaking in a meeting with Iranian Hajj official on Monday.Īyatollah Khamenei added that no one has the right to prevent the realization of the true concepts of Hajj. Billions of pounds have been poured in to increase the capacity of the Masjid al-Haram and the Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina which marks where Muhammad is buried.

To accommodate the ever increasing number of pilgrims heading to the twin holy cities of Mecca and Medina each year the Saudi authorities have embarked upon a massive expansion project. One column which is believed to have been ripped down is supposed to mark the spot where Muslims believe Muhammad began his heavenly journey on a winged horse, which took him to Jerusalem and heaven in a single night. Many of the Ottoman and Abbasid columns in Mecca were inscribed with intricate Arabic calligraphy marking the names of the Prophet Muhammad’s companions and key moments in his life. Photos taken by activists in Saudi Arabia showing the destruction of the Grand Mosque

Masjid al haram official website