On each night of the nightly ritual Taraweeh prayers, Muslims read one of thirty parts of the Quran, allowing the whole scripture to be read over the 30-day fasting month.
Mecca’s great mosque, the holiest site in Islam, is normally filled to the brim with worshippers – especially during Ramadan.
Shaykh Saud al Shuraim emotionally starts this years taraweeh prayer in Makkah whilst holding back tears ? pic.twitter.com/E16ZvcmdMY
— تلاوات قرآنية (@QuranTelawah) April 23, 2020
But this year, images of the Kaabah taken on the first night of Ramadan showed only a handful of worshippers.
Saudi Arabia extended the suspension of prayers in the Two Holy Mosques for the month of Ramadan to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The nightly taraweeh prayers, held at the Grand Mosque and Prophet’s Mosque, are therefore not be open to the public.
Ramadan, a month of daytime fasting, overnight festivity and communal prayer and giving, began with the new moon on Thursdsay in many countries.
Last month, Saudi Arabia suspended the year-round Umrah pilgrimage over fears of the novel coronavirus spreading to Islam’s holiest cities, Mecca and Medina, which were placed under 24-hour curfews.
Riyadh has also urged Muslims to temporarily defer preparations for the annual Hajj pilgrimage amid uncertainty over the pandemic.
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