Saudi Arabia: Over 24m Iftar meals offered in Two Holy Mosques

Cairo: More than 24 million Iftar (fast-breaking) meals were distributed to worshippers in Islam’s two holiest mosques in Saudi Arabia during the fasting month of Ramadan, a state agency has said.

The service was rendered in the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina as part of efforts to enable the faithful to perform their worshipping comfortably in a healthy environment and reflects Islamic values of interdependence and hospitality, according to the General Authority for Care of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques.

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from eating and drinking everyday from dawn to dusk.

More than 122 million Muslims are estimated to have flocked to both mosques during the lunar month that ended in the kingdom on Saturday.

They included 92.1 million worshippers in the Grand Mosque and 30.1 million in the Prophet’s Mosque.

Ramadan usually marks the peak season of the Umrah or minor pilgrimage in the Grand Mosque.

Hundreds of thousands of Muslims from inside and outside Saudi Arabia head to the sacred site in Ramadan for worshipping and undertaking the Umrah rites.

The Grand Mosque received more than 4 million worshippers, including around 800,000 pilgrims, on the 26th day of this year’s Ramadan, setting a new record on a single day, according to official figures.

After undertaking the Umrah, many pilgrims would usually head to Medina to perform prayers in the Prophet’s Mosque and visit other Islamic landmarks in the city.