Saudi Arabia to open Itikaf registration for grand mosque and prophet’s mosque on March 5

Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque announced that registration for itikaf at the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina will open on Wednesday, March 5.

The registration process will begin at 11am via the authority’s official website and will close once the allocated slots are filled.

Itikaf, a spiritual retreat observed in the final ten days of Ramadan, will commence on Ramadan 20 (March 20) and continue until the end of the holy month.

The authority said that permits will be issued through its online platform in accordance with specific conditions and criteria.

Itikaf involves dedicating oneself to worship and seclusion in a mosque, following the example of the Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him).

Itikaf is a deeply revered Islamic practice in which worshippers seclude themselves in a mosque for uninterrupted worship, prayer and reflection.

The ritual follows the example of the Prophet and is considered an opportunity to strengthen one’s connection with Allah, free from the distractions of daily life.

During this period, participants devote themselves to reciting the Quran, making supplications, and performing additional prayers, often spending the entire time within the mosque’s premises, eating and sleeping there as well.

Ramadan began in Saudi Arabia on March 1, and thousands of worshippers are expected to participate in itikaf at the Two Holy Mosques.