Saudi National Day

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques:

Saudi National Day motive to preserve achievements; continue building with all seriousness

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz inaugurates King Abdulaziz Endowment for the Two Holy Mosques

Report on Two Holy Mosques expansion phases, architecture

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, in the presence of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, received at the Royal Court in Al-Safa palace in Makkah, Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Interior and Head of Higher Commission for Prince Naif International Award for Islamic Studies and Sunnah (Prophet's sayings) and members of the Commission and winners of the Award for this year.

At the outset of the reception, the Advisor to the President of Burkina Faso for Cultural and Islamic Affairs Dr. Abu Bakr Abdullah Doukari thanked King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz for his speech before the guests.

The advisor also highlighted the Kingdom's great works in the service of Islam and Muslim nation.

He also singled out the Kingdom's big facilities and services for pilgrims during Hajj seasons under the umbrella of comprehensive peace and security.

The advisor also referred to the King's big concern to provide great services and facilities at the holy places which are a source of pride not only for all Muslims and the people of this country but also the entire mankind.

Every Modern project that has been undertaken at these holy places reached a certain degree of progress in terms of World cultural heritage which is recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as evidence of great civilization.

The advisor thanked the Interior Minister for Prince Naif International Award as it serves Islam. He also thanked Prince Naif for inviting him to the Kingdom and enabling him to perform Umrah (the minor pilgrimage) and visit the Prophet's mosque in Madinah as well as meeting King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

He prayed to almighty Allah to preserve the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and his Crown Prince so that they can continue to serve Islam and Muslims.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques then addressed the reception:

The King said: "In the name of Allah - the merciful, My brothers - the Islamic Scholars, I am greeting you all from the Holy Mosque.

Islam is a religion of belief and faith, and a religion of truth, justice, equity and sincerity.

Thanks to Allah, You are all dear Brothers, and I am giving you good news that the Islamic world, no matter what others say, remains a strong Muslim nation. Praise be to Allah that Islam is now the most wide-spread religion. Thanks to Allah that I have heard about this and Allah willing, it is true.

My brothers' cooperation among us is our duty and we must serve this religion. And it is also our duty to serve Islam and Muslims all over the world.

Brothers, the truth is that Islam is being misinterpreted by some of its followers. I do regret this. Islam has been pure since Allah Almighty sent to our Prophet (Peace be upon him).

On this occasion, I congratulate you and wish you success. Whatever we have done, and you can witness now in Makkah and Madinah, is owed to the support and blessings of Allah Almighty and to serve our God.

I wish you all success in your current mission and I take this opportunity to convey my best greetings to Muslim brethren. May Allah bless you all and ensure you safety. You are not our guests, it is your homeland. May Allah guide you all to serve Islam. Thank you."

The meeting was attended by Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, a member of the Higher Commission and the Award's General Supervisor; Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, a member of the Higher Commission and the Award's Deputy General Supervisor, Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, the Minister of State and member of the Cabinet and a number of princes and senior officials.

On his part, Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz thanked the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for his reception of the guests and the winners of the Award.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet's session at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah.

At the outset of the session, the King commended the Kingdom's celebrations of the 78th national day which falls, 23rd of the blessed month of Ramadan.

The King praised Almighty Allah for bestowing blessings upon the Kingdom, notably the state's adherence to the Holy Quran and Prophet's Sunnah since its unification by the founder late King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al-Faisal Al Saud (May Allah bless his soul).

The King stressed that the celebration on this occasion means the preservation of the achievements of the homeland; working hard earnestly and sincerely towards its development and prosperity; enhancement of the Kingdom's contributions to the unity of the nation, its coherence and stability; strengthening its role in world peace and stability; and the pursuit of peaceful coexistence and cooperation among nations and peoples of the world through common human civilizations.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the Cabinet's on overall talks and contacts held over the previous days with a number of leaders of countries and their envoys on bilateral relations and regional issues and world affairs. The Monarch commended his meeting with President Ali Abdullah Saleh of the Republic of Yemen and the ties of kinship and neighborliness between the two countries.

In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, the Minister of Culture and Information, Iyad bin Amin Madani said that the Cabinet expressed in this regard its condemnation of the terrorist acts in Yemen and expressed its condolences to the Yemeni people and the families of the innocent victims.

The Cabinet affirmed that terrorism is the scourge of the era that its intellectual roots should be combated and confronted by all people.

The Cabinet also emphasized the Kingdom's support to Pakistan in confronting the terrorist wave targeting its national unity and claiming the lives of innocent people without respect to any religious, moral or political deterrence.

The Minister of Culture and Information said that the Cabinet reviewed a number of economic issues, including the report of Statistics Department on the decrease of unemployment rate among citizens aged 15 and over by 4.1% to become 9.8% compared to its previous rate 11.2%.

This increase represented a significant development in the course of national labor absorption in the labor market; a positive growth of the national economy; and an increase in the efficiency of training and education institutions.

The Cabinet commended the royal orders issued during the past two weeks, aiming the neediest people in the society. The royal orders allocated SR 1,150,000,000 to families given care by the Social Security. Also, the annual subsidy for the disabled was increased by 100% as well as that for all groups registered under the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud tonight dedicated the start of implementation of King Abdulaziz Endowment for the Two Holy Mosques (2) project in Makkah.

At the outset of the audience, the representatives of the project and members of the Board of Directors of the First Company for Development greeted the monarch.

In a speech on the occasion, the President of General Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques Affairs, Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulrahman Al-Hussain highlighted the stages of planning, project design and its objectives.

He said “This project is a gift form the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques whose foundation stone was laid by him."

"After I was given the honor by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to handle this project and facilitate completion of its contract, it had been necessary to re-design it to be appropriate for required jobs and to be in accordance with the specified conditions. The most important condition has been an extension of Plazas that could ensure flexibility in movement of crowds during peak hours," he added.

Sheikh Al-Hussain clarified that he had invited five big Engineering offices in the Kingdom to compete in designing the project. One of these offices was the winner which designed the project and took all these matters into account”.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of Islamic Affairs and Endowments Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al-Sheikh said "with the blessings of Allah Almighty, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz has been doing great things for this nation. Today is another big day as you (King) have launched the start of this great project which is part of a series of excellent projects that have been implemented under your patronage and care."

He said the project is spread over an area of 30,000 square meters. It is comprised of housing units, a large number of other utility facilities, a mosque and parking zones.

In realization of the importance of the Two Holy Mosques, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has spent more than SR 70 billion to implement expansion projects at the Two Holy Mosques in the recent years.

Following the expansion project, the total area of the Holy Mosque of Makkah increased to 356,000 square meters from 152,000 square meters.

Arrangements are underway to carry out new projects in the future.

The huge project at Jamarat zone was implemented at a total cost of about SR 4 Billion.

As regards the Prophet's Mosque, the late King Fahd bin Abdulaziz laid the foundation stone for expanding the Mosque in Safar 1405 AH. The expansion area amounts to 82,000 square meters.

The expansion also included an area of about 235,000 square meters at the areas surrounding the Mosque.

These expansions will raise the capacity of the Mosque to more than 730,000 worshippers and on some occasions to more than one million worshippers.

On 14/7/1426 AH, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz ordered the completion of the remaining works at the Prophet's Mosque at a total cost of SR 4.7 billion.

In line with Royal order dated on 11/11/1427 AH, SR 10 billion from the surplus of the fiscal year 1426-1427 AH was distributed for a period of five fiscal years effective from the fiscal year 1427-1428 AH for implementing the projects of the Holy Mosque of Makkah and the Holy Places.

Since the era of King Abdulaziz, the Leaders of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia cared with the improvement and extension of Makah Holy Mosque to cope with the increasing numbers of pilgrims. King Abdulaziz – may Allah be merciful to him – gave this matter the highest priority. In 1344H, he started restoration and repair of walls, columns and the Holy Mosque plate. In 1354H, he ordered to restore the whole mosque. The extension of the mosque started at the era of King Saud – may Allah be merciful to him –, and specifically in Rabi Al Akher 1375H and it was the first extension for 1096 years, since the last extension made by the Abbasid Caliph (Al Muqtader Belah) in 279H . Before the first Saudi extension, the areas of the Holy Mosque was about 28,000 Meter Square, its capacity did not exceed 50,000 prayers. This extension took ten years approximately.

The Expansions Made by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques:

This project is considered the biggest to extend the Holy Mosque for 14 centuries, as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque laid the corner stone of this huge project, on 2nd Safar 1409H, corresponding to 13/9/1988G. The project extension includes the addition of a part to the mosque building from the Western side, and benefit from the roof of the holy mosque, of which its area is 61,000 meter square. Therefore, the holy mosque can accommodate about one and a half Million prayers during the Season of Hajj, Umrah and Ramadan. Additionally, two new minarets were built and the number of minarets reached to nine. The height of each minaret is 89 Meters.

Expansion and Reconstruction of the Prophet Mosque:

Since the era of King Abdulaziz, the country paid a special attention to the prophet mosque – Peace be upon him- to include the projects of extension and development. The first extension which King Abdulaziz ordered - may Allah be merciful to him – was in 1370H, where King Saud laid the corner stone to this extension by building four stones in the western wall of the mosque. The project cost was SR 70 Million. This first Saudi extension was the biggest for the prophet's mosque since its building. As for the second extension, it was implemented at the era of King Faisal Ben Abdulaziz may Allah be merciful to him-, which is an addition of an area to the existing building from the western direction.

The Expansion Made by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques:

It is a part of the project of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques -may Allah be merciful to him – to extend and construct the two holy mosques. He laid the corner stone of this project in 9 Safar 1405H, corresponding to 20/9/1989G. This project added a new building to the existing one. It also benefited from the mosque roof area for prayer, which is about 67,000 meter square. The area of the mosque became after the extension 165,000 meter square.

The Extension of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is characterized by the following:

The increase of number of the mosque minarets from 4 to 10, height 92 meters, addition of 65 new doors to the existing 16 doors. The total became 81 doors except the entrances, which increase from 7 to 23.