The Holy Ka’abah, an Islamic holy site in Saudi Arabia was captured empty, possibly for the first time in history, as countries and organizations, including religious centres, take preventive measures against the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Dr. Yasir Qadhi, an Islamic Theologian and Scholar, who is the Dean of Academic Affairs, The Islamic Seminary of America, was among those who shared videos of the development on Twitter.
“Subhan Allah, the Ka’ba is empty, the tawaf has stopped as the authorities clean the Ḥaram because of the coronavirus scare. May Allah protect all of us!” Dr. Qadhi tweeted.
Followers of the Islamic scholar on Twitter were left perplexed, with one particular follower responding that it was the first time to ever seen the Ka’abah empty.
I am seeing empty Kaba first time in my life.
— Md. Mahin Rahman (@be_prepared1) March 5, 2020
The Holy Ka’abah in Saudi Arabia, also known as al-Ka’bah al-Musharrafah, is a building at the center of Islam’s most important mosque, Great Mosque of Mecca in the Hejazi city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
It is the most sacred site in Islam and considered by Muslims to be the Bayt Allāh, and has a similar role to the Tabernacle and Holy of Holies in Judaism. Its location determines the qiblah. Wherever they are in the world, Muslims are expected to face the Ka’abah when performing Salah, the Islamic prayer.
One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim who is able to do so to perform the Hajj at least once in their lifetime. Multiple parts of the hajj require pilgrims to make Tawaf seven times counter-clockwise around the Kaaba, the first three times fast, at the edge of the courtyard, and the last four times slowly, nearer the Kaaba.
Tawaf is also performed by pilgrims during the ʿUmrah (Lesser Pilgrimage). However, the most significant time is during the hajj, when millions of pilgrims gather to circle the building during a 5-day period.
In 2017, the number of pilgrims coming from outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform hajj was officially reported as 1,752,014 and 600,108 Saudi Arabian residents bringing the total number of pilgrims to 2,352,122. In the 2019 hajj, The Kingdom reported 2,489,406 foreign pilgrims and 634,379 domestic pilgrims bringing the total number of pilgrims to 3,123,785.
However, in the wake of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Saudi Arabia government temporarily banned travellers from coming to the Kingdom for either Umrah, an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, or to visit the Prophet’s Mosque in the city of Medina, as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the COVID-19.
“Suspending entry to the Kingdom for the purpose of Umrah and visiting the Prophet’s Mosque temporarily,” Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry announced in a statement in February.
Saudi Arabia also banned travellers with tourist visas issued by countries “in which the spread of COVID-19 is a danger, according to the criteria determined by the competent health authorities in the Kingdom.