The Third Friday of Ramadan at Aqsa Mosque, Palestine

Al-Quds, MINA – The third Friday of the month of Ramadan at Aqsa Mosque usually starts to reach the peak of number of worshipers. No less than 40 thousand worshipers taraweeh prayers in the entire Al-Aqsa complex in previous Ramadan. Pilgrims flocked to Friday prayers in the afternoon, and taraweeh at night to reach Laylat al-Qadr in the blessed mosque.

But this year the conditions are different. Not because of decreased desires. But the deal of the Covid-19 plague has made lockouts for places of worship in Palestine. The Palestinian Authority, on the recommendation of Local Ministry of Health and Ulema closed Aqsa Mosque for worshipers.

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So, on Friday prayers, May 8 the congregation was limited to about 80 people in the mosque. Early weeks of the locking period, praying in the courtyard of the mosque. And even then limited to the mosque’s priests, caretakers, guards and daily officers. Thus quoted from al-Hayat on Saturday, May 9.

While the surrounding residents who are close to Al-Aqsa, with their loyalty and love, they are forced to take part in Friday prayers in congregation in front of the entrance gate of the mosque.

Residents of the Old City of Jerusalem are forced to perform the midday prayer in their respective homes, for the seventh time in a row during coronavirus prevention period.

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The preacher of Friday Sermon, Shaykh Yusuf Abu Sneina, in his sermon from the pulpit Salahuddin al-Ayyubi calmed, “The current conditions are indeed difficult and sad. But we believe in God will soon save us all from this plague. ”

“The mosques are still closed, this is sad. We all know that our hearts really want to worship, pray, and prostrate at this blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. But we must be patient for some time. ”

In such an atmosphere of locking in Palestine, Sheikh Abu Sneina urged the Israeli occupation to immediately release the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

The sheikh demands that responsible and competent authorities work hard to free prisoners, especially women.

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In a pandemic atmosphere, he also condemned Israeli troops and Jewish settlers who took advantage of the situation by holding rituals at the Ibrahimi Mosque compound.

“Ibrahimi Mosque is an absolute right of Muslims,” he stressed. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)