Download Islamic site near Makkah among few still preserved

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016
Islamic site near Makkah
among few still preserved
MAKKAH: Just outside the city of Makkah in Saudi Arabia lies one
of Islam’s most important historical sites - a cave where, according
to tradition, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) spent time in seclusion, contemplation and self-reflection.
It was here, inside Hira Cave located near the top of a steep hill
called Noor Mountain, where Muslims believe God revealed to the
prophet (PBUH) the first verses of the Quran through the angel
Jebril, or Gabriel as he is named in English.
Today, the site is among few still preserved from the prophet’s
time - with help from Pakistani workers in the kingdom. Each year,
observant Muslims deepen their prayers and supplication in the
final 10 nights of the Islamic month of Ramadan, believing that it
was during this time some 1,400 years ago that the miraculous
revelation took place on Noor Mountain, also known as the “Hill of
Light.”
The hill itself is not part of the annual hajj pilgrimage, but its
location so close to the holy city of Makkah and its significance as
a place of enlightenment draws thousands of pilgrims here every
year.
But present-day visitors encounter a markedly different summit from the one the prophet experienced. For starters, there are
now more than 1,000 steps that guide pilgrims up the rocky hill to
the secluded cave. Along the way, entrepreneurial Pakistanis sell
bottled water, snacks and tea to pilgrims exhausted by the climb.
Unlike the quiet and seemingly endless stretch of nature the
prophet would have seen from the cave, massive high-rises housing five-star hotels jut into the distant skyline just steps away from
the cube-shaped Kaaba, Islam’s holiest site. The Pakistani workers
and beggars who live off the mountain’s draw say they play a key
role in helping to preserve it.
Nizam Din, from the Pakistani city of Quetta, spends his days
begging and fixing broken cement steps along the path up Noor
Mountain. Jamal Khan, from Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and
main port, also earns a living by serving the pilgrims who make
their way to the cave. “Our lives here are better because we do not
have jobs back home,” he said. “What is a better place to be than
here where the Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation
from God?”
Makkah’s mayor, Osama al-Bar, says the municipality ensures
the area’s cleanliness. There are also plans, he said, for the development of a visitors’ center near the hill to explain to people its
significance and history.
He said the area is watched over by the kingdom’s religious
police, known as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and
Prevention of Vice, who ensure visitors do not turn it into a place
of worship that venerates anything other than God. Here is a
selection of images by Associated Press photographer Nariman ElMofty showing the Pakistanis who work on Noor Mountain. — AP
Sobdar Khan, 35, a Pakistani from Karachi, poses
for a portrait on Noor Mountain, where Prophet
Muhammad received his first revelation from God
to preach Islam, on the outskirts of Makkah. — AP
In this Friday, Sept. 9, 2016 photo, Pakistani men live near Hira cave on Noor Mountain, where
Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation from God to preach Islam. — AP
In this Friday, Sept. 9, 2016 photo, a Turkish Muslim woman prays outside Hira
cave. — AP
Photo shows a sign asking people to preserve Noor Mountain. — AP
A Pakistani beggar who sleeps on Noor Mountain. — AP