40,000 Pray At Grand Mosque On ‘night Of Power’

With some 40,000 worshippers attending the 27th of Ramadan prayers at the Grand Mosque in Kuwait, security at around 1,500 mosques had been beefed up to protect worshippers from any kind of threat, said Minister of Justice and Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Yaqoub Al- Sane late Monday.

Al-Sane told KUNA that that the Ministry had been working with other state entities for quite some time to make sure that the last ten days of the Holy Month of Ramadan would go smoothly and without any disturbance. Regarding the preparations at Grand Mosque, Al-Sane said that all procedures were undertaken to accommodate the large numbers of worshippers attending the prayers.

On his part, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior Major General Mahmoud Al-Dosiri said that the ministry had intensified its presence at mosques throughout Kuwait especially after the terrorist attack on the Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque which killed 26 people and injured over 200 others. In the Grand Mosque, security personnel were deployed at the gates to inspect worshippers going in, said Al-Dosiri, noting that such procedure was carried out as a precaution.

During one of the odd evenings of the last ten days of Ramadan, Muslims seek a special evening called “Laylat Al-Qadr”. According to Islamic traditions, Laylat Al-Qadr, or The Night of Destiny, is believed to be the evening when Allah Almighty would forgive sins and answer prayers.

It was also believed to be the night when the first verses of the Holy Quran were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Meanwhile, Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs prepared some 80 open spaces for performing Eid al-Fitr prayers in the six governorates of Kuwait, Assistant Undersecretary for Mosques Affairs Walid Issa Shuaib said Tuesday.

Shuaib added in a statement that there will be about 17 open spaces in the Capital City (Al- Asimah), 14 in Hawalli Governorate, 12 in Jahra Governoarte, 12 in Farwaniya Governorate, 17 in Ahmadi Governorate and 8 in Mubarak al-Kabeer Governorate. Locations and names of the open spaces have been specified, Shuaib noted. He congratulated His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al- Hamad Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti people and expats as well as the Muslim nation on Eid al-Fitr.

Source - Kuwait Times