MAKKAH: Saudi Arabia has included Bahasa Melayu as one of the foreign languages in the live translation during Friday sermons at Makkah’s Grand Mosque and Madinah’s Nabawi Mosque.
The Imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah (Masjidil Haram), Sheikh Dr Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz As-Sudais, said the sermon will also be live in Bahasa Melayu during the Friday sermons in Arafah during the Haj season.
Sheikh Abdul Rahman told a group of visiting Malaysian editors that the move reflected the great importance the Saudi government attached to Malaysia.
“Great news for Malaysians. The Guardian of the Two Holy Mosques has agreed to implement the live translation of Friday’s sermon in Makkah, Madinah and Arafah in Bahasa Melayu,” he said.
“Bahasa Melayu is one of the 10 languages included in this project,” he said.
“This project is important to the people in Southeast Asia. It will benefit them. We also attach a great importance to Malaysia and Malaysian pilgrims,” the Grand Imam said.
Bahasa Melayu is spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. The Malay translation has followed suit after Urdu and English translation services were introduced.
In Makkah, the service is available near the King Fahd gate, which has been designated for non-Arabic speakers. Headsets and small audio devices are provided. The device is connected to an FM frequency that broadcasts the translation of the Arabic sermon delivered by the Grand Mosque khatib (preacher).
Sheikh Abdul Rahman, who is also President of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, spoke highly of Malaysia, Tabung Haji and Malaysian pilgrims.
“The Islam in Malaysia is a unique example to the world. We very much appreciate the work of Tabung Haji for being very systematic and it is an example to all other Haj agencies in other countries.”
“The Malaysian pilgrims are also well mannered inside the Haramain,” he said.
He said the massive expansion of the Grand Mosque in Makkah was in the final stages of completion. He expects the work to be completed by the end of this Ramadan.
The expanded mosque will accommodate up to 1.6 million Muslims at any one time.
He spoke against the “internationalisation” of the two holy sites and said Saudi Arabia is capable of managing the two holy sites in the interest of all Muslims.
The Saudi government and other Muslim leaders have also expressed resentment and rejection of calls for politicising Hajj and internationalising the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
Qatar has been repeating an Iranian out-of-day demand to transfer the administration of Muslims' two holy sites to an Islamic body, a call that reflects a sectarian view, rather than a pure Islamic consensus.
Sheikh Abdul Rahman said Saudi Arabia and Malaysia represent Islamic moderation and both nations are example to the world. He said Islam has nothing to do with extremism and terrorism.
"Both countries are in harmony to combat terrorism and reject extremism," he said.
On fake news, he said the Al-Quran and Hadith have stated very clearly that any news has to be verified. He said the spread of fake news especially in the social media could also be the work of "our enemies" out to disunite the Muslims.