On the western side of the Arabian peninsula is a region known as the Hejaz, or “barrier.” The Hejaz rises from the western coastal plain from Yemen in the south to the Sinai peninsula in the north. One of the oases in the Hejaz is Mecca, set among the barren hills fifty miles inland from the sea.

Mecca possessed a well (the Zemzem) of great depth, and two ancient caravan routes met there. An east-to-west route ran from Africa through the peninsula to Iran and Central Asia, and a northwest-southeast route brought the spices of India to the Mediterranean world. Another significant advantage of Mecca was its importance as a religious sanctuary. This is the location of where Abraham brought Hagar and Ishmael..

An ancient temple, an almost square structure built of granite blocks, stood near the well of Mecca. Known as the Kaaba (cube), this square temple contained the sacred Black Stone, which was said to have been brought to Abraham and his son Ishmael by the Angel Gabriel. According to tradition, the stone, probably a meteorite, was originally white but had become blackened by the sins of those touching it.

For centuries the Kaaba had been a holy place of annual pilgrimage for the Arabic tribes and a focal point of Arabic cultural and linguistic unity. The Kaaba itself was draped with the pelts of sacrificial animals, and supposedly held the images and shrines of 360 gods and goddesses.

By the sixth century, Mecca was controlled by the Koraysh tribe, whose rulers organized themselves into syndicates of merchants and wealthy businessmen. The Koraysh held lucrative trading agreements with Byzantine and Persian contacts, as well as with the southern Arabian tribes and the Abyssinians (Ethiopians) across the Red Sea.

In addition, a number of neighboring merchant fairs, such as one usually held at Ukaz, were taken over by the Koraysh to extend the economic influence of Mecca. The Koraysh were also concerned with protecting the religious shrine of the Kaaba, in addition to ensuring that the annual pilgrimage of tribes to the holy place would continue as a source of revenue for the merchants of the city.
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Tens of thousands of Muslims chanted “Death Slogan’s” at the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which the Ayatollah of Iran called “a symbol of spirituality.”

Qazi-Asgar read a message from the Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. He began his speech by saying that “the growing wave of Islamic awakening heralds a glorious future for the Muslim community. The enemy’s extensive propaganda campaigns to promote Islamophobia are hasty attempts at sowing discord among Islamic faiths and fueling factional prejudices.”
He told Muslims, “Today the Zionist regime is no more the undefeatable monster of 30 years ago.” ”The United States and the West are also no more the unquestionable decision-makers of the Middle East that they were two decades ago. Today the arrogant United States, the self-styled commandant of the Islamic region and the real sponsor of the Zionist regime, is bogged down in the quagmire of its own making in Afghanistan.”

Khamenei continued, “No virtue is better than rescuing nations from the demonic clutches of hegemonic powers, and no vice is worse than depending on and serving hegemonic powers,” referring to the United States.

The Arab Ahlul Bayt News Agency reported, “The pilgrims chanted anti-US and anti-Zionist slogans during the ceremony, also attended by the Supreme Leader’s representative for Hajj affairs, Hojatoleslam Ali Qazi-Asgar. “God is the Greatest”, “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” were among slogans chanted by the masses in unison as they gathered in the Desert of Arafat near Mecca, where more than 2 million Muslims have gathered.

Of interest, Iran and the Vatican Holy See have had diplomatic relations for more than 50 years. In his letter to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Pope Benedict XVI Benedict stated he hoped that the “cordial” relations between the Holy See and Iran will progress as well as relations on the ground between the local church and local authorities.

A renewed focus on exorcism highlights the divine element of the Roman Catholic church and the belief that evil and demons are real.

A major exorcism can only be performed by a priest with the permission of his bishop after a thorough evaluation, including consulting with physicians or psychiatrists to rule out any psychological or physical illness behind the person’s behaviour.

Signs of demonic possession accepted by the church include violent reaction to holy water or anything holy, speaking in a language the possessed person doesn’t know [speaking in tongues] and abnormal displays of strength.

The full exorcism is held in private and includes sprinkling holy water, reciting Psalms, reading aloud from the Gospel, laying on of hands and reciting the Lord’s Prayer. Some adaptations are allowed for different circumstances.

The exorcist can invoke the Holy Spirit then blow in the face of the possessed person, trace the sign of the cross on the person’s forehead and command the devil to leave.

Muslims pray a brief ritualistic prayer called salah or salat in Arabic, facing the Kaaba in Mecca, five times a day. There is the “call for prayer” (adhan or azaan), where the muezzin calls for all the followers to stand together for the prayer . There are also many standard duas or supplications, also in Arabic, to be recited at various times, e.g. for one’s parents, after salah, before eating. Muslims may also say dua in their own words and languages for any issue they wish to communicate with God in the hope that God will answer their prayers.

Muslims performing Salah.

Salat (Arabic:pl. ṣalawāt) is the name given to the formal prayer of Islam. Its supreme importance for Muslims is indicated by its status as one of the paradigmatic Five Pillars of Sunni Islam and of the Ten Practices of the Religion of Shi’a Islam. Salah is a ritual prayer, having prescribed conditions, a prescribed procedure, and prescribed times.

Muslims praying during the Hajj at Masjid al-Haram, Mecca.

Salat in Hadith
The Ahadith provide further details; as for example, when the Qur’an refers to three daily prayers (suras 11:114; 17:78–79; 30:17–18 and possibly 24:58), while the five daily prayers stipulated by the later Ahadith have been adopted by Muslims.

Typical prayer content (One rakat)

Intentions

There is no need to say your intentions outloud. Just know that you are either going to pray your obligatory prayers or nafl prayers. An an example is that if you walk to the moasque for salah, you dont say it outloud. Same goes for praying.

Mujahideen in prayer during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Prayer

Allah is the greatest (Allahu Akbar)

Highly glorified are You oh Allah (Subhana kallah humma wa bi hamdaka)

And thine is praised and blessed is your name and exalted is your majesty (Wa taba rakas muka wata’ala Jadduka)

And there is none worthy of worship besides You (wa la ilaha ghairuk)

I seek refuge in Allah from the rejected Satan (Aoothu billahi mina shaitan ir rajim)

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful (Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim)

All praise is due to Allah (Alhamdu lillahi)

The Lord of the Worlds (Rabbil ‘alamin)

The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful (Arrahmanir Rahim)

The Master on the Day of Reckoning (Maliki yaw middin)

You alone do we worship, You alone do we seek for help (Iyyaka na’budu wa Iyyaka nista’in)

Guide us on the straight way (Ihdinas siratal mustaqim)

The way of those whom You favored (Siratal lazina an’amta ‘alayhim)

Not the way of those who incur your wrath (Ghayril maghzubi ‘alayhim)

Nor of those who go astray. (Walad dhallin)

Amen. (Amin.)

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful (Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim)

Say: He is Allah, the One and Only (Qul huwallahu Ahad)

Allah, the Eternal Absolute (Allahus Samad)

He begetteth not, nor is he begotten (Lam yalid walam yulad)

And there is none like unto Him (Walam yakul lahu kufu wan ahad)

Allah is the greatest (Allahu Akbar)

Glory to my Lord the Great, (Subhana Rabbiyal ‘Azim)

Glory to my Lord the Great, (Subhana Rabbiyal ‘Azim)

Glory to my Lord the Great (Subhana Rabbiyal ‘Azim)

Surely Allah hears whoever praises Him (Sami’ Allahu Liman Hamida)

Our Lord, all praise belongs to You (Rabbanaa lakal hamd)

Allah is the greatest (Allahu Akbar)

Glory to my Lord the Most High, (Subhana Rabbi yal A’la)

Glory to my Lord the Most High, (Subhana Rabbi yal A’la)

Glory to my Lord the Most High (Subhana Rabbi yal A’la)

Allah is greater (Allahu Akbar)

Oh Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me (Alla-hummagh-firl war’hamni)

Allah is greater (Allahu Akbar)

Glory to my Lord the Most High, (Subhana Rabbi yal A’la)

Glory to my Lord the Most High, (Subhana Rabbi yal A’la)

Glory to my Lord the Most High (Subhana Rabbi yal A’la)

Allah is greater (Allahu Akbar)

All good whether rendered by speech, by prayer, by deed, or by worship is for Allah only (Attahiatu lilahi wasalawatu watayibatu)

Peace be unto you oh Prophet (Assalamu alayka ayuhannabiyu)

and the mercy and blessings of Allah (wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu)

Peace be unto us and the righteous servants of Allah (Assalamu alayina wa ala ibadillahissalalihiyn)

I bear witness that there is no God except Allah (Ash hadu an la ilaha illal lahu)

And Muhammad is His slave and Messenger (wa ashadu anna Muhammadan ‘Abduhu wa Rasuluah)

Oh Allah, bless Muhammad and the followers of Muhammad (Allahumma salliy ala Muhammadin wa ala aali Muhammadin)

As you blessed Abraham and the followers of Abraham (Allhuma salaita ala Ibrahima wa’ala ali Ibrhaima)

Oh Allah, praise and venerate Muhammad and the followers of Muhammad (Allahuma barik Muhammadin wa ala aali Muhammadin)

As you praised and venerated Abraham and the followers of Abraham (Kama barkta ala Ibrahima wa ala aali Ibrahima)

In the worlds, surely You are praised and magnified (Inaka Hamidon Majid)

Amen (Amin)

Peace be unto you and the mercy of Allah, (Assalamu alai kum wa rahmatu Allah)

Peace be unto you and the mercy of Allah (Assalamu alai kum wa rahmatu Allah)