Imam-e-Kaaba Sheikh Saleh bin Humaid, who is on Pakistan’s four-day visit, lad the Friday prayer at Islamabad’s iconic Faisal Mosque on November 24, 2024. Strict security arrangements were made around the Mosque.
During the Friday sermon at Faisal Mosque, Sheikh Saleh urged Muslims not to declare other Muslims infidels over minor differences. He asked worshippers to strive for self-improvement for the betterment of the world hereafter.
Imam-e-Kaaba emphasized importance of promoting love, brotherhood, and equality within the communities. He called upon Muslim countries to be united and stressed joint efforts by the Muslim world to stop Israeli atrocities in Palestine.
Saudi ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Saeed Ahmad Al-Malki was also among the hundreds of thousands of worshippers who joined Friday prayer at Faisal Mosque in the capital city.
Imam-e-Kaaba’s arrival
Sheikh Saleh, the custodian of Islam’s holiest site, arrived in Islamabad on November 22 to further strengthen the brotherly relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Earlier, the Imam met with the country’s senior leadership, including the President and the Caretaker Prime Minister.
“He is set to engage in meetings with key figures, including the President, Prime Minister, Chief of Army Staff, and other high-ranking officials,” APP had reported on Sheikh Saleh’s arrival.
Upon his arrival, Imam-e-Kaaba was warmly greeted by caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti, caretaker Minister for Education Madad Ali Sindhi, Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Al Malki, and several other high-ranking officials.
During the interaction, Ashrafi, also serving as the SAPM on Religious Harmony, underscored the visit’s “spiritual and diplomatic” importance, emphasizing its potential to bolster peace, unity, and shared values between the two nations. He emphasized the significance of Sheikh Saleh’s presence in furthering these ideals.
In his meeting with the caretaker education minister, Sheikh Saleh expressed his deep connection with Pakistan, having visited the country for over two decades.
“The two countries are like brothers and this relationship will always remain like this,” he said.
He also highlighted the importance of collaboration on various topics of mutual interest, including medicine, cyber security, climate change, engineering, artificial intelligence, distance learning, and renewable energy.
Imam urges the world to stop the massacre in Palestine
Imam-e-Kaaba also urged the international community to play its role in halting the ongoing massacre in Palestine. While addressing the international conference on “Protection of Human Life in Shariah and Law” at the Faisal Masjid Campus of International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI) on Thursday, Sheikh Saleh said Muslims were being massacred in the name of human rights in Gaza.
Calling the massacre “the darkest period in human history”, the Imam said the international community must honour the sanctity of Muslim lives as they do all others and should play its role in stopping the crimes in Gaza.
Sheikh Saleh said that in Islam special attention was paid to the sanctity of human life without distinction of belief. Islam strictly prohibits the loss of human life and there is a promise of hell for those who take innocent human lives.
Sheikh Saleh, born in the Saudi city of Buraydah, became a Hafiz-e-Qur’an at age 20. The distinguished dignitary earned his master’s and PhD degrees from Umm Al Qurra University of Makkah. He was named the imam at the Masjid Al Haram in 1983. Previously, the Imam, who is also an adviser to the Kingdom’s Royal Court, also served as the head of KSA’s Shoura Council and president of the High Judiciary Commission.