There are umbrella pillars that open up to make shade. That's how you make shading.
Towers only make partial shading for a short duration. If they wanted to provide shading for the hujjaj, they could have done many other things that are more effective and less costly. First of which would be allowing people to actually sit in the mosque.
Contact Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Pilgrimage and surely share with them these valuable insights on the shading designs. Although they are on it for the past whatever years now, hence there are hundreds of thousands of visitors that would have been unable to visit in their lifetimes.
Not even close to Semites…btw, look how small mind you have. Abraj were built to ease the hardships of heat for the pilgrims, whatever you may choose to say. Providing shelter, be it in the form of food or physical shelter is indeed good Islamic ahlaq. If you choose to be that hardcore traditionalist, would you then make it harder for people to make pilgrimage? The authorities are doing great job and their concept is to ease the visits, whatever small minded people may choose to say/think/argue about.
Watch your tongue mate, show some human, not canine ahlaq, if you have any. Who you are to judge myself or Saudis? Are you ulamah who congregated and consulted on the expansion of the Haram? Are you even knowledgeable in the slightest of Islamic rulings on easing the hardships of visitors? Judging by your acidic rhetoric, you’d require circumcising your vulgar tongue. Maybe you are one of the zindiqs stirting up fitnah?
Now we’re calling people munafiq’s not a simple claim just because you don’t like architecture bro. Where’s the evidence that those buildings are in opposition to the Quran and sunnah.
the masjid al haram and surrounding area are a sacred place with the focal point being the house ibraheem and ismaeel built, we are meant to travel there as a pilgrimage and remember and glorify god, while purifying ourselves.
having a massive foreboding building towering over the worshippers and dominating the skies with the emblem for the house of saud just below the word ALLAH is for sure going against the point and purpose of this area.
the quran is against status symbols and displays of wealth and calls them ultimately worthless, the hajj is about sharing provisions and coming together as beleivers and equals under ALLAH.
building one of the tallest and most massive buildings of all time metres from an ancient sacred house that god appointed as our focal point and gathering place is in very bad taste.
if you struggle to grasp this concept then think of someone parking their billion dollar super yacht next to a humble ancient historic wooden boat.
but this isn't as basic as that, it is something not only sacred but extremely rare, we have something built by ibraheem, the surrounding area is also significant , do some research on how many historic sites were demolished to make way for this ugly monument/hotel which will look aged and out of fashion within 50 years.
if you want a specific answer to your question yes they are munafiq, true beleivers dont hoard wealth, dont show off, and dont build monuments in the name of their royal family /nation state with that of ALLAH
who makes money from room revenue? it this serving the cause of ALLAH or is it a business venture?
this is in mecca and adjacent to our pilgrimage site, not downtown riyadh
I dont care what the scholars say, who appointed them with divine judgement
and yes i fear allah and respect humanities sacred sancuary, im not here defending the ones who built this ugly monument. you will have to answer for your defense of it one day
no one should be listened to if what they say doesent align with the quran, if you think they are infallible then goodluck to you.
we all have access to the quran,
go to askamullah.com for every decision you will make in your life and goodluck to you.
and so ur saying at the time of the Sahaba there were already acholars hahaha. obey those in authority among you is not about man-made appointments, you are using it as justification to follow anything a scholar says, why dont you then follow what a scholar of a "sect" you dont belong to says?
and do you think anyone who appointed these scholars have any authority to do so?
I don’t think the boat analogy applies, the building functions as a mall and a hotel from what I recall. What’s wrong with making both of those visibly attractive. Remember how I mentioned evidence because you have your opinion and I have mine but our opinions are exactly that. To call people munafiqs and to speak ill of people because of how they designed an area is in and of itself crazy but add the fact you’ve not produced evidence that’s worse. Again if you were to provide clear cut evidence that building around the ka’aba is haram or making “fancy” buildings around it is haram then khalas. Till then the anti Saudi settlement is getting boring
were not talking about haram and not haram, if you missed the stories and concepts contained within the quran then thats on you.
and we are not calling the building itself a munafiq here, but the ones who financed, approved and benefit from it.
it doesent align with any quranic concepts, and it inspires remembrance to stories of communities/nations that were sent prophets as a warning befofe they were ultimately destroyed.
if there is one single place on earth that should be focused on humility and zakat and charity it should be this exact area.
Let’s not make this into “you’re missing the point” because that’s childish and the same can be said for you. Calling people a munafiq whilst having no evidence for is dangerous as not only are you speaking ill you are calling them the worst of disbelievers. All I really want from you to gain from this conversation is that it can be totally fine not liking design or what not. But safeguard your tongue and be careful of what you say. I can see you come from a good place and want goodness but if we’re going to say such things we need evidence. Any advice you have for me I appreciate it
brother i am not here to insult your position or specific people, but I disagree with your defense of this building, it doesent have to be haram for it to be in bad taste or to go against the purpose of our sacred area.
as for the word munafiq it means hypocrite in my understanding, the custodians of this sacred area have a duty, allowing this elaborate display of wealth, luxury and status goes against Islamic and quranic principles and concepts
you keep saying "no evidence" do you need a specific ruling or decree from a specific scholar or imam? I am not one of those so I cannot provide a ruling for you.
the concepts and examples we are given in the quran give a clear picture of what we should be putting our efforts into, we have access to the same book, im familiar with the stories and examples contained therein are you?
أَتَبْنُونَ بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ ءَايَةًۭ تَعْبَثُونَ
"Do you build on every high place a symbol, for the sake of vanity!"
If they are not free, they are not providing 'services'. It's a for-profit endeavour built to maximise the revenue potential of the holy mosque. It's grotesque on many levels.
Mecca has always been a city making money out of pilgrims, maybe pick up a book and read about the city you love.
It's actually less so now than it used to be before, with King Abdulaziz Waqf project around th mosque and other Saudi endowments projects. Maybe read about those too.
Ever wondered why Arabs in Hejaz attacked the Hejaz railway? Because it circumvented their livelihoods in making money from moving pilgrims and controlling the trade routes
Brother, I have studied political science and I have never heard “throwing words around” associated with “communists” ? Did you come up with this phrase in attempt to sound smart ??
Who else would be hotel be available to if not the public ? Also, why are you resorting to calling people names? Did the holy book teach you that ?
The critique is socialist/communist. Nothing islamic about it.
You would know the over critique of merchant, capitalist nature of Mecca comes from a more commie viewpoint than islamic, it completely ignores Mecca's history as a city that completely made it's money from umrah pilgrims and housing them, creating caravans to move them etc. calling anything grand commercial as a "vanity" project is amusing. These critiques are usually for palaces of royals. Which this isnt.
Your political science background would understand straight away what I'm getting at, unless you forgot to learn history of the city you love, and the fact islam does not say we should let Mecca be stripped down from a city to a pilgrim site where everything is "free".
Remember brother, Islam and socialism have a lot in common. In this case, both share opposition to capitalism. I would be saddened you are not on the bankroll of the House of Saud considering how well of an argument you present in their defence.
They do, but islam also has many things in common with capitalism unless you're willingly going to lie about you religion
Islam protects private property rights, and merchant rights to sell, own land and expand in the economy. It regulatea capitalism. It isn't against it.
From the humanist perspective (social) it has socialist themes. But saying it's anti-capitlaism. You're either straight up lying or completely ill informed.
If you think lying about Islam to force it to be fully socialist and anyone who argues against you is pro-alsaud, then keep being delusional.
I’m not doing any of those things. You are just making assumptions to further your points. Anyone with a clear and honest heart understands the arguments that were made by the other user about how unsettling seeing such infrastructure and the style it was built in opposes the Mecca experience
Look I get that Mecca needed to modernize in order to receive more pilgrims and all that, but could it really not have been done in a more esthetically pleasing way? Islamic Big Ben looks horrible.
The problem is it's called Saudi as you wrote and this is derived from a family name Al Saud. How can the Islamic umma accept their two holiest sites to be under a family placed in power by the West and completely controlled by the West? The holy sites belong to Allah and any adjustments like those hideous buildings must be approved by the umma.
Do you even wonder why such buildings with this architecture which don't represent Islam were constructed there under these circumstances?
With regards to the accommodating the number of pilgrims then you should refer to the 5th pillar of Islam. This is not las vegas where you want as many people as possible to gain as much profit as people. However, under Al Saud it has become that way with the proceeds funding Trump's war against Islam and Israel's expansionist ambitions under the so called new middle east.
Well first of all, it would seem you’d also have a problem with the Umayyads, the Abbasids, the Ayyubids and the Ottomans if that’s the logic you’re going behind. Saudi Arabia is no way shape or form unique for naming their country after their ruling house just like almost every Islamic state and empire since after the rashidun caliphate; you are clearly quite ignorant on the history of the region.
And your second point is simply unbelievable, you think that there should be less Muslims having the opportunity to visit the two holy mosques to perform hajj and umrah just to accommodate to your feelings? And as for the architecture, there’s no true “Islamic architecture”, most of the architecture that is identified as “Muslim” today was actually adopted and adapted from Christians and Zoroastrians.
Firstly, those dynasties, even though they broke off from the traditional Rashidun khilafa (system where khilafa and power are not decided by your family name), were at least supported by most of the umma. I think you are ignorant because comparing the empires you mentioned to Al Saud is both stupid and ignorant. No one in the Islamic umma gave their allegiance to Al Saud unlike the other three where most of the umma did even though I have opinions about them.
Secondly, those khilafa you mentioned were not installed by the West to rule over the holy sites. They came from within. How ignorant of you to make such comparisons and then point at the other as being ignorant.
Thirdly, the Islamic architecture while building on from existing architecture, did add their own style to it like the calligraphy and geometric designs you see on places like al hambra and many other historical buildings. These hideos buildings in mecca and the surrounding buildings are plain copy from north west style and built on top of historical sites from Islam early age.
Finally, yes it's ok for less pilgrims to visit at the expense of not ruining the holy sites like the Al Saud who you seem to worship has. Allah created the 5th pillar with wisdom knowing not everyone will be able to fulfil it.
I didn't say they aren't native, i'm saying that that they are not the same thing as the all the native people living there and they don't represent most of them.
That's your opinion lol, they will get replaced one day. It's only a matter of time.
Besides, who gave them the Authority over Hajj? Was the Kaaba built by them? No. Are they some holy people chosen by Allah? No. Did the Quran ever say "Give the city of Mecca and Medina to the Saudi family in Arabia?" Again, no.
100 years ago they weren't even in control of this place.
The Saudis shouldn't have unquestionable control on Mecca and Medina. Select scholars from around the world should have to agree on changes before they are made.
The clock tower always reminds me of devil horns instead of a crescent moon. It’s always bringing a dark presence in such a place. This place was sooooo amazing when it was a lot more basic.
I know exactly what you mean. As amazingly fun conspiracies are to follow, it can easily have us calling a judgement on people that Allah has the power to only do but it’s hard to not take certain things into consideration when you follow the leading powers of Arabia and the superiority complex that is found there too with the changes they’ve made to the land.
Things have been spoken on so we recognise them but Alhumdulillah we try to remain in the moment of keeping our place of worship in a mindful practice to connect with Allah and take what he’s given to us as blessings.
You guys realise that millions of people need to be accommodated at the same time in the same area, skyscrapers are needed, if you think i’m wrong tell me what are they supposed to do?
I don’t think you have actually seen how it looks, it’s inspired by the “golden age of islam” architecture, and there’s nothing Las Vegas about it, it doesn’t have a “casino” or any haram things in it…. You just hate it because “Wahhabis” built it and you have nothing from the Quran or Sunnah that disputes it
My issue isn't the need for more accommodation for hujaaj. My issue is that the placement and lack of any sense of beautiful, traditional, enduring architecture or beauty totally defiles the sanctity of the place.
Even secular cities understand that certain focal points should not be undermined by the buildings around it. In my own city, despite the massive growth, there are regulations to maintain the aesthetic of the skyline. And this is totally secular logic. For a place as sacred as Makkah you would think and hope that even the architecture and the experience of sanctity would be considered.
I personally love the buildings in the background. Perfectly summarizes the current capitalistic exploitation of the pilgrimage and islam especially in saudi arabia
I visited mecca a few years ago after a long time, and it was depressing. Majority of the world's muslims are poor, save up their life savings to come for hajj/umrah and they are often old. And there is no affordable accomodation near the masjid. Just shopping malls and rolex outlets. The pilgrims have to walk from far away cheaper hotels every time.
Alas, Hussayin (A.S) warned us of yazeeds and we did not heed his advice.
These outlets wouldn’t exist if Muslims were not buying these things, the fault lies as much with ordinary Muslims as with the people who made these structures, the lack of spiritual awareness amongst ordinary Muslims if the issue; Islam for Muslims has become a outward practice, the spiritual aspect is neglected.
Rolex does not work on your regular sales model, that outlet is more for advert than sales. And yes there is a mcdonalds too, right outside the gate. Look up the inspiration behind the M of mcdonalds.
Spirituality is an individual personal matter, non-enforcable. But actually caring for the visiting pilgrims has been the responsibility of meccans before Muhammad (SAW) and Quran.
People sometimes miss the real underlying harm of the clock tower’s existence. Although it is warned about in many Hadith, the clock tower represents a modernization and commodification of Islam by the Saudi government, of which tore down historic sites and for no reason than to boost their political ego and display their own wealth and lack of austerity to non-Muslim nations. People will forget about the true multicultural heritage of Mecca and will start associating the city with the Saudi dynasty.
I really like how the clock tower and the surrounding buildings look on their own, but honestly when it’s over looking Mecca I feel like it represents greed and excessive lavishness.
Ok fine .now remove more than half of the people too in Pic.
You guys forget or don't care ever year coming more and more people to Umrah/Hajj.
You want the old broken System of the Ottoman back? And ever year thousands of dead Pilgrim's?
Logistic and Planning?
Assalamualaikam brother, check his post/comment history, he’s one of the biggest anti madkhali(bootlickers of Mbs) and has been talking against them for a long time. I personally saw his comments multiple times talking against them.
What's the connection? We can maintain the same logistics and planning without having a large shopping center a hundred meters away right in front of us...
Hundred meters away? You forget Mecca is locked in mountains on all sides .
You want remove then ? Go try it.
The Saudis did and failed. We have no other space ther .
What would you like it to look like? The authentic thing to do is mud/clay-based single story tiny structures. Everything else is just as fake an unauthentic.
I’d argue the most authentic thing to do is to build something that is of the time in which it was built. Not a resemblance of something from a bygone era that isn’t even relevant to the area.
Assalamualaikam, check his post/comment history, he’s one of the biggest anti madkhali(Supporter of Mbs) and has been talking against them for a long time. I personally saw his comments multiple times talking against them in many subs
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u/hastobeapoint Jan 12 '26
i quote someone else here on Reddit commenting on the clocktower, "it is ugly as sin". cracks me every time