Painting showing lone worshipper kneeling before Kaaba stirs up emotions world over
A painting by a Saudi artist showing a lone cleaner kneeling in front of Kaaba in the court of Grand Mosque in Macca amid the lockdown has stirred up the emotions of Muslims world over.
“It is heartbreaking,” said Mustafa Ahmed, a Srinagar resident after seeing depiction of the painting by Nabila Abuljadayel. He added, “I have been there on pilgrimage thrice. Otherwise also, I knew it only as a holy site which would remain full of life almost round the clock whole year. Sadly it is empty today.”
Capturing the moment of the emptiness and stillness prevailing inside the holy premises, Ms. Nabila’s painting shows a cleaner — the lone worshipper — kneeling in front of Kaaba in the court of the Great Mosque at Mecca that contains a sacred black stone and is the goal of Islamic pilgrimage and the point toward which Muslims turn in praying.
The painting went viral, catching the imagination of many prominent Muslims across the globe.
Overnight Ms. Nabila’s name became a household word beyond her country where she is a Goodwill Ambassador for the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center.
In an interview, she said that her idea for the painting came from reality as she realised that amid lockdown the only ones who maintained “such an elevated status” by visiting the Grand Mosque were those who had dedicated their lives to serve the holy site by tending to it.
“Those same nameless, faceless anonymous workers, whom we tend to take for granted, had the best opportunity in the world,” she was quoted as saying by a Saudi newspaper.
She while speaking to this correspondent reiterated that the event captured by her in this painting embodied the Islamic faith which reaffirms the importance of humility and demonstrates all equal in the sight of God.
Many Muslims took to social media platforms to express their appreciation for the “masterpiece” named as “Isjod wa Iqtareb” (prostrate and draw near). “This is my one more art work to contribute to humanitarian ends,” Ms. Nabila who has, so far, created more than 400 artworks, said.
Ms. Nabila earned her bachelor’s degree in digital art and photography from Northeastern University in Boston in 2016. She also studied cinema at Harvard University.
The Saudi authorities in March closed all mosques across the Kingdom temporarily but allowed the ritual of Adhan or call to prayer with the rider that people will pray in their home rather than coming to the places of worship to limit the spread of the Covid-19.
However, King Salman bin Abdulaziz who is also the custodian of the two holy mosques in Mecca and Medina, approved a shortened version of the Taraweeh prayer to be held during the fasting month of Ramadan with continued restrictions on the attendance of worshippers at these most sacred places in Islam. At the same time, the Saudi Health Ministry has repeated its warning on the risks of social gatherings.
The footage pictures showing near empty alMasjid al-aram in Mecca and al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina — the places which would otherwise witness great bustling round the year-being disseminated through television, newspapers and social media platforms have left majority of the Muslims heartbroken and even shocked.
A recent report from Riyadh said that a 24hour curfew will be clamped across Saudi Arabia during the fiveday Id-ul-Fitr holidays beginning on May 23 in an effort to stem the spread of Covid-19.
As the authorities in the Kingdom are literally burning the midnight oil while handling positive patients whose number has crossed the 45k-mark and even suspects, it looks unlikely that they would go ahead with this year’s Haj.