IslamForeign visitors to Medina on umrah or any visit visa can now join free Quran classes at Masjid an-Nabawi, and the Islamic University of Madinah has opened a six-week Arabic course for them.
IslamAround 605 CE, five years before prophethood, the Quraysh rebuilt a Kaaba damaged by fire and flood; when the clans nearly came to blows over the Black Stone, Muhammad (peace be upon him), then 35, settled it with his cloak.
The King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives has published a historical map marking the places in Madinah where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) offered prayers.
IslamThe Saudi Press Agency says the meetings reviewed packages, service-provider contracts, housing, transport, catering and crowd management; preparations began in May, with set duties and deadlines for each stage.
IslamEach umbrella spans about 25.5 m square, weighs about 40 tonnes and shades over 900 people when open; 436 misting fans, rain drainage and more than 1,000 lights are built in.
IslamMasjid al-Haram's preacher Sheikh Dr Faisal bin Jamil Ghazzawi spoke on repentance and self-purification; the Prophet's Mosque preacher Sheikh Abdullah al-Buaijan called contentment true wealth.
AgrotechThe KAUST spin-out combines in-soil sensors with AI vision on a quadruped robot and a rover to spot crop stress early; it says fertiliser savings could reach 30 to 40 percent.
IslamAccommodation, transport, meals and services at the holy sites for foreign pilgrims will come under a single digital contract, replacing separate agreements with each service provider.
IslamSaudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah says more than 1.2 million pilgrims arrived from the start of the new season to 30 Muharram, 30 percent more than a year earlier, with Umrah visas up 27 percent.
IslamRua Al Madinah east of the Prophet's Mosque plans 47,000 hotel rooms by 2030; in Makkah the King Salman Gate and Masar Makkah projects advance, with a goal of serving 30 million Umrah pilgrims a year.
IslamMalik ibn Anas, known as the imam of the city of the Hijra, taught hadith and law at the Prophet's Mosque for about six decades and compiled al-Muwatta; writer Ahmad Sabbir tells his story in Prothom Alo.
The three initiatives have committed to restore almost 5 million hectares by 2030, joining a network of 27 recognised under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
LivestockIn early February 2026 Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture launched passports for camels, documenting each animal's identity, owner, breed and vaccinations. Government figures put the herd at about 2.2 million, worth more than two billion riyals a year to the economy.
The cabinet committee on government purchase approved buying 90,000 tonnes of granular urea for about Tk 469.93 crore, along with Covid test kits, tugboats and a power plant.
Monirul Islam, back from 16 years in Saudi Arabia, has grown the sammam melon on trial in Chapainawabganj's Barind area with promising results.
