More than 2.5 million worshipers thronged the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah on Monday, the 27th night of Ramadan, which is widely believed to be Lailatul Qadr, the Night of Power, the 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Tuesday.
A large number of people had already started arriving at Masjid al-Haram and Masjid al-Nabawi to pray Isha and the special night prayers of Taraweeh and Qiyamullail.
All the floors, corridors, basements, roofs and surrounding areas of both Holy Mosques were overflowed with the worshipers.
The faithful included Saudi citizens, resident foreigners and pilgrims.
Islam teaches that the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed on Lailatul Qadr.
The Saudi authorities have made elaborate arrangements for the smooth flow of worshipers and enable them to spend the blessed night in a highly spiritual and serene atmosphere.
The spokesperson of the Haramin Sharifin administration, Hani Haider, said that the arrangements of the 27th night were being directly supervised by Sheikh Abdurahman Al-Sudais, head of the Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques.
Hani Haider said that special arrangements were made for the distribution of Zamzam water on this occasion. "More than two lakh bottles of Zamzam water were distributed in Mataf, two hundred bags of gifts were distributed between Safa and Marwa".
He said that 3000 electric wheelchairs were provided for elderly and disabled pilgrims. There were four entrance doors reserved for wheelchairs. The management of the Haramin Sharif made special arrangements regarding the 27th night so that the pilgrims would not face any difficulty in zikr, worship and prayers.
The streets around the Haram Mosque, the corridors and areas of commercial centers and hotels were filled with worshippers.
The Masjid al-Haram was washed ten times a day as usual. More than 4000 officials and 400 watchmen were appointed for this work.
An army of workers are working around the clock to ensure that facilities are at their best and the needs of worshipers are taken care of, he added.