Table of Contents The Question
11 1
1
Equilibrium
17
2 The Male and Female
21
3 Salmā
29
4 Baraka
37
5 Halīma
51
6 The Femininity of the Prophet’s Mosque
59
7 The Pillars (al-Asātīn)
101
8 The Perfumed Pillar (al-Mukhallaqa)
105
9 The Pillar of Aisha 10 The Pillar of Repentance
111 115
11 The Male Pillars
121
12 The Window of Hafsa (khawkat Ḥafṣa)
127
13 The Gate of Fatima
133
14 The Chamber of Āʾisha
137
The Sacred House (al-Bayt al-Ḥarām)
149
Allah’s Oneness (Tawḥīd)
157
2 Ḥājar
179
The Prophet’s Mosque
187
1
Multiplicity
189
The Two Keys
215
1
The Key to the Noble Chamber of the Prophet
217
2 The Key to the Revered Kaʿba, Quṣayy ibn Kilāb
231
3 ʿAbd al-Dar
237
4 ʿUthman
241
The Answer
255
Table of Contents The Question
11 1
1
Equilibrium
17
2 The Male and Female
21
3 Salmā
29
4 Baraka
37
5 Halīma
51
6 The Femininity of the Prophet’s Mosque
59
7 The Pillars (al-Asātīn)
101
8 The Perfumed Pillar (al-Mukhallaqa)
105
9 The Pillar of Aisha 10 The Pillar of Repentance
111 115
11 The Male Pillars
121
12 The Window of Hafsa (khawkat Ḥafṣa)
127
13 The Gate of Fatima
133
14 The Chamber of Āʾisha
137
The Sacred House (al-Bayt al-Ḥarām)
149
Allah’s Oneness (Tawḥīd)
157
2 Ḥājar
179
The Prophet’s Mosque
187
1
Multiplicity
189
The Two Keys
215
1
The Key to the Noble Chamber of the Prophet
217
2 The Key to the Revered Kaʿba, Quṣayy ibn Kilāb
231
3 ʿAbd al-Dar
237
4 ʿUthman
241
The Answer
255
would proclaim “Lā ilāha illā Allāh” (There is no god but Allah). In reply, the two Āghawāt on duty would respond “Muḥammad Rasūl Allāh” (Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah) three times, and then open the gate. After this they would go to the Āghawāt Chamber to retrieve the keys to the four main minarets—one in each corner of the Mosque—so that the muezzins could give the first call to prayer. During the call to prayer, the Āghawāt would open the remaining mosque doors and prepare for receiving worshippers. Once the prayer was over, each Āgha would begin his designated tasks inside the Mosque, which included neatly arranging the carpets, perfuming the Mosque with incense and fragrance, and managing the flow of both male and female visitors entering and leaving. Following the second Saudi expansion in 1406 AH (1986 CE), the area of the Prophet’s Mosque grew to ten times its original size. With only a limited number of Āghawāt, they could no longer fully meet the demands of such a vast space. Consequently, their duties were handed over to modern companies with significant resources, leaving the Āghawāt to continue serving only in the Mosque’s historic section, just as they had before. This coincided with the issuing of a religious decree (fatwā) directly concerning the Āghawāt. Historically, the Āghawāt were acquired from the slave market, where they would be purchased by the leaders at the time or philanthropists and then assigned to serve in the Prophet’s Mosque. Today, however, all Āghawāt are volunteers, dedicated to serving in the Two Holy Mosques as acts of devotion to Allah. The Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued a fatwā (religious ruling) ending the requirement that service in the Two Holy Mosques be restricted solely to eunuchs, to ensure it could not be misused as a pretext for castrating more volunteers for the sake of service. While castration was never carried out explicitly for enlisting eunuchs in the Prophet’s Mosque, allowing additional eunuch volunteers might have tempted some to undergo the procedure just to join the Āghawāt. The fatwā confirmed that this practice had no religious basis and was contrary to the teachings of Islam, which strictly prohibits castration. After the fatwā, no new eunuch volunteers were admitted. (The last one to be admitted was in 1979, 1399 H.) Today, only one Āghā remains, standing as the last link with an older generation and a tradition that has spanned eight centuries. Over time, the Āghawāt grew older, their numbers dwindled, and their activity declined. As a result, the authorities enlisted modern companies to carry out most of their duties but left them the most noble and honoured responsibilities: caring for the Prophet’s pulpit, the Noble Rawḍa, and the Prophet’s Noble Chamber—also referred to as the “Prophet’s Compartment.” The Āghawāt would daily perfume the Noble Rawḍa and the rest of the Mosque with the finest and most valuable types of oud and incense. They kept the key to the noble pulpit, preparing it every Friday morning. As for the Prophet’s Chamber, it was customary for the Āghawāt to safeguard its keys, passing them down through the generations. When a new Sheikh of the Āghawāt was appointed, he would receive the key along with just one piece of directive: “Do not show it to anyone.” They routinely opened the Prophet’s Chamber to clean it, washing its marble floor with rosewater, and they would also open it for distinguished visitors—such as kings and heads of state—by order of the highest authority. The first generation of Āghawāt, eight centuries ago, were of Abyssinian origin; their backgrounds later became diverse, until eventually, the final generation returned to its original root—Abyssinia.
This book is an attempt to answer the question: For those wishing to join the “system of the Aghawat,” what deeper meaning might lie behind the requirement of being a eunuch?
14
Sheikh Saeed Adam Omar. Late Sheikh of the Guardians
15
would proclaim “Lā ilāha illā Allāh” (There is no god but Allah). In reply, the two Āghawāt on duty would respond “Muḥammad Rasūl Allāh” (Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah) three times, and then open the gate. After this they would go to the Āghawāt Chamber to retrieve the keys to the four main minarets—one in each corner of the Mosque—so that the muezzins could give the first call to prayer. During the call to prayer, the Āghawāt would open the remaining mosque doors and prepare for receiving worshippers. Once the prayer was over, each Āgha would begin his designated tasks inside the Mosque, which included neatly arranging the carpets, perfuming the Mosque with incense and fragrance, and managing the flow of both male and female visitors entering and leaving. Following the second Saudi expansion in 1406 AH (1986 CE), the area of the Prophet’s Mosque grew to ten times its original size. With only a limited number of Āghawāt, they could no longer fully meet the demands of such a vast space. Consequently, their duties were handed over to modern companies with significant resources, leaving the Āghawāt to continue serving only in the Mosque’s historic section, just as they had before. This coincided with the issuing of a religious decree (fatwā) directly concerning the Āghawāt. Historically, the Āghawāt were acquired from the slave market, where they would be purchased by the leaders at the time or philanthropists and then assigned to serve in the Prophet’s Mosque. Today, however, all Āghawāt are volunteers, dedicated to serving in the Two Holy Mosques as acts of devotion to Allah. The Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued a fatwā (religious ruling) ending the requirement that service in the Two Holy Mosques be restricted solely to eunuchs, to ensure it could not be misused as a pretext for castrating more volunteers for the sake of service. While castration was never carried out explicitly for enlisting eunuchs in the Prophet’s Mosque, allowing additional eunuch volunteers might have tempted some to undergo the procedure just to join the Āghawāt. The fatwā confirmed that this practice had no religious basis and was contrary to the teachings of Islam, which strictly prohibits castration. After the fatwā, no new eunuch volunteers were admitted. (The last one to be admitted was in 1979, 1399 H.) Today, only one Āghā remains, standing as the last link with an older generation and a tradition that has spanned eight centuries. Over time, the Āghawāt grew older, their numbers dwindled, and their activity declined. As a result, the authorities enlisted modern companies to carry out most of their duties but left them the most noble and honoured responsibilities: caring for the Prophet’s pulpit, the Noble Rawḍa, and the Prophet’s Noble Chamber—also referred to as the “Prophet’s Compartment.” The Āghawāt would daily perfume the Noble Rawḍa and the rest of the Mosque with the finest and most valuable types of oud and incense. They kept the key to the noble pulpit, preparing it every Friday morning. As for the Prophet’s Chamber, it was customary for the Āghawāt to safeguard its keys, passing them down through the generations. When a new Sheikh of the Āghawāt was appointed, he would receive the key along with just one piece of directive: “Do not show it to anyone.” They routinely opened the Prophet’s Chamber to clean it, washing its marble floor with rosewater, and they would also open it for distinguished visitors—such as kings and heads of state—by order of the highest authority. The first generation of Āghawāt, eight centuries ago, were of Abyssinian origin; their backgrounds later became diverse, until eventually, the final generation returned to its original root—Abyssinia.
This book is an attempt to answer the question: For those wishing to join the “system of the Aghawat,” what deeper meaning might lie behind the requirement of being a eunuch?
14
Sheikh Saeed Adam Omar. Late Sheikh of the Guardians
15
26
27
26
27
32
33
32
33
40
41
40
41
140
141
140
141
184
The Masʿ ā
185
184
The Masʿ ā
185
248
249
248
249
272