Madinah : Non-Arabic speaking Umrah pilgrims and visitors to the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah commended the service of live translation of Friday sermons introduced at the two holy mosques.
They thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for launching this great service that helped them understand the sermons delivered from the pulpits of Makkah and Madinah Harams. Muhammad Amjad, a Pakistani pilgrim, said that the live translation has benefited him and other pilgrims a lot. “It is a wonderful experience to listen to such a great sermon in our mother tongue,” he said. Ismail Yekano, a pilgrim from Nigeria, said Muslims from across the world are amazed to see such remarkable services being offered to them at the holy mosques. Yousef, a Filipino, described the live translation as “one of the precious gifts from the King to the Muslims from around the world.” Mukhtar Muhammad, an Indian pilgrim, said that the translation of sermons impressed him a lot.
Abdullah Al-Hitab, director of the department for translation service, unveiled plans to make available translations of Friday sermons through the department’s website. The translation service, by qualified translators, is available in four languages – English, Urdu, French and Malay. Non-Arabic speaking worshippers have been supplied with headsets and compact audio devices to benefit from the service. The device is connected to FM frequency that broadcasts the translation of the Arabic sermon delivered by the imams at the holy mosques.