The Agency for the Affairs of the Prophet’s Mosque announced the death of Agha Habib Al-Afri, one of the oldest pilgrims of the Prophet’s Mosque.
She explained today (Wednesday) that the deceased worked for a long period of time in the service of the Prophet’s Mosque, adding that the prayer for him will be following the Maghrib prayer.
Al-Afri was responsible for the cleanliness of the honorable Prophet’s chamber and supervising its private matters.
The first appearance of the aghas dates back to the Ayyubid period, and they were brought from some countries beyond the river, Sindh and India, and most of them are from Abyssinia. Their tasks vary between guarding the honorable Prophet’s chamber and overseeing its private affairs.
The number of aghas is 12, and their functions include the “Sheikh of the Agawas” as he is the oldest service and the highest job, and is responsible for the workflow in the Prophet’s Mosque, followed by “Khazindar” from the aghas of the Royal Palace, and his job was to carry the censer and enter it with the Sheikh of the Haram before the Maghrib prayer at The introduction of the candlesticks and their ascension into the noble Prophet’s chamber.
The aghas held ranks such as military ranks and their word is effective, and the holder of the keys to the honorable Prophet’s chamber supervised the harvests of wax and oil, and received the monetary sums that were given to the group, and the “captain of the aghas” represented him in the event of his absence, and he is the legitimate agent of the aghas and supports the sheikh and the captain.
The aghas are divided into 3 categories: the “gatekeepers”, the “bread people” who sweep the most sacred places in the mosque, and the lowest classes of the “unemployed” aghas, who clean the place of filth and beat the sleepers in the mosques.
In some eras, the number of aghas reached hundreds, and they prayed Tarawih in the month of Ramadan with a special imam standing in the outer mihrab near the honorable Prophet’s chamber, but their numbers decreased and the matter was regarding to end following King Fahd, may God have mercy on him, issued an order to stop their arrival.
