Tag: Kaaba

  • IN PICTURES: Hajj 2020

    IN PICTURES: Hajj 2020

    The five-day annual Hajj pilgrimage began in Makkah, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday with strict measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

    A downsized Hajj, this year the number of pilgrims have been drastically reduced to 10,000 from last year’s 2.5 million making it perhaps the safest Hajj ever. In past years, pilgrims have faced a host of viral illnesses, with some falling sick and developing respiratory diseases after mingling with large crowds and staying in cramped pilgrim camps where social distancing was unheard of.

    The kingdom has put strict safety protocols in place with a mandatory quarantine that began on Tuesday. According to details, pilgrims had to undergo COVID-19 tests before arriving in Mecca. They are required to wear masks and maintain social distance at all times. Attendees were also given elaborate amenity kits that included sterilised pebbles for the ritual Stoning of the Devil (rami), disinfectant, masks and a prayer rug, according to the Hajj ministry.

    Several health facilities, mobile clinics and ambulances are also available on hand while workers continuously clean and disinfect the holy site, in uniforms resembling those of hospital staff.

    Saudi authorities initially said only around 1,000 pilgrims residing in the kingdom would be permitted for Hajj however, local media later reported that as many as 10,000 will be allowed to take part.

    Some 70% of the pilgrims are foreigners residing in the kingdom, while the rest will be Saudi citizens.

    Check out pictures from this year’s first-ever ‘socially distant’ Hajj below:

    The first group of female pilgrims praying in the Grand mosque in the holy city of Makkah at the start of the annual Hajj pilgrimage
    Saudi labourers put the new Kiswa, the protective cover that engulfs the Kaaba, made from black silk and gold thread and embroidered with Holy Quran verses
    The first group of pilgrims enter the Kaaba at the centre of the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah at the start of the annual Hajj pilgrimage
    Pilgrims perform Zuhr and Asr Prayers at Arafat
    A Muslim pilgrim gets his temperature checked before boarding a bus heading towards Makkah on the first day of the annual Hajj pilgrimage
    Workers disinfect the ground outside the Grand Mosque
    https://www.instagram.com/p/CDOUEukpK5R/
  • Hajj to be held with a limited number of people this year: Saudi Arabia

    Hajj to be held with a limited number of people this year: Saudi Arabia

    Saudi Arabia has announced that it will strictly limit the number of people who can take part in this year’s Hajj pilgrimage because of the coronavirus, putting to rest the fears that Hajj might be cancelled altogether. Saudi Hajj Minister Mohammed Banten had asked Muslims to delay finalising their plans “until the situation is clear” back in March.

    In a statement, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said that the annual Holy pilgrimage would be restricted to a very limited numbers of pilgrims of all nationalities who are already residing in Saudi Arabia. The statement said that as COVID-19 cases continue to grow globally, and because of the risks of coronavirus spreading in crowded spaces and from other countries, the Hajj will “take place this year with a limited number of pilgrims from all nationalities residing in Saudi Arabia only, who are willing to perform Hajj.”

    “This decision is taken to ensure Hajj is performed in a safe manner from a public health perspective while observing all preventative measures and the necessary social distancing protocols to protect human beings from the risks associated with this pandemic and in accordance with the teachings of Islam in preserving the lives of human beings,” the statement added.

    The Ministry also tweeted that people’s health and safety “is our priority”.

    Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs Noor-ul-Haq Qadri shared the Urdu version of the press release and said that the KSA’s Minister of Hajj and Umrah contacted him via telephone to let him know about Saudi Arabia’s decision about this year’s Hajj.

    Hajj is one of Islam’s most important religious obligations. Recently, singer Atif Aslam expressed his desire to recite the Azaan at the Holy Kaaba in Makkah.