Saudi Arabia says Muslims from inside and outside the country will be able to perform the Hajj providing they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and no older than 65. Saudi Arabia has said it will allow one million people – from both inside and outside the kingdom – to perform …
Read More »S. Arabia reportedly bans Umrah for pilgrims from 33 states
Saudi Arabia has reportedly banned citizens of 33 Muslim countries from travelling to the country to perform the Umrah Hajj pilgrimage amid Covid-19 pandemic. Russia Today Arabic-language has cited Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) as saying that Saudi Arabia will not allow pilgrims from 33 Muslim countries to travel to the …
Read More »Saudi Arabia to allow 2M worshippers monthly to perform umrah beginning Monday
60,000 worshippers divided into 8 periods, increased to 2M per month, says Saudi media Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday that beginning Monday applications for Muslim pilgrims wishing to perform umrah from abroad will be received and 2 million requests will be accepted per month. The Saudi news agency SPA cited …
Read More »Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha (Pictures)
Muslims celebrate the Eid al-Adha religious festival, which marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage. Muslims around the world are celebrating the Eid al-Adha religious holiday, which, in Arabic, means the “festival of the sacrifice” and marks the end of Hajj, the five-day pilgrimage Muslims undertake to cleanse the soul …
Read More »Fewer pilgrims, less crowd risk at hajj’s stoning of the devil
Restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 during the Muslim hajj in Saudi Arabia have also reduced the risk of the deadly crowd crushes that have marred the pilgrimage’s stoning of the devil in the past years, worshippers said on Tuesday. Before the pandemic, the annual haj rite typically …
Read More »The Kaaba receives a new Kiswa to commemorate Eid al-Adha (Pictures)
Saudi officials have replaced the Kiswa (the cloth cover) of the Kaaba to commemorate the Day of Arafat and the start of Eid al-Adha, on Monday. The process of changing the Kiswa occurs annually on the second day of Hajj under the supervision of the President of the Holy Mosque. …
Read More »Pilgrims start second downsized Hajj rituals amid COVID pandemic, restrictions
A few thousand pilgrims have streamed out of the holy city of Mecca to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage for the second downsized rituals staged during the coronavirus pandemic. Since Saturday, groups of pilgrims have been performing the “tawaf,” the circumambulation of the Ka’ba, a large cubic structure towards which …
Read More »Pilgrims arrive in Mecca for the second hajj of Covid-19 pandemic
An Indian family of five burst into tears of joy after being chosen for this weekend’s downsized hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, but hundreds of thousands of rejected applicants were left disappointed. Up to 60,000 Muslims residing in Saudi Arabia are allowed to take part in this year’s hajj, evoking …
Read More »Saudi Arabia to limit Hajj to 60,000 residents, nationals living in Kingdom
Saudi Arabia will limit this year’s Hajj pilgrimage to 60,000 residents and nationals living in the Kingdom due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced in a statement Saturday. “In light of what the whole world is witnessing from the continuing developments of the coronavirus …
Read More »Indonesia cancels haj pilgrimage again due to coronavirus concerns
Indonesia has canceled the haj pilgrimage for people in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation for the second year in a row due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, the religious affairs minister said on Thursday. For many Indonesians, a religious pilgrimage is a once-in-a-lifetime event, with an average wait time …
Read More »Hajj to be held this year with ‘special conditions’
Saudi Arabia has announced on Sunday the Hajj will be held this year following health and safety requirements due to the pandemic. The Hajj and Umrah Ministry said in a statement that Hajj will go ahead this year with all the health, security, and regulatory standards and regulations in place …
Read More »Pilgrims pray on peak day of hajj in shadow of coronavirus
Masked pilgrims arrived Thursday at Mount Arafat, a hill near Islam’s holiest site, to pray and repent on the most important day of the hajj, the annual pilgrimage in Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The global coronavirus pandemic has cast a shadow over every aspect of this year’s pilgrimage, which last …
Read More »Leader: The Islamic Ummah’s cry for unity should fall on the heads of the US & its chained dog, the Zionist regime
The following is the full text of a message delivered on July 28, 2020, by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on the occasion of the annual Hajj pilgrimage. In the message, His Eminence points to the inability of many Muslims to participate in this year’s …
Read More »Select group of Muslims begins Hajj pilgrimage
Hajj pilgrimage is usually one of the world’s largest religious gatherings but this year only up to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom will participate in the ritual as the Saudi hosts try to prevent the spread of virus pandemic. Muslim pilgrims have begun the annual Hajj, dramatically downsized …
Read More »Saudis strive to prevent virus outbreak in curtailed hajj
Pilgrims were quarantined Tuesday in the Muslim holy city of Mecca ahead of the dramatically downsized hajj as Saudi authorities strive to prevent a coronavirus outbreak during the five-day pilgrimage. Up to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom will participate in the annual ritual starting Wednesday, according to hajj …
Read More »New in Hajj: Bottled holy water, sterilized pebbles as Mecca reopens for limited pilgrims
Saudi Arabia has issued guidelines for about 1,000 pilgrims who will be allowed to perform the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca later this month, an experience that will be unlike any before because of the coronavirus pandemic. The pilgrims will only be able to drink holy water from the Zamzam well …
Read More »Saudi Arabia to hold ‘very limited’ hajj due to virus
Saudi Arabia said Monday that this year’s hajj will not be canceled, but that due to the coronavirus only “very limited numbers” of people will be allowed to perform the major Muslim pilgrimage. The kingdom said that only people of various nationalities already residing in the country would be allowed …
Read More »Saudis to make Hajj decision within a week
Saudi Arabia has announced that it will make a decision on whether to cancel this year’s Hajj within a week. The development comes as another major Muslim nation, Malaysia, said that it would prohibit its pilgrims form making Hajj over coronavirus fears. The Financial Times reported that a senior official …
Read More »WHO in talks with Saudi Arabia on delaying Hajj ritual due to pandemic
World Health Organization (WHO) is talking with Saudi Arabia about delaying the Hajj ritual due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. World Health Organization revealed on Wed. that the body is in direct talks with Saudi Arabia to delay Hajj rituals and emphasized that if the Hajj pilgrimage is held, it …
Read More »Indonesia cancels Hajj for its pilgrims over coronavirus fears
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, has canceled plans to attend the Hajj pilgrimage this year because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Around 220,000 people from Indonesia were set to take part in this year’s Hajj, and Indonesia always gets the largest foreign contingent due to its population …
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