DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that due to coronavirus, only a “very limited number” of others could perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage that historically attracts some 2 million Muslims from around the world.
The resolution comes after weeks of hypothesis as to whether Saudi Arabia would cancel the pilgrimage altogether or allow the hajj to be carried out in symbolic numbers. It is not known why the government waited only five weeks before the hajj to announce its resolution, but the time indicates. sensitivity around primary hajj-related resolutions that Muslims around the world.
Saudi kings have for generations assumed the title of guardians of Islam’s holiest sites, and their surveillance of hajj is a source of prestige and influence among Muslims around the world. The hajj also generates about $6 billion in earnings for the year of government.
Saudi Arabia has never cancelled hajj in nearly 90 years since the country’s founding.
The government said its resolve to drastically restrict the number of pilgrims with the aim of preserving global public aptitude due to the lack of a vaccine against the virus or a cure for the infected, as well as the dangers associated with large concentrations of people.
The hajj is one of the largest gatherings on earth, with pilgrims remaining confined and walking and praying from appearance to appearance. One stampede in 2015 left more than 2,400 people dead.
“This resolution was taken to ensure that the hajj is carried out safely for public health,” the government said.
The Kingdom’s Hajj Ministry said that only other nationalities already living in the country would be allowed to make the wonderful pilgrimage, which is expected to begin this year at the end of July.
The government did not specify how many more people would be allowed to participate.
The hajj revolves around five intense days of worship and rituals in Mecca, however, pilgrims begin to arrive in Saudi Arabia through their main city of entry to Jiddah weeks and even months in advance.
Saudi Arabia said that “its most sensible precedence is to allow Muslim pilgrims to conduct hajj and umrah rites safely. “
He also defended his resolve on devout grounds, saying that the teachings of Islam require the preservation of human life. The Higher Council of Religious of Saudi Arabia temporarily issued a saying that the resolution was in line with Islamic Sharia law.
The realization of the hajj is at the center of Islam and is one of the five pillars of religion. All healthy Muslims must perform hajj once in their lives, and many save cash all their lives to pay for the trip.
The hajj is perceived as a possibility to erase beyond sins and start over. Pilgrims abandon the symbols of materialism, as women give up makeup and fragrances and wear loose fabrics and a headdress, while men dress in a seamless white sponge to emphasize equality. of all Muslims before God.
Despite taking unprecedented early action to spread the virus nationwide, Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of coronavirus infections in the Middle East, with more than 161,000 cases shown overall and 1,307 deaths.
The virus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most people, which heal within a few weeks, but is highly contagious and can lead to serious illness or death, especially in older patients or those with underlying fitness problems.
Saudi Arabia had already suspended the smallest pilgrimage to the Umra throughout the previous year and closed to the public the Grand Mosque of Mecca, which houses Islam’s holiest site. The city of Mecca is also subject to a strict 24-hour curfew for the public. more than two months.
Although Saudi Arabia has lifted some restrictions in recent days, umrah remains suspended and the country’s borders remain closed to tourists.
Indonesia and Malaysia, which together send about a quarter of a million Muslims to the hajj each year, had already announced that they would not send their citizens on this year’s pilgrimage, in part because they had too much time to prepare. That.
At first indication of the uncertainty surrounding this year’s hajj, the kingdom had asked Muslims in early April to stop the progression of plans for hajj as the virus became a global pandemic, infecting millions of people around the world.
24/7 policy of the latest news and events