A million Muslims are visiting Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the primary hajj for the reason that coronavirus pandemic led authorities within the conservative nation to limit entry to the holiest web site in Islam.
Saudi authorities have permitted 850,000 guests from overseas into the dominion for the annual pilgrimage which begins on Wednesday, a significant step in direction of normalcy following strict pandemic restrictions. The choice to take action comes after two years throughout which entry to the location was restricted to Saudi residents.
The variety of pilgrims from Saudi Arabia and overseas continues to be significantly fewer than the two.5 million determine of those that traveled to the holy metropolis in 2019. The hajj is taken into account one of many world’s largest occasions by way of the variety of members.
On Wednesday, these arriving carried umbrellas to dam the 42 levels Celsius (108 Fahrenheit) warmth.
What restrictions are in place on these making the hajj this yr?
With a view to be eligible for the hajj this yr, pilgrims should be underneath 65 years of age and vaccinated towards the virus in addition to have examined unfavorable for COVID-19 inside 72 hours of journey.
A lottery system was applied this yr, with hundreds of thousands making use of on-line.
Pilgrims to the hajj is not going to be required to put on masks or adhere to social distancing tips as was the case within the final two years.
Prohibitions on touching or kissing the Kaaba, the black stone on the middle of the holy web site in Mecca, will stay, although. In the course of the hajj, Muslims encircle and pray across the massive cubic construction draped in golden-embroidered black fabric, in a ritual referred to as the “tawaf.”
What have Saudi officers executed to organize for the hajj?
On Wednesday, officers in Saudi Arabia inspected the holy web site and confused the nation’s “readiness” in addition to its objective of “sustaining public well being.”
In 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, the Saudi authorities permitted just one,000 individuals who had been already residents of the dominion to make the hajj.
Final yr, authorities restricted the hajj to simply 60,000 totally vaccinated Muslim residents of Saudi Arabia. The unprecedented curbs on attendance devastated some Muslims who had spent years saving for the possibility to make the pilgrimage to essentially the most vital web site of their religion.
Officers in Saudi Arabia presently report over 500 new coronavirus infections per day. Over 70% of Saudis have been vaccinated. The Saudi Well being Ministry mentioned 23 hospitals and 147 well being facilities had been accessible in Mecca and Medina for guests.
Saudi Arabia now permits girls to attend the hajj unaccompanied by a male family member, after dropping the requirement final yr.
What does the hajj appear to be in regular occasions?
Saudi authorities are eager to see the hajj return to the pre-pandemic regular. Pilgrims convey billions of {dollars} in earnings to the Arab state, the second-highest supply of earnings for Saudi Arabia after oil.
In keeping with the Quran, each Muslim of religion who’s bodily and financially in a position ought to make the hajj not less than as soon as of their lifetime.
5 intense days of prayer and ritual await non secular pilgrims in Mecca.
The hajj traces the pilgrimage taken by Prophet Muhammad some 1,400 years in the past. His path, in flip, is believed to hint the footsteps of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail, or Abraham and Ishmael as they’re recognized to Christians and Jews.
ar/dj (AFP, AP)