A year has passed, according to the Islamic calendar, since the crash of a giant crane in the Grand Mosque in Makkah, yet the trial of 14 people accused of involvement in the incident is still continuing. The Summary Court in Jeddah held a number of sessions but recessed to[…]
A stoning ritual which led to the deaths of about 2,300 people during last year’s hajj will be more tightly controlled during next month’s pilgrimage, Saudi newspapers reported on Wednesday. The period during which pilgrims can perform the Jamarat ritual will be reduced by 12 hours, the Saudi Gazette reported.[…]
Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal has ordered that the “mataf” section of the Grand Mosque in Makkah will only be limited for circumambulation from Thursday, Aug. 25, until the end of the Haj season. Prayers can be performed in the interior hallways, the northern expansion and the upper floors of[…]
Perhaps the single most challenging aspect of the hajj is the huge distances many have to cover in order to arrive at the holy city of Mecca; and this is likely why it is the final and only optional pillar of Islam. Air travel has doubtless made the journey much[…]
Whilst the 2000 South Africans that have planned to perform the pilgrimage have already made their way to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for the approximately 250 pilgrims who are awaiting their departure, adequate preparation and information can prove to be pivotal for their spiritual journey. VOC spoke to the[…]
AS you near the miqat, your heart will tremble and tremor. Is this really happening? Is my heart getting closer and closer to His House? Soon you will enter Allah’s haram. It is only fitting that you enter into a state, both externally and internally, that justly corresponds to this[…]
You strike a woman and you strike a rock!’ the keynote speaker at a gathering defiantly proclaimed. One of the attendees listened attentively and must have felt out of her league amongst all the vocal ladies rightly demonising the unjustifiable oppression they suffer. Male dominance, patriarchy, wife abuse and neglect[…]
This forms part of a series of haj stories written by Cape Town doctor Salim Parker. It is currently being published monthly on his website www.hajjdoctor.co.za. ‘You strike a woman and you strike a rock!’ the keynote speaker at a gathering defiantly proclaimed. One of the attendees listened attentively and[…]
Every year a number of pilgrims face problems in locating their tents and places of accommodation in Makkah, and at the holy sites of Mina and Arafat. To solve this problem, the Pakistan Haj Volunteer Group (PHVG) and the India Fraternity Forum developed a navigation app which will work from[…]
Saudi Arabia’s new ‘post-oil’ economy plan as outlined in ‘Vision 2030’ which was announced recently, is receiving a huge boost from the tourism sector with the influx of tourists visiting the country for their hajj pilgrimage starting this week. According to the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, more than 600,000[…]
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