By: Aneeqa du Plessis

The South African Hajj and Umrah Council (Sahuc) has unveiled their dynamic registration portal for 2023. The portal is available on the website https://sahuc.org.za/

President at SAHUC, Shaheen Essop spoke on VOC’s Breakfast show on Wednesday morning and explained that prospective pilgrims can have look at where exactly they stand in the queue to attend Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

“The main aim behind the annual portal is to prepare them for Hajj. Once we have notification of the quota allowed on pilgrimage, we can release the number of lists we have in the public domain. The purpose of this is so logistical preparation can take place by the aspiring Hajji,” explained Essop.

He further encouraged the public to notify SAHUC if they’re not ready to undertake the journey.

“If you know you’re not by the means to go on Hajj for the current year due to finances, inform us and we can make alternate arrangements with you when you are ready,” said Essop.

For those who do not see their name on the list, please note that there’s been a delay due to the global pandemic and those who were set to perform Hajj before those who applied now will get first preference.

“The portal that is currently available is only for people who are eligible to go in the year 1444 AH,” stated Essop.

However, he said a position in the list can change because of queries made. It shows transparency, fairness, and equitability in the process.

“If you have applied for Hajj in 2013/2014 but you haven’t paid your registration fee and you go on to do so, your position will then only reflect in the queue,” explained Essop.

Furthermore, if a family member has passed away while waiting to undertake the journey, Sahuc should be notified to free up a space in the queue.

“The waiting list is quite big because the quota is small in the country as it is based on the number of Muslims in Saudi. Moreover, from that Covid has knocked us back quite considerably and hence the waiting list has increased considerably,” explained Essop.

The public is urged to contact Sahuc with any queries via email at info@sahuc.org.za

VOC