* Praise custodian of two holy Mosques’ hospitality
* No wrongdoing bypassing Mina for Arafat on Friday: Eleha
The over 1.6 million pilgrims from across the world commenced their hajj rites on Friday, June 14 with movement from Makkah to Mina, the City of tents, where they spent the night.
Early Saturday, following the subhi prayers, the pilgrims moved in batches to Arafat for the most significant and climax of hajj rites.
Muslim News Nigeria witnessed how the Nigerian hajj body, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) moved pilgrims in batches of forty-five hitch-free to their respective tents at Muna on Friday.
Our reporter observed that while contingents from different countries moved to Mina, many of the royal guests drawn from across the world to participate in this year’s hajj went directly to Arafat in a special convoy, bypassing Muna.
Speaking on the development, Director-General, Daru Nai’im, Sheikh Imran Abdulmajeed Eleha, who is one of the royal guests on hajj, clarified that there is no wrongdoing in bypassing the Muna rite in the Islamic pilgrimage.
The scholar, however, noted that those who spent the night at Muna would be rewarded for it.
According to him, “Hajj stands on three pillars, namely: arkaan, waajibat and mustahabaat.
“Arkaan involves four activities. If they are not observed, one’s hajj cannot be accepted. For waajibat, if omitted, you would make sacrifice in lieu. For mustahabaat, there is no offense in omitting it. But you won’t have the rewards accrued to it, and there’s no making sacrifice for omitting it.
“Spending the night at Muna on the day of Tarwiyyah (8th day of Dhul-Hijjah) is part of the mustahabaat. If you observe it, you get rewarded. On the other hand, if you omit it, there is no offense and you’re not expected to make sacrifice in lieu of it.”
Muslim News Nigeria reports that pilgrims under the programme “Guests of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques” are enjoying different services funded by King Salman Bin AbdulAzeez Al-Saud that are making their hajj memorable and seamless.
Among other things, the royal guests including the 30 chosen pilgrims from Nigeria have access to a full-service buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the ballroom (BR).
They were also immediately issued a Saudi SIM card, which has a calling airtime of 250 minutes for local and international calls, SMS, and 250GB data.
When exhausted, a new SIM card with a similar package will be granted to the royal guests.
The guests of King Salman at this year’s hajj also enjoy a complementary laundry service for the washing and pressing of their clothing (and Ihram).
There is also short reminders after each prayer concerning hajj rulings and other topics in the prayer room.
The hajj sacrifice (haadayah) is included in the package for all of the noble guests.
In an interview with Muslim News Nigeria broadcast live on Facebook, two dignitaries from Nigeria who are also part of the selected ones for the programme, Grand Khadi of Kwara State Shari’ah Court of Appeal, Justice AbdulLateef Kamaldeen, and former Grand Khadi of the same court, Rtd. Justice Idris Haroun, said they feel greatly honoured to have been invited by King Salman to witness the 2024 hajj.
They commended the Saudi Arabian government for creating a platform to foster the brotherhood and unity of Muslims across the world.
“I feel so honored and highly happy for being part of the participants in the hajj rites of this year.
“Particularly, I feel honored that I have been chosen by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Ibn AbdulAzeez. I was chosen from Nigeria to be part of this programme and as a special guest of the King, along with other people invited from various parts of the world. Once again, I feel honoured for the opportunity that Allah (SWT) accorded me to be part of these activities,” Justice Kamaldeen stated.
For his part, Justice Haroun said he felt fulfilled that one of his greatest ambitions has been achieved in his lifetime.
According to him, “Participating in this year’s hajj is one of my greatest ambitions, in the sense that I’ve been craving to perform hajj at different years. But I have been all along thinking that there should be a way of utilizing the period of hajj to foster and enhance the unity of Muslims across the world.
“So, I consider it a great honour for me to be in the midst of few selected ones hosted by His Royal Majesty King Salman Ibn AbdulAzeez to be part of this year’s hajj and to manifest that my great ambition that hajj should not just be for performing the essentials of hajj but something ahead of that, which will prove to the world the unity between Muslims and the universality of Islam.
“In our midst here today, we have representatives from all over the world. So, it’s a great joy for me and an achievement.”
The Guests of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques programme was inaugurated by King Salman Bin AbdulAzeez Al-Saud in 2019 as one of Saudi Arabia’s key reform plans under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
The programme seeks to host large numbers of pilgrims, facilitate their access to the two holy mosques, ensure that they have access to high-quality services through the most advanced technology, and enhance their cultural and spiritual experience.
It also seeks to ensure that pilgrims safely return to their countries of origin after completing their rituals.
As at the time of filing this report on the evening of Saturday, June 15, the guests of King Salman from Nigeria and 88 other countries that made the list for this year’s hajj are being transported in convoy from Arafat to Muzdalifah, where they will collect pebbles for the symbolic ‘Stoning of the Devil’ at Jamarat.
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