Mecca & Pilgrimage l مكة والحج

10 October 2018

The Madinah Development Authority, in cooperation with the Public Transport Authority, has started to operate the city buses to serve the beneficiaries of the Al Haramain Express train and transport them to the central area and the Prophet's Mosque.

شرعت هيئة تطوير منطقة المدينة المنورة بالتعاون مع هيئة النقل العام، بتشغيل حافلات المدينة لخدمة المستفيدين من رحلات قطار الحرمين السريع ونقلهم للمنطقة المركزية و المسجد النبوي

https://twitter.com/MadinaAuthority/...59526139981824

October 11, 2018

MAKKAH - The Haramain High Speed Train began its commercial operations on Thursday between the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

The Public Transport Authority (PTA) Chief and Acting President of the Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) Rumaih Al-Rumaih was present at the launch of the commercial operation from Makkah’s Rusaifah Station on Thursday morning.

Saad Al-Shahri, director of the Haramain Train Project in Madinah, was among the officials who witnessed the simultaneous launch of the operation in Madinah.

Speaking to reporters, Al-Rumaih said that it is a historic moment of landmark achievement in the advanced transport industry in the Kingdom.

Commending the efficient role of the Saudi youth in making the project a great success, Al-Rumaih said that Capt. Abdurahman Al-Shahri, a young Saudi, is the driver of the High Speed Train that left for Madinah.

He also thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman for their great support in making this big dream a reality, which is the largest transport project in the Middle East region and a gift from the Saudi leadership to more than 1.5 billion Muslims around the world.

The Haramain High Speed Train will transport passengers 450 km (280 miles) via the Red Sea port city of Jeddah at speeds of up to 300 km per hour. Two trains, each carrying 417 passengers, departed from Makkah and Madinah at 8 a.m., according to the Saudi Press Agency. Two daily services are initially planned in each direction, it said. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Sept. 25 inaugurated the high-speed railway, which is the biggest transportation project in the region. The new link will slash the travel time from several hours to 120 minutes, transport officials said.

Passengers can have online reservation and purchase of tickets through the website of (www.hhr.sa). They can contact the special customer service number (92000 4433) for queries about the timing of trips and ticket fares. There are ticket reservation and purchase facilities at the railway stations in Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah and Rabigh. This will also coincide with the launching of a special app for booking and purchasing of tickets.

In the beginning, there will be scheduled weekly trips from Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City of Rabigh on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There will be eight services daily on both sides (four trips each side) in the morning and evening.

There will be a discount of 50 percent in ticket fares for an initial period of two months from Oct. 11.

One-way tourist class train ticket fare from Sulaimaniyah station in Jeddah to Makkah will be SR20 while business class ticket will cost SR25. The ticket fare for tourist class between Makkah and Madinah is SR75 while the business class will cost SR125. The tourist class ticket will cost SR63 between Jeddah and Madinah while the business class fare is SR105. The fare from Rabigh to Madinah will be SR50 for tourist class and SR75 for business class.

http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/5...pens-to-public

12 October 2018

JEDDAH: The 13 winners of the 40th King Abdulaziz International competition for memorizing, reciting and interpreting Qur’an were honored during a ceremony on Wednesday.

Prince Faisal bin Salman, Governor of Madinah, sponsored the ceremony and honored the winners at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, where the competition was being held for the first time.

The contest was split into four categories. In the first, Ibrahim bin Abdullah Al-Saui, from Saudi Arabia, took the SR250,000 ($67,000) top prize. Malek Othman, from Jordan, was second, receiving SR200,000, while third place went to Nigeria’s Musib Guru, who won SR150,000.

In the second category, Haitham Safar Ahmed from Kenya came first, winning SR120,000; Obaidah Maan Abdul Salam Freihat from Jordan was second, receiving SR100,000; and Abdul Ghani Amin from Nigeria and Abdulqader Kindi from Libya finished joint-third, each receiving SR40,000.

In the third group, Mohammed Shahid Ismail from the Philippines took the SR60,000 first prize, with Sadiq Ali Mftah Khalid from Libya finishing second and receiving SR50,000. Yahya Bilal Yousef Yaqoub from Bahrain picked up the SR45,000 third prize.

In the fourth category, Amin Samir Hrabovic of Serbia came top, winning SR40,000, followed by Omar Farouq Bakrvotch of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who received SR 30,000. Third-placed Ahmed Halim Azur from Sri Lanka won SR20,000.

Prince Faisal said the prize represents how blessed Saudi Arabia is for honoring the Qur’an's people around the world through this competition, under the patronage of Saudi King Salman.

He also commended the role played by the Ministry of Islamic affairs, Endowments, Dawah and Guidance in supervising and following on organizing the competition.

Prince Faisal highlighted the king’s “unlimited support” for those who memorize the Holy Qur’an and his patronization of local and international recitation competitions.

For his part, Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr. Abdullatif Al-Asheikh thanked the king and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their constant attention to the Holy Qur’an. He congratulated the winners, wishing them success in their future careers.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1386281/saudi-arabia

October 14, 2018

MADINAH – The library of the Prophet’s Mosque and the Exhibition of the Two Holy Mosques in Madinah will be opened to the public round the clock throughout the week.

However, the entry to the exhibition will be restricted to women from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on every Saturday, according to a statement of the Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/5...ound-the-clock

14 October 2018

JEDDAH: The number of Umrah visas issued this year has reached 421,411 of which 181,690 pilgrims have arrived in the Kingdom, according to data provided by the Hajj and Umrah Ministry.

There are 150,429 pilgrims still in the Kingdom, with 107,024 in Makkah and 43,405 in Madinah.

Most pilgrims — 170,279 — came to the Kingdom by air, while 11,411 entered by land. None arrived by sea.

The largest number of pilgrims are from Pakistan (82,169), India (49,492), Indonesia (16,259), Jordan (4,492) and Yemen (4,413).

The Vision 2030 reform plan aims to attract more than 30 million Umrah pilgrims, and provide them with excellent services and an outstanding experience.

Developing Hajj and Umrah organizations and services in the Kingdom is among the top priorities of the Saudi government.

Recently, the ministry launched a weekly indicator whereby authorities can track the number of pilgrims coming into the Kingdom, and in turn enrich their experiences by providing high-quality services.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1387371/saudi-arabia

What about india ???

https://www.thenews.com.pk/amp/38201...-khans-request

https://youtu.be/K-F5_gZ7zeY

Should be abolish for all countries!
October 17,2018

ISLAMABAD: The Saudi government has agreed to waive 2,000 riyals tax imposed on Pakistanis performing Umrah every year on the request of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

According to a media report, the PM, during his visit to the Kingdom, had requested Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud to abolish the fee.

The development was shared by the Religious Ministry with the Senate Committee which met here Tuesday to discuss the problems faced by Pakistanis while performing Hajj and Umrah.

Presiding the meeting, Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said people had been complaining about the imposition of 2,000 riyals tax on pilgrims performing more than one Umrah within two years.

On this, Secretary Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Muhammad Mushtaq informed the panel that Saudi authorities wanted to discourage repeated Umrah by a few people and that the levy was charged on everyone and not discriminatory towards Pakistanis.

However, this fee was abolished on the request of Egypt and Turkey, the official added.

The prime minister, he said, took up the matter with Saudi authorities and they agreed to waive it off and it was just a matter of time when they notify the policy.

The Senate body also informed that the ministry was exploring the option of having open sky policy to airlift Government Scheme hujjaj to Saudi Arabia through open airline tendering.

The secretary said currently the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has allowed only four airlines including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Shaheen Airlines, Air Blue and Saudi Arabian Airlines to airlift the pilgrims going to perform Hajj.

The situation could improve through open airline tendering.

He said that due to restriction of CAA, the Ministry can’t go for open airline tendering right now.

Regarding Shaheen Airlines issue, he said the Ministry has written a letter to CAA to black list Shaheen Airlines.

The ministry has also asked the concerned authorities to put the names of management of Shaheen Airline on Exit Control List (ECL).

He said Shaheen Air was given the load of 30,526 hujjaj from different places of departure (PODs) for Hajj 2018 and as per agreement, the first instalment of 35 percent advance amounting to Rs 960,6912,00, was released to SAI out of a total of Rs 2,744,832,000. Shaheen Airline failed to provide the final flight schedule in given time period; as a result, the load of SAI was distributed amongst other airlines due to time constraint.

Responding to a question, he said no other airline except SAI was ready to airlift 5,000 hujjaj from Quetta airport.

The ministry suffered an additional loss of Rs 184,230,000. Shaheen Air International completely failed to act as per agreement.

Shaheen Airlines did not have aircraft to land at Quetta Airport, he told.

The Committee directed the Ministry to ensure distribution of Zakat share of erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on priority basis.

The chairman directed the ministry to share draft Hajj Policy 2019 with the Standing Committees of National Assembly and Senate for further improvements and incorporating Parliamentarian’s suggestions in the final Hajj Policy.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/amp/38201...-khans-request

What aboit india n other countries

Sorry, for now no answer in the medias

October 17, 2018

TURKEY - It took authorities 37 years to correct a misaligned mosque in the northwestern province of Yalova, which was not pointed exactly toward Mecca as it should have been.

As Muslims need to perform their daily prayers toward Mecca, all mosques need to face the direction of the holy city. However, the Sugören Village Merkez Mosque's qibla, which should point to Mecca, had missed the mark by as much as 33 degrees. The head of the mosque's community association, Adem Apaydın, said they had noticed the misalignment some time ago and had decided together with the imam to get the proper measurements.

Officials from the Yalova Provincial Mufti's Office had arrived before surveyors came and found out that the degree of misalignment was serious indeed.

"The local mufti and the village head decided to rectify the mistake immediately and we redirected our qibla 33 degrees to the southeast by using ropes on the carpets." He said the process of realigning the entire interior of the mosque would take time. An architect will be assigned the task of redesigning the interior. The mosque's imam, İsa Kaya, said all relevant officials and agencies were consulted before the qibla was changed, adding that the provincial deputy mufti had personally came and delivered a Friday sermon to inform the locals about the change.

In Islam, unintentionally committing banned acts like consuming pork or alcohol are not considered sins. Theologians say prayers performed by the congregation of the mosque for the past 37 years are as valid as those performed in properly aligned houses of worship.

https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/20...37-years-later

thanks

October 19, 2018

The Ministry of Religious Affairs on Friday issued a statement of clarification regarding an exemption from additional tax for Pakistanis performing more than one Umrah within two years, saying that a reply from the Saudi government in this regard was still awaited.

The ministry's spokesperson said that the Saudi government had imposed a tax of 2,000 riyals on any individual, from any country, who visited the kingdom more than once in two years to perform an Umrah.

"This was done to bring improvements to the arrangements made for visitors and to curb the ever-increasing rush," he said explaining the rationale behind the imposition of tax.

He said that upon a request filed by the Turkish and Egyptian governments, an exemption was granted to their citizens from paying the added tax.

The spokesperson said that the Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri had also raised the issue before the Saudi information minister and Saudi ambassador to grant Pakistanis exemption.

“The prime minister during his visit to Saudi kingdom took up the matter with the Saudi crown prince and assurance was provided that the matter would be taken into consideration,” he said, adding that it was a matter of time and the Saudi government would notify the waiver soon.

He urged the media to stop the spread of false information that the exemption had already been granted and provided assurance that the people would be informed through the release of an official statement once confirmation is received from the Saudi government.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1440028/pa...fairs-ministry

October 20, 2018

JEDDAH — The Ministry of Haj and Umrah, which launched the Umrah weekly indicator at the beginning of the Hijri year 1440, released the weekly statistics till Wednesday.

The indicator is issued after accessing information such as the number of visas issued, footfall of pilgrims visiting the Kingdom via air, land or sea, and how many of them are in Makkah and Madinah.

It said 535,423 visas were issued as of Oct. 17, with the number of pilgrims arriving in the Kingdom since the start of the season in early September being 278,706.

The number of pilgrims still in the Kingdom is 202,792 pilgrims, with 140,848 pilgrims in Makkah and 61,944 in Madinah, the ministry said, adding that 75,914 pilgrims left Saudi Arabia after completing the Umrah rites.

Most of the pilgrims (261,187) arrived in the Kingdom via air while 17,519 came overland after crossing the border points.

http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/5...-issued-so-far

2018/10/25

Google translation:

The prayer for rain were led by His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Prince of Makkah Region, His Highness Prince Faisal bin Mohammed bin Saad, Undersecretary of Makkah Al-Mukarramah, Maj. Gen. Abdullatif bin Abdullah Al-Shathri, and the Commander of the Special Force for the Security of the Sacred Mosque, Major General Abdullah Al-Osaimi.

And the imam and preacher of the Grand Mosque Sheikh Sheikh Dr. Abdul Rahman al-Sudais, where he delivered a sermon in which he recommended Muslims to piety God and control and obedience and non-disobedience and repentance and ask him.

The Almighty said that God Almighty has told us in his holy book that the cause of the destruction of nations before us is the sins and disobedience He said most of his repentance: "Like the Pharaohs and those before them, they lied to our verses and God took them with their sins and Allah is very severe punishment." The affliction of the Muslims is only by sin and is lifted only by repentance.

He added that the sins that occur in the earth types of corruption in water, air, plantations, fruits and housing, said God Almighty (corruption appeared in land and sea, so gained the hands of people to satisfy them some who have worked to return), corruption appeared in land and sea, such as drought and lack of rain and the multitude of diseases and epidemics , because of the sins committed by human beings, to hit them with the punishment of some of their work they have done in this world to repent to God and return from the sins, correct their conditions, and upright things, and if the employee rewarded with different penalties because of E How do not review the same in all that it is located.

The virtue is that it is nicer to blame oneself, to hold it accountable and to punish it in the same God if it has suffered something and to feel that the person who was injured because of a sin or a violation committed it. He called on his Muslim virtues to repent, seek forgiveness, keep away from sin and maintain the prayer and zakaah. Riba and eating haram as enjoined them to enjoin good and forbid evil.

He stressed that faith, piety, and good deeds are the cause of blessing, happiness and satisfaction, and that sins and sins are bestowed upon the blessing, the living and the narrowing of livelihoods, and that it is frightening to forget the hearts of these verses and the ways that people do not increase except for God and insinuation in disobedience. Its limits and the manifestation of the sin and the boldness against God.

He pointed out that we should not be aware of our sickness to be blinded and ignored and continue in Ghina and after us, indicating that there are sins that some people may be insulted, even if the punishment is severe and terrible. And the spread of evil things of all kinds and the abandonment of the Muslim and the lack of victory, which is the most need to support his brother and other evils and evils are all calling for an urgent punishment and a severe torment, but when we changed ourselves from sin and evil, we moved to obedience to God other than God we are the misery and distress to (God does not change what people do until they change what they themselves do).

The imam and the preacher of the Grand Mosque pointed out that it is one of the effects of sins that deprives a person of livelihood. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "A man is forbidden to make a living by committing sin. So that they are excused from themselves) means that they do not perish until their sins are greater and their faults are punishable and they are staying for those who are punished in this way.

Sheikh al-Sudais stressed that it is incumbent on Muslims to return to God a sincere return and repent repentance to him, repentance is the cause of good and the descent of al-Ghaith and increase the strength and supply of funds, he said:) And ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to him Enjoy you good belongings for a specified term and come all The virtue of its bounty, and if you turn away, I fear for you the torment of a great day.

And his virtue is that it is the rule of God in the tribulations that the souls wake up and the hearts rise after a long absence, and the creatures go to their Lord, crying to him and calling him willing and fearful, hoping for His mercy and fear of His torment; and they find in the light of agility and affliction and repentance to God the rest and comfort and hope in the vulva and promise of the human. (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), if he is a polytheist if he is a Muslim, he is not overly satisfied. God knows how to do it if he is a believer in righteousness.

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewstory.php...newsid=1833626

Thursday, 25 October 2018

Thousands of pilgrims at Makkah’s Grand Mosque were showered with rainfall as they performed Umrah during this week.

Amid an atmosphere of spirituality and prayer, pictures of the scene showed pilgrims under this weather circulating around the Kaaba in complete serenity.

The Kaaba, the cubic shaped structure that Muslims regard as the house of God, has been itself covered with rainwater.

In a tweet, the Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has described the scene saying “An atmosphere of beauty and spirituality as rainfall hits Grand Mosque”.

26 October 2018

JEDDAH: The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, which launched the Umrah weekly indicator in September 2018, has released the weekly statistics up to Wednesday.

The number of Umrah visas up until Oct. 24 reached 688,184, with 411,654 pilgrims arriving in the Kingdom.

The number of pilgrims still in the Kingdom was 255,125, with 179,643 pilgrims in Makkah and 75,482 in Madinah, with 156,529 pilgrims leaving Saudi Arabia after completing Umrah, according to the weekly data.

The highest numbers of pilgrims by nationality entering the Kingdom were: 170,824 Pakistanis, 95,749 Indians, 59,307 Indonesians, 11,774 Yemenis, 9,558 Malaysians, 9,319 British, 8,935 Emiratis, 8,278 Jordanians, 5,857 Bengalis, and 4,652 Turkish.

The weekly indicator was launched to enable authorities to track the number of pilgrims arriving in the Kingdom and to help enrich their experiences by providing high-quality services.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1394381/saudi-arabia

2018-10-27

RIYADH — The Haj pilgrimage to the holy city of Makkah is a religious obligation that every able-bodied adult Muslim must perform at least once in life. It is also one of the world’s largest annual migrations, with more than 2 million pilgrims performing the ritual in 2018.

In addition, millions of Muslims from all over the world travel to Saudi Arabia throughout the year to perform the minor pilgrimage known as Umrah in Makkah and pray at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.

On the sidelines of Saudi Arabia’s key Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh last week, the authorities signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to enhance its digital capabilities around the Haj and Umrah pilgrimages.

An agreement was signed with German-based technology multinational SAP to develop innovative cloud technologies to transform the operations required to host millions of pilgrims every year. Minister of Haj and Umrah Mohammad Saleh Benten signed the MoU with Steve Tzikakis, president EMEA South, SAP.

In a separate ceremony Benten signed an MoU with Salman Faqeeh, managing director, Cisco Saudi Arabia, under which Cisco will help enhance the Ministry’s digital infrastructure and services.

Under the digital transformation MoUs, the ministry will explore using a cloud-based digital platform to unify all pilgrim-related data. By using technology in collaboration with hundreds of travel agencies worldwide, the ministry will gain real-time insights into the entire pilgrim travel experience. This will allow it to improve crowd management, transportation and logistics, while ensuring the health and safety of the pilgrims at all times.

Dr. Benten commented: “The Ministry of Haj and Umrah’s digital transformation is aligned with our vision of making the pilgrim journey easy and predictable within an environment of peace and tranquility. As the number of pilgrims on Haj and Umrah grows steadily, we can easily scale up on the cloud to enhance our operations. This helps improve the effectiveness of both our staff and infrastructure in order to optimize travel experiences for all.”

It is anticipated that the potential government IT cost saving from moving operations to the cloud will be 25-50 percent. This will be achieved by reducing hardware costs and exploiting synergies with existing cloud-based services.

Khaled Alsaleh, managing director, SAP Saudi Arabia, said: “By using our real-time analytics and Internet of Things solutions in the cloud, the Ministry of Haj and Umrah can enhance travel processes, optimize transportation routes, and support digital payments for the more than 2 million pilgrims from 168 countries who arrive in the holy city of Makkah each year. We are pleased to play an important role in supporting the Ministry of Haj and Umrah in providing a peaceful, more enjoyable, safe travel and visit experience.”

The announcement follows SAP’s commitment earlier this year to invest SR285 million ($76 million) over four years to create a digital hub that supports the digital transformation of the Ministry of Haj and Umrah.

The investment came under the banner of a new initiative “INVEST SAUDI”. With the advent of this program the Kingdom’s investment attraction and promotion plans are witnessing an accelerated progress. INVEST SAUDI forms part of the National Transformation Plan. The aims are to consolidate efforts in identifying, developing and marketing the vast opportunities across sectors that Saudi Arabia has to offer for multi-national, regional and local investors.

http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/5...orm-Haj-Benten