Half of Indonesian Hajj Pilgrims Arrive in Holy Land

Indonesian hajj pilgrims have continued to fly to Saudi Arabia, with more than half of the listed total congregation members reportedly having arrived in the Holy Land as of Tuesday (21/6/2022),

KOMPAS/ILHAM KHOIRI

Hajj Pilgrims perform tawaf around the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Friday (10/6/2022). .

MECCA, KOMPAS — A total of 56,172 people or more than half of the total quota of 100,051 Indonesian pilgrims have landed in Saudi Arabia. Some of them are in Medina to conduct sunnah (recommended) rituals, while those in Mecca are participating in umrah (minor hajj). They also use their time to do sunnah prayers while waiting for the start of the main hajj procession early next month.

The pilgrims were dispatched in batches from a number of departure embarkations across the country to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. After completing the immigration process, they were escorted in the buses to the hotels in Mecca. The congregation members then performed umrah at the Grand Mosque.

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Mecca-based Indonesian Hajj Organizing Committee (PPIH) chairman Arsad Hidayat said they coordinated to ensure that arrangements were in place smoothly for the pilgrims upon their arrival. Those included hotel accommodation, transportation and consumption, all adjusted to the increase in the number of pilgrims. Meanwhile, the other congregation members were reported to have begun to leave Medina for Mecca to follow the main pilgrimage procession.

“Overall, services are good. Obstacles can be handled immediately," said Arsad, who is also director for hajj development at the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah (PHU) at the Religious Affairs Ministry.

KOMPAS/ILHAM KHOIRI

Dozens of pilgrims from Indonesia are riding the "Sholawat" bus in the Raudah area, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sunday (19/6/2022) morning. The bus took them to the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah.

Pilgrimage member Fuad Thohari offered his compliments about transportation, meal and hotel services, saying that the hotel and bathroom were rated as good, with toilets being clean and the water tap working well. However, he considered the 5 meter by 8 m room was a bit crowded with it containing five beds. “Ideally, the maximum number should be four only. This is a feedback for improvement next year," said Fuad, who is from Pamulang, South Tangerang, Banten.

Arsad said his team had met with the officials of Saudi Arabia Hajj Ministry and Syarikah Thawafah in Mecca on Monday (20/6) to discuss preparations for the peak procession of pilgrimage. The procession includes the departure of the pilgrims to Arafah, night stay at Muzdalifah, Jamarat pebble throwing in Mina and Tawaf al-Ifadah at the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque.

He said the Indonesian pilgrims were scheduled to do the pebble-throwing ritual when the weather was cool, in the afternoon and evening or the following morning. "Pilgrims from other countries will do the Jamarat pebble throwing from morning until noon, if they are physically strong," he said.

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Pilgrimage’s deaths

In Jakarta, hajj organizing committee spokesperson Akhmad Fauzin announced 108 pilgrimage members fell sick. A total of 98 people underwent outpatient treatment while seven were treated at the Indonesian hajj health clinic, and two at a Saudi Arabian hospital.

The Integrated Hajj Information and Computerization System (Siskohat) gives a list of seven deaths among the pilgrimage members. They are Suhati Rahmat Ali (Jakarta-Pondokgede embarkation), Bangun Lubis Wahid (Padang), Bawuk Karso Samirun (Surabaya), Muslim Abdul Wahab Salam (Aceh), Hasbullah bin Burhan (Jakarta-Bekasi embarkation), Purnomo Sokariyo Sastro (Surakarta) and Sugiansyah Basuki M Yamin (Banjarmasin).

This article was translated by Musthofid.