Pilgrims Gather at Arafah for ‘Wukuf’

Hundreds of buses picked up thousands of members of the Indonesian congregation from their hotels in five areas of Mecca. Indonesian pilgrims, arrived to Arafah from morning to evening on Thursday (7/7/2022).

KOMPAS/ILHAM KHOIRI

Pilgrims from Indonesia in the Syisya area, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Thursday (7/7/2022), were boarding a bus that took them to Arafah. In Arafah, the congregation performs wukuf as the peak practice of haj which is scheduled to be held on 9 Zulhijjah 1443 Hijriah or to coincide with Friday (8/7).7).

MECCA, KOMPAS — Indonesian pilgrims, along with 1 million other people in the international congregation, arrived to Arafah from morning to evening on Thursday (7/7/2022). After staying overnight at the camp, they performed wukuf as the culmination of the haj ritual on Friday afternoon (8/7/2022).

Hundreds of buses picked up thousands of members of the Indonesian congregation from their hotels in five areas of Mecca, namely Syisya, Jarwal, Mahbas Jin, Misfalah and Raudah. They departed in several groups in the morning, afternoon, and evening, and then they regrouped at the camp in the Plain of Arafah (Arafat) in the afternoon.

Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, who is also Amirul Haj (leader of haj pilgrims), sent off a group of congregants who departed on Thursday morning for wukuf from Al Keswah Hotel in Jarwal, Mecca, where more than 23,000 members of the Indonesian congregation are staying. Yaqut greeted fellow pilgrims who were waiting inside the hotel and others who were lining up on the hotel terrace to board their buses.

Yaqut received several requests to take selfies with members of the group. He also greeted the officers who were readying the groups for their departure and reminded them to make sure that no one were left behind. The officers followed the group to the area of wukuf only after confirming that all members of the group had arrived at Arafah.

Also read:

> Half of Indonesian Hajj Pilgrims Arrive in Holy Land

> Haj Season: ‘From Mecca with Selfies’

At the Haj Media Center (MCH), Yaqut told reporters that the Indonesian congregation’s departure to Arafah had gone according to plan. Upon their arrival in Arafah, the haj pilgrims would be staying overnight in tents that had been prepared by Sharikah Muthowafi of Southeast Asia. "I saw Arafah, Muzdalifah and Mina yesterday, including health services. Everything is ready," said Yaqut.

According to Nasrullah Jasam, the Indonesian Consul for Haj and the Deputy Chairman of the Haj Organizing Committee (PPIH) in Saudi Arabia, upon their arrival in Arafah, members of the group would be staying in tents arranged in 43 maktab (clusters) according to their flights to the country. On Friday afternoon, the congregation would perform wukuf by remembering, contemplating, reading prayers, listening to sermons in their respective tents, and praying the Dzuhur and Asr.

The congregation is to stay in Arafah until Friday afternoon, and then go to Muzdalifah to collect pebbles (jamarat). After that, they are mabit (stay) in Mina and throw the jamarat. This practice takes place around three days after wukuf.

"With a 2022 haj quota of less than 50 percent of the number of pilgrims in the years before the pandemic, it is not as busy as it was before. We hope that everything is conducive,” said Nasrullah.

KOMPAS/ILHAM KHOIRI

Hundreds of campsites in Mina, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday (6/7/2022). This camp is prepared as a place for mabit (overnight) of the pilgrims while performing the four jamarat in Mina.

Wukuf safari

Some Indonesian pilgrims performed wukuf in ambulances or health buses because of illness, which did not allow them to perform wukuf in the tents at Arafah. According to data from the Indonesian Health Ministry’s Haj Health Center, the pilgrims registered under this scheme have various types of diseases, such as post-stroke conditions, heart failure, hypertension, cancer or kidney failure.

As of Thursday afternoon, 124 members of the Indonesian congregation went on a wukuf safari, out of which 102 people were sitting and 22 people were lying down during the wukuf safari. However, the figure varied depending on the group that was traveling, and the numbers could increase or decrease because some people might recover enough to perform wukuf at the camp in Arafah. Ten buses had been prepared for the wukuf safari.

Also read:

> Fast-Track Aids Pilgrims

> Pilgrims Begin Their Journey

Haji Health Center head Budi Sylvana explained that the wukuf safari involved transporting pilgrims in ambulances and buses to Arafah. The group stayed there for around an hour, and then returned to the Indonesian Haj Health Clinic (KKHI), accompanied by doctors, nurses and pilgrimage guides.

In Arafah, the PPIH has also readied the Arafah Health Post, while a health team was also stationed at the maktab for the Indonesian haj pilgrims. The emergency medical team coordinator in Arafah, Erwinsyah Patta Parang, said the team helped pilgrims who suffered heatstroke, fatigue or dehydration.

Enthusiastic

The pilgrims were enthusiastic to participate in wukuf at Arafah. They had generally been awake since the early hours in Saudi Arabia, and had showered and dressed in ihram (two-piece white wrap for men and a white robe for women). After breakfasting, they sat in the hotel lobby to wait for the buses to come pick them up.

When it was their turn, the people got up to board the buses, following the haj officers' instructions. They continued to recite prayers while sitting in the bus. Arriving at Arafah, the pilgrims expressed their joy by showing gratitude, sitting pensively or weeping. They then entered their tents, the floors covered with carpets, small mattresses and blankets. Each tent is equipped with an air-conditioner to keep the air cool. Outside, the daytime temperature reached around 43 degrees Celsius.

I can't imagine how happy we will be to perform wukuf, the height of the haj.

A member of the congregation from Makassar, South Sulawesi, Rudi (24), was performing haj in place of his father, who had died in 2019. “It is a pleasure to set foot here. I pray that my family can come here, too,” he said.

Husband and wife Jaenuri (53) and Supiati (48) have been awake since 1 a.m., Saudi Arabian time. They bathed, put on ihram, and packed their supplies, including medicines, in a small hand-carry suitcase. "I can't imagine how happy we will be to perform wukuf, the height of the haj," said Jaenuri, who lives in Rokan Hulu, Riau.

This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo.