2.5 Million Haj Pilgrims Heading to Arafah

KOMPAS/NASRU ALAM AZIZ

Mulism pilgrims gather around the Kaaba, Islam\'s holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in Mecca on Saturday 3 August 8, 2019, prior to tawaf, a ritual of circumambulating the Kaaba seven times. Up to 1.5 million Muslims from across the world gather in Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the annual six-day pilgrimage, with its peak to take place on Saturday (10/8/2019) to be marked by staying in contemplation and prayer, known as wukuf (standing).

A tight schedule for the jumrah (stoning the devil) ritual has been arranged to reduce risks related to the high crowd density of haj pilgrims, especially during their travel to the ritual’s area.

MECCA, KOMPAS — Around 2.5 million Muslims from all over the world will gather on Arafah field, some 20 kilometers to the east of downtown Mecca in Saudi Arabia this Saturday (10/8/2019). The pilgrims will undergo the wukuf ritual, the peak of the haj pilgrimage.

Pilgrims began departing from their accommodation to Arafah on Friday morning. Some went to Mina first to undergo the tarwiyah ritual before heading to Arafah.

Haj rituals are completed within three to five days, namely between 8-12 Zulhijah in the Islamic calendar. Wukuf, the peak of the haj pilgrimage, is held on 9 Zulhijah, which coincides with this Saturday, one day before the Idul Adha day of sacrifice.

This year, there are 212,372 haj pilgrims from Indonesia, divided into 529 flight groups. Some 15,663 pilgrims are taking the special haj program.

“Because there are so many haj pilgrims from Indonesia, the departure [to Arafah] is done in stages. All pilgrims will need to have arrived in Arafah on 9 Zulhijah or Saturday morning,” Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakin Saifuddin said, as quoted by the Haj Media Center.

AFP/FETHI BELAID

Pilgrims gather around the Kaaba, Islam\'s holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia\'s holy city of Mecca on August 8, 2019, prior to the start of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in the holy city. Muslims from across the world gather in Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the annual six-day pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, an act all Muslims must perform at least once in their lifetime if they have the means to travel to Saudi Arabia.

Indonesian haj pilgrims began leaving their accommodation at 7 a.m. on Friday, in the first stage that lasted until noon. The pilgrims were divided into three stages of departure, involving 21 buses for one maktab (shelter). The second stage of departure was between noon and 4 p.m., while the third stage was between 4 p.m. to midnight. The pilgrims were transported on shuttle buses.

Most special haj pilgrims had departed to Mina earlier using separate buses. Ahead of dzuhur (midday) prayer, some of the tents in Mina had been filled. There were more than 100,000 tents on a 20-square-kilometer plot of land, lending the Mina valley the nickname “Tent City”.Health services

The Saudi Arabian government deployed more than 32,000 healthcare specialists to serve the pilgrims. Joint security officers were seen almost everywhere to ensure pilgrims’ safety. More than 100,000 security personnel were deployed.

Health Ministry haj healthcare center head Eka Yusuf Singka said that health teams were ready at their positions and had prepared everything in Arafah, Muzdalifah and Mina. During the wukuf ritual, many pilgrims suffer from dehydration as the temperature is expected to get to 40 degrees Celsius.

KOMPAS/NASRU ALAM AZIZ

Pilgrims arrive in Maktab 11 Mina, Friday (9/8/2019). On Saturday (10/8/2019) afternoon all the pilgrims will go in Arafat for contemplation and prayer, known as wukuf (standing). Some of the pilgrims go directly to Arafat to wait before conducting wukuf.

Therefore, pilgrims are encouraged to drink water together at 10 p.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. “In Arafah, usually many pilgrims are dehydrated in the afternoon. We continue to disseminate information of this program,” Eka said.

Jumrah-throwing schedule

Religious Affairs Ministry’s Mecca working region head Subhan Cholid said that his office had coordinated with the Saudi Arabian Haj Affairs Ministry through related Muassasah regarding the jumrah-throwing schedule on 10-13 Zulhijah or Sunday-Wednesday (11-14/8). “This is aimed to avoid risks of huge crowd density during travel and at the jumrah-throwing location,” he said.

The jumrah-throwing schedule for Indonesian pilgrims are the same as the schedule for other Southeast Asian pilgrims.

KOMPAS/NASRU ALAM AZIZ

Pilgrims put luggage to the bus that will take them to Mina, Friday (9/8/2019). On Saturday (10/8/2019) afternoon all the pilgrims will go in Arafat to stay in contemplation and prayer, known as wukuf (standing).

Pilgrims from all over the world began the Aqobah jumrah-throwing on 10 Zulhijah (Sunday, 11/8), after a mabit (staying overnight) in Muzdalifah and past midnight on their way to Mina. However, Southeast Asian pilgrims, including those from Indonesia, were prohibited to throw jumrah between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Sunday, local time.

On 11 Zulhijah or Monday (12/8), Indonesian pilgrims will be allowed to throw jumrah at any time between predawn on 11 Zulhijah and predawn on 12 Zulhijah.

On 12 Zulhijah or Tuesday (13/8), Indonesian pilgrims will be prohibited to throw jumrah from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

On 13 Zulhijah or Wednesday (14/8), Indonesian pilgrims will be allowed to throw jumrah from the morning to the end of nafar tsani (pilgrims’ departure from Mina on 13 Zulhijah after throwing of Ula, Wustha and Aqabah jumrah).

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

A child sleeps when his parents queue up for zakat (alms) from the big family of Tasripin ahead of Lebaran in the Old City area, Semarang city, Central Java, Friday (31/5/2019). The tradition of distributing zakat directly to the poor has been carried out through the fifth generation by the Tasripin family who were once wealthy entrepreneurs.

Information about the schedule has been disseminated to all sector leaders and haj guides to be informed to all pilgrims. (NAR)