‘Hajj Dues Can Be Paid In Up To 3 Installments’: Hajj Ministry MAKKAH: The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah on Thursday announced the commencement of registration of Hujjaj for the Hajj Season 1444/ 2023. In the initial stage the Ministry has invited local pilgrims to apply via the Nusuk Application or the Ministry’s website.
The Ministry of Hajj announced on Friday, that it is possible for Hujjaj to pay their dues either completely at once or in up to 3 installments.
Applicants would have to pay 20% of the dues within 72 hours of reservation, 40% of the dues would need to be paid no later than 7 Sha’ban 1444 and the last 40% would need to be paid no later than 10 Shawwal 1444.
The Ministry also said that the applicant’s reservation would only be confirmed after complete payment is received.
'Made in Makkah' and 'Made in Madinah' identities launched
Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH — Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, emir of Makkah and advisor to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and Prince Faisal bin Salman, emir of Madinah, inaugurated the “Made in Makkah” and “Made in Madinah” identities. These identities emanate from the “Made in Saudi Arabia” program launched by the Saudi Export Development Authority (SEDA) at the beginning of 2021.
Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said the collective and complementary efforts between all government sectors were one of the main reasons for the success of launching the Made in Makkah and Made in Madinah identities. “The special status that Makkah and Madinah enjoy among Muslims in all parts of the world has made the products of the two holy cities most favorite among the majority of Muslims around the world,” he pointed out.
For his part, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and Chairman of the Board of Directors of SEDA Bandar Alkhorayef said the launch of the two identities "Made in Makkah" and "Made in Madinah" will contribute to enriching the religious experience of visitors to Makkah and Madinah, and enhance the penetration of national products into global markets. This is in view of the intimate religious attachment that the holy sites represent for Muslim visitors from all over the world.
He stated that the two programs are an extension of the main umbrella program titled “Made in Saudi Arabia” program, which aims to show the excellent position of Saudi Arabia in terms of many non-oil Saudi products. The industrial identity of the products and services manufactured in Makkah and Madinah reflects a number of high standards that must be met. There are more than 1,600 Saudi companies affiliated with “Made in Saudi Arabia,” including nearly 20 factories and companies affiliated with “Made in Makkah” and “Made in Madinah” programs.
Alkhorayef said Makkah hosts more than 2,000 factories engaged in over 23 industrial activities, with investments worth over SR205 billion while there are more than 461 factories in over 20 industrial activities, with investments amounting to SR120 billion in Madinah.
The minister stressed the Kingdom’s keenness on not misusing the name of Makkah and Madinah in marketing products. On the contrary, the level of quality of products must be raised so as to match the products made in Makkah and made in Madinah, he added
Saudi Arabia to receive Hajj pilgrims to pre-COVID levels
All age requirements will be scrapped; insurance costs drops by 60%
Saudi Arabia will welcome pilgrims to preform Hajj this year with the same numbers before COVID pandemic, according to the Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah.
Saudi Gazette report
JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia will welcome pilgrims to preform Hajj this year with the same numbers before COVID pandemic, according to the Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah.
The minister also announced that the Kingdom will scrap all age requirements for pilgrims, after three years of restrictions to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.
Al-Rabiah made his remarks on Monday at the opening ceremony of “Expo Hajj”, the conference and exhibition of Hajj and Umrah services held in Jeddah from Jan. 9-12, 2023.
He said: “From this year’s Hajj season we will allow Hajj missions from around the world to agree with any authorized company to provide services in the Kingdom.”
“Together with our partners, we launched NUSK platform to facilitate procedures and enrich the experience of the pilgrims.”
He revealed that Umrah pilgrims' insurance was reduced from SR235 to SR88 by 63 percent. Also, Hajj pilgrims’ insurance was reduced from SR109 to SR29 by 73 percent.
The minister said the Umrah visa was extended from 30 days to 90 days and allows its holder to move all around the Kingdom.
“Any visitor to the Kingdom with any type of visa can perform the Umrah and visit Madinah,” he added.
“We worked with partners to enrich the cultural experience after performing the rituals and developing and activating Islamic historical sites related to the Prophet's biography.”
He said the Kingdom is working on rehabilitation of 100 Islamic historical sites during the upcoming years.
Al-Rabiah pointed out that the Kingdom invested over SR200 billion in infrastructure of the expansion of the Grand Mosque, which makes it the largest construction project in history.
“We have not neglected the development of facilities and infrastructure, and we have worked with our partners to increase the seat capacity.”
“We established the largest airport in the Kingdom with more than SR40 billion to serve the pilgrims, which is King Abdulaziz Airport,” he added.
Also, he said building the Haramain Express Train costs over SR64 billion, which connects Makkah and Al-Madinah.
One of the five pillars of Islam, the Hajj must be undertaken by all Muslims who have the means at least once in their lives.
Usually one of the world’s largest religious gatherings, about 2.5 million people participated in 2019.
From 2009 to 2019, the number of Hajj pilgrims averaged of nearly 2,3 million each year. But after the onset of the pandemic in 2020, authorities announced they would only let 1,000 pilgrims take part.
The following year, they increased the total to 60,000 fully vaccinated Saudi Arabian citizens and residents chosen through a lottery. In the last three years the pilgrimage was limited to vaccinated Muslims under age 65.
The number of Hajj pilgrims reached 899,353 in 2022, as the easing of COVID-19 restrictions prompted the return of more foreign visitors.
EDITORIAL: Twitter on Friday suspended the Twitter handle of Haramain Sharifain (@hsharifain) citing that the handle had broken Twitter’s rule of “impersonation”.
In a letter to Twitter, the CEO of Haramain Sharifain Mohammad Jibran Khan explained to Twitter to Haramain Sharifain has not broken any of Twitter’s rules as it was a news publication as clearly explained in the handle’s bio and website.
The CEO further explained to Twitter that “Haramain Sharifain” and its subsidiary blog “Inside the Haramain” had a unique presence on social media for over 10 years and its logo were all different from entities controlling the Two Holy Mosque’s affairs such as the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques. He further explained that the names Haramain Sharifain are neither trademarked nor copyrighted.
The CEO further emphasized that Twitter had not given Haramain Sharifain the opportunity to explain its stance before applying a blanket permanent suspension affecting the working of the organization and the people benefiting from its work.
Twitter in its response has declined the appeal of the CEO and has maintained that Haramain Sharifain has broken its rules.
It is important to mention that ‘Haramain Sharifain’ was founded in 2013 and over the course of the last decade has accumulated the reputation of being one of the prominent sources of information, news, and content from the Two Holy Mosques.
Haramain Sharifain rejects Twitter’s reasons and calls for immediate restoration of its handle on Twitter
Saudi: 1.75L Indians to perform Haj in 2023; highest in history
The Indian Haj quota was fixed as 1,75,025 for the year 2023, tweeted the Indian Consulate on Monday.
EXCLUSIVE: Prominent Imam Resigns As Khateeb Of The Haram A prominent Imam of one of the Two Holy Mosques has resigned as Imam and Khateeb after several decades of serving, Inside the Haramain has learned.
According to the vague details available, it is understood that the Imam refused to renew the renewable four-year contract with the General Presidency during the latter months of 2022.
The General Presidency adopted a new system to appoint Imams and Muadhins in 2019.
The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has neither confirmed nor denied this story and sources tell Inside the Haramain that official confirmation is unlikely to be given.
Pilgrims wishing to perform the #Hajj this year are required to complete all doses of #COVID19 vaccinations, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (@MoHU_En) confirmed.
RIYADH — Pilgrims wishing to perform the Hajj this year are required to complete all doses of COVID-19 vaccinations, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah confirmed.
The ministry stated that the Hajj pilgrims this year must also get the meningococcal vaccine and the seasonal influenza vaccine.
The health requirements for performing the rituals of Hajj include that the pilgrim should not be suffering from acute chronic diseases or any infectious diseases, the ministry said.
Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah has announced that the Kingdom will scrap all age requirements for pilgrims, after three years of restrictions to curb a possible spread of COVID-19.
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Hajj ministry fully replaces 'Etamarna' app with 'Nusuk'
JEDDAH — The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has decided to do away with the Etamarna app and to extend all pilgrim-related services via Nusuk app.
The ministry said its decision to drop the Etamarna app came to facilitate registration procedures for the pilgrims.
Steps for registration via Nusuk app are: Log on to the Hajj ministry's website, choose Nusuk app, select reservation from Hajj services menu, and select "Create a new reservation".
Once the prospective pilgrims agree to the terms and conditions, they will be able to see the details of all Hajj packages and select an appropriate package.
Then they will also be able to add companions (cor residents) — or male guardians for women (mahram) such as husband, father, brother and son.
They will be asked to add their bank account, the mode of paying the fees and whether they wish to make full payment or pay in installments.
On completing the reservation, individuals will receive an SMS message on their registered phone number. The reservation details will appear on the user’s dashboard as well.
The ministry announced that Saudi Arabia will welcome pilgrims to perform Hajj this year in same numbers before the emergence of the Covid pandemic.
It has also announced that domestic pilgrims have the option of paying the Hajj package costs in three installments, instead of paying the full amount in one go as was the case during previous years.
Jeddah airport starts free shuttle service to Makkah Grand Mosque
The new service will take pilgrims from Terminal 1 at the airport to the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
Saudi Gazette report
JEDDAH — King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah has launched a free shuttle service for pilgrims.
The new service will take pilgrims from Terminal 1 at the airport to the Grand Mosque in Makkah, the airport announced on Twitter.
“Beneficiaries of the service must wear the Ihram and produce the national ID for Saudis or the passport for foreigners.”
Trips will depart from the airport every two hours, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and will depart from the Grand Mosque every two hours, from 12 noon to 12 midnight.
The project, which will be developed on a area of 1.5 million square meters of which 63 percent will be open and green spaces - and feature 47,000 hotel rooms, nine bus stops, a metro station, tracks for self-driving vehicles and underground parking, all of which will provide easy access to the masjid and the surrounding residential and commercial development
The project will showcase many historical monuments that are of huge significance to the legacy of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his companions, while the holy city's unique heritage is reflected in the design of all buildings and facilities.
any info on this? i heard someone say its shuraim. if so alhamdulillah he did right thing as he seems more outspoken and i feared they would pick him up sooner or later like they did with the other imams ghamadi and ale taalib
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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