Umrah pilgrims return to a Mecca stilled by COVID-19 slump The first group of Muslims, allowed in the mosque compound by appointment, practice social distancing, as they perform Umrah … Pilgrims Return to Mecca as Saudi Eases Virus Restrictions ... Pilgrims Arrive in Mecca for Downsized Hajj Amid Pandemic. The decision to resume the pilgrimage was in response to the "aspirations of Umrah pilgrims finally return to Mecca as Saudis partially lift covid shutdown. A limited number of people circled Islam’s holiest site in Mecca on Sunday after Saudi Arabia lifted coronavirus restrictions that had been in place for months. Only Saudi citizens and residents will be permitted to enter the mosque during this first phase of reopening, and each pilgrim has up to three hours to complete the pilgrimage. Saudi Arabia recently began easing some restrictions on international flights. Pilgrims return to Mecca as Saudi eases virus restrictions. In 2019, 2.5 million pilgrims made the journey to Mecca, Islam's holiest site. Visitors from abroad will be permitted in the third stage from 1 November, when capacity will be raised to 20,000 and 60,000, respectively. Saudi Hajj Minister Mohammad Benten said it will be revived in three phases, with 6,000 pilgrims per day allowed in the first stage to perform the umrah "meticulously and within a specified period of time". Playing next. Thursday 23/08/2018. The Hajjis or pilgrims wear simple white clothes called Ihram. US consumer confidence rises as COVID cases drop, Trump may soon have to answer rape allegations under oath, At least 62 dead in Ecuador prison riots, dozens injured, US detains wife of Mexican drug cartel chief El Chapo, How Britain stole $45 trillion from India, Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights. Khodjisultan Urunbayev had lived in what is now the northern Tajikistan city of Khujand. But as nations begin to ease those restrictions, the Saudi government on Sunday started allowing a maximum of 6,000 pilgrims a day to enter the Grand Mosque in Mecca. 4 October 2020. More than two million pilgrims participating in the haj this week began returning to Mecca on Sunday for final prayers as the world's largest annual gathering of Muslims winds down. Follow. Share. October 4, 2020, 7:27 AM. The Saudi government started allowing a maximum of 6,000 people a day to enter Mecca’s Grand Mosque to performumrah — a pilgrimage to Islam’s two holiest sites that can be taken at any time of year. Ishmael Saudi Arabia, which held a largely symbolic haj … The decision to resume the pilgrimage was in response to the "aspirations of Muslims home and abroad" to perform the ritual and visit the holy sites, the interior ministry said last month. Report. News 2020. Umrah pilgrims return to Mecca. The umrah - a pilgrimage that can be undertaken at any time - usually attracts millions of Muslims from across the globe each year. Browse more videos. During Hajj, pilgrims join processions of millions of people, who simultaneously converge on Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of rituals: each person walks counter-clockwise seven times around the Kaaba (a cube-shaped building and the direction of prayer for Muslims), trots (walks briskly) back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah seven times, then … Muslim pilgrims pray after casting stones at three huge stone pillars in the symbolic stoning of the devil on the last day of the annual hajj pilgrimage in Mina, outside the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday, August 23, 2018. In contrast to the more than two million pilgrims the kingdom hosts for the annual event, as few as 1,000 took part after being tested for the virus and quarantined. Typically, the mosque would be packed with worshippers from around the world crowded shoulder-to-shoulder at all times of the day and night. RTÉ.ie is the website of Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland's National Public Service Media. Umrah pilgrims return to Mecca. Male pilgrims will shave their heads after this occurs. Reuters. The two share common rites, but the haj, held once a year, is the main lengthier ritual that is a once-in-a-lifetime duty for Muslims. Millions of Muslims from around the world usually descend on Saudi Arabia for the umrah and haj Islamic pilgrimages. 3 months ago | 5 views. Umrah pilgrims return to Mecca. A limited number of citizens and residents permitted to enter Mecca’s Grand Mosque during first phase of reopening. Browse more videos. Marwa Rashad. During the Hajj the Pilgrims perform acts of worship and they renew their sense of purpose in the world. Tweet. Share. Each group of 20 or 25 pilgrims will be accompanied by a health worker and medical teams will be on the ground in case of an emergency, Mr Benten said. More than two million Muslims begin the annual hajj on Friday as the Saudi hosts seek to deter politicisation of the pilgrimage against a backdrop of simmering Gulf tensions. Muslims perform umrah at the Grand Mosque in Mecca after Saudi Arabia eased coronavirus restrictions, Sunday, October 4. A limited number of pilgrims returned to Islam’s holiest site on Sunday after Saudi Arabia partially lifted coronavirus restrictions that had been in place since March.. Umrah pilgrims return to Mecca. A raft of precautions have been adopted to ward off any outbreaks during the umrah, according to state media. Worshippers have returned to Mecca after Saudi authorities partially resumed the year-round umrah pilgrimage after seven-month coronavirus hiatus. Share. View photos . A limited number of citizens and residents permitted to enter Mecca’s Grand Mosque during first … For Muslims it is a duty to go on pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca) at least once in their lifetime, as long as they are physically able and can afford it.. ĭsh´māĕl [key] [Heb.,=God hears], in the Bible. Under the second stage from 18 October, the number of umrah pilgrims will be increased to 15,000 per day, with a maximum of 40,000 people, including pilgrims and other worshippers, allowed to perform prayers at the mosque. It was suspended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Umrah pilgrims return to Mecca. The Saudi Hajj minister said each group of 20 or 25 pilgrims will be accompanied by a health worker and medical teams will be on the ground in case of an emergency. Thousands of Muslim pilgrims begin rituals in Mecca ahead of the annual Haj pilgrimage, which will start in five days. Mecca slowly stirred from a seven-month hibernation on Sunday as pilgrims trickled in after Saudi authorities partially lifted a coronavirus ban on performing umrah - a pilgrimage to Islam's two holiest sites that is undertaken at any time of year. This year, numbers were restricted to no more than 10,000. Worshippers who wish to enter the mosque for Friday prayers or to perform the Umrah have to apply to reserve a time and date through an online application launched by the authorities to avoid overcrowding. Umrah pilgrims return to a Mecca stilled by COVID-19 slump. RTÉ is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. Worshippers returned to Mecca after Covid ban was partially lifted on Sunday; The year-round umrah pilgrimage is allowed to be performed at 30% capacity Pilgrims wearing face masks reentered the Grand Mosque in small groups; Worshippers have returned to Mecca after Saudi authorities … © RTÉ 2021. Report. On the fourth day, the pilgrims go to Mina and … The revered Black Stone in the eastern corner of the Kaaba - which it is customary but not mandatory to touch during the pilgrimage - will be out of reach, while the Grand Mosque will be sterilised before and after each group of worshippers. US: Police will not face charges in Daniel Prude’s death, Officials to resign from Texas power grid operator after outages, Indigenous protesters in Ecuador demand presidential vote recount, Snap back? Another trip to Mina then takes place, along with more symbolic stoning, before the faithful can return to Mecca to do a farewell Tawaf. The kingdom took the rare step of suspending the Umrah – the smaller pilgrimage that draws millions all year round from around the world – in early March as the coronavirus morphed into a global pandemic and prompted countries to impose lockdowns and curfews to slow down transmission. 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