Saudi Arabia Announces Date of Opening of Pilgrimage Portal This Year

The General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has supported the decision made by the Saudi government to limit the pilgrimage this year to Saudi citizens and foreign residents there.

The Saudi authorities have decided to permit only 60 thousand people to perform the rites of pilgrimage due to the Coronavirus (known also as COVID-19) and the appearance of new mutations of it.

The council issued a statement that said the holy texts, purposes, and universal rules indicate the obligation to preserve one’s soul, and that this is one of the Islamic Sharia (Islamic law) purposes, such as the Almighty’s saying: (And do not kill yourselves, for God has been merciful to you), and God Almighty says: (And do not throw your own hands into destruction).

The statement explained that "for this reason, the correct and explicit texts came that indicate the necessity of guarding against epidemics, and that all reasons that lead to reducing their spread should be made.

It pointed out that "Islamic law stresses the importance of preventing the transmission of epidemics and diseases from one country to another.

The statement added given the specialists have decided that gatherings are the main cause of transmission of infection in light of what the world is witnessing from the Corona pandemic and its mutations and that reducing these gatherings is the best solution.

It praised the Saudi government for taking a responsible decision that is required in order to preserve human lives and to carry out the duty towards this great ritual, the obligation of Hajj, and towards the Sacred Mosque and the holy sites.

In a related context, the Saudi Deputy Minister of Hajj revealed today, Saturday, that "the electronic portal for Hajj will be opened tomorrow, and there will be campaigns from inside the Kingdom via the electronic track."

Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Abdel Fattah Mashat said: "There will be an electronic platform through the ministry's portal, to register citizens and residents wishing to perform Hajj this year.

He indicated that the decision to conduct Hajj in limited numbers this year came in compliance with the purposes of Sharia in preserving human life."