Saudi Arabia Hosts Scaled-Down Hajj Pilgrimage in 2020

The Saudi government is covering the expenses of all pilgrims this year, providing them with meals, hotel accommodation, transportation and health care.

Normally, the hajj can cost thousands of dollars for pilgrims who save a lifetime for the journey. It also generates billions of dollars in revenue each year for Saudi Arabia.

Saudi kings have for generations assumed titles as custodians of Islam’s holiest sites, and their oversight of the hajj is a source of prestige and influence among Muslims globally.

Saudi Arabia has never canceled the hajj in the nearly 90 years since the country was founded.

For the first time in Saudi history, no pilgrims from abroad were permitted to take part in the hajj due to concerns about the coronavirus and overcrowding.

It's a stark departure from previous years, when some 2 million pilgrims from more than 160 countries flocked to Mecca for the spiritual rituals, mostly from across Asia and Africa.

Although the hajj often draws all age groups, pilgrims this year were required to be between the ages of 20 and 50, and in good health.

The physically demanding rituals of the hajj offer a profound experience for Muslims, with the faithful often weeping, their palms stretched toward the sky, in prayer and repentance.

The hajj is required of all able-bodied Muslims once in a lifetime.

This year, pilgrims must wear face masks and will only be able to drink holy water from the Zamzam well in Mecca that has been prepackaged in plastic bottles.

Pebbles for casting away evil that is usually picked up by pilgrims along hajj routes will be sterilized and bagged before being distributed to the pilgrims.

Pilgrims are also bringing their own prayer rugs and will be required to pray at a distance from one another, rather than packed shoulder-to-shoulder.

(Writer: Aya Batrawy) 

Source: https://apnews.com/2c3c28c615ebc6065797c1c50077dab9