Muslims to perform downsized Hajj pilgrimage amid coronavirus pandemic

Only around one thousand Muslims will perform Hajj in Saudi Arabia today as part of downsized pilgrimage due to Coronavirus pandemic. Thirty per cent of them are Saudi citizens while the remaining seventy per cent are foreign nationals residing in the kingdom.

Marking the beginning of a five-day pilgrimage, Haj pilgrims converged at Mina yesterday. After offering pre-dawn prayers, they will proceed to the plains of Arafat today for the main ritual of Haj -reciting prayers. They will  spend the day there praying and asking for God's forgiveness.       



                                

The pilgrims will listen to the Khutba-e-Hajj or Hajj Sermon at Nimra mosque and offer mid-day and afternoon prayers together before leaving for Muzdalifah in the evening. The pilgrims will return to Mina tomorrow morning for the ritual of animal sacrifice and symbolic stoning of the devil. 

Around 2.5 million pilgrims including record two lakh from India performed Hajj last year.