logo
Saudi authorities launch self-help e-book to guide Hajj pilgrims to perform rituals correctly

Saudi authorities launch self-help e-book to guide Hajj pilgrims to perform rituals correctly

Arab News3 days ago

MAKKAH: Saudi authorities have launched a self-help e-book in various languages to guide and teach pilgrims about Hajj and Umrah rituals in order to perform them in accordance with Islamic rules.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah, and Guidance said the smart rituals guide is available in various locations in Makkah and Madinah, and other holy sites.
Pilgrims can use their smartphones to tap on a download point, select their preferred language, and upload the guide to their devices, the ministry added.
The initiative is part of several educational programs launched in the past weeks by the ministry to help over 1.25 million pilgrims currently undertaking Hajj perform their once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage correctly.
Saudi authorities, including health, logistical, and security sectors, have deployed cutting-edge technologies for this Hajj season, including drones to deliver medicines and artificial intelligence to safeguard and serve Muslim pilgrims.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Pakistan's first post-Hajj flight to arrive in Karachi on June 11
Pakistan's first post-Hajj flight to arrive in Karachi on June 11

Arab News

time33 minutes ago

  • Arab News

Pakistan's first post-Hajj flight to arrive in Karachi on June 11

KARACHI: Pakistan's first post-Hajj flight carrying pilgrims back to the country is scheduled to arrive in the southern port city of Karachi on June 11, a letter issued by the religion ministry said this week. Pakistan concluded its 33-day pre-Hajj flight operation last month, with more than 115,000 pilgrims transported to Saudi Arabia for the annual Islamic pilgrimage. Every year Pakistan arranges special Hajj flights to facilitate thousands of Pakistani Muslims traveling to the Kingdom for the pilgrimage and back. The operation involves both government and private schemes, as well as coordination with multiple airlines to ensure smooth transit. 'The first Hajj flight of Air Blue Airline, PA–1766, is scheduled to arrive at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, on 11th June 2025 at 13:35 hours from Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, carrying 148 Hujjaj,' a letter written addressed to the airport manager at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport by the religion ministry said. The letter said Riaz Hussain Shah Shirazi, the provincial minister for Auqaf, will welcome the pilgrims upon their arrival at the airport. 'You are kindly requested to make the necessary arrangements in accordance with past practices and provide intimation to this Directorate accordingly,' the letter added. As many as 88,260 Hajj pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia via the government scheme through 342 flights from various cities of Pakistan this year while over 27,000 arrived via private tour operators. The Hajj flights were operated by a range of air carriers including Pakistan International Airlines, Saudi Airlines, SereneAir, Airblue and AirSial.

Lebanon aims to lure back wealthy Gulf tourists to jumpstart its war-torn economy
Lebanon aims to lure back wealthy Gulf tourists to jumpstart its war-torn economy

Arab News

time2 hours ago

  • Arab News

Lebanon aims to lure back wealthy Gulf tourists to jumpstart its war-torn economy

BEIRUT: Fireworks lit up the night sky over Beirut's famous St. Georges Hotel as hit songs from the 1960s and 70s filled the air in a courtyard overlooking the Mediterranean retro-themed event was hosted last month by Lebanon's Tourism Ministry to promote the upcoming summer season and perhaps recapture some of the good vibes from an era viewed as a golden one for the country. In the years before a civil war began in 1975, Lebanon was the go-to destination for wealthy tourists from neighboring Gulf countries seeking beaches in summer, snow-capped mountains in winter and urban nightlife the decade after the war, tourists from Gulf countries – and crucially, Saudi Arabia – came back, and so did Lebanon's economy. But by the early 2000s, as the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah gained power, Lebanon's relations with Gulf countries began to sour. Tourism gradually dried up, starving its economy of billions of dollars in annual after last year's bruising war with Israel, Hezbollah is much weaker and Lebanon's new political leaders sense an opportunity to revitalize the economy once again with help from wealthy neighbors. They aim to disarm Hezbollah and rekindle ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, which in recent years have prohibited their citizens from visiting Lebanon or importing its products.'Tourism is a big catalyst, and so it's very important that the bans get lifted,' said Laura Khazen Lahoud, the country's tourism the highway leading to the Beirut airport, once-ubiquitous banners touting Hezbollah's leadership have been replaced with commercial billboards and posters that read 'a new era for Lebanon.' In the center of Beirut, and especially in neighborhoods that hope to attract tourists, political posters are coming down, and police and army patrols are on the are signs of thawing relations with some Gulf neighbors. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have lifted yearslong travel eyes are now on Saudi Arabia, a regional political and economic powerhouse, to see if it will follow suit, according to Lahoud and other Lebanese officials. A key sticking point is security, these officials say. Although a ceasefire with Israel has been in place since November, near-daily airstrikes have continued in southern and eastern Lebanon, where Hezbollah over the years had built its political base and powerful military as a diplomatic and economic bridgeAs vital as tourism is — it accounted for almost 20 percent of Lebanon's economy before it tanked in 2019 — the country's leaders say it is just one piece of a larger puzzle they are trying to put back agricultural and industrial sectors are in shambles, suffering a major blow in 2021, when Saudi Arabia banned their exports after accusing Hezbollah of smuggling drugs into Riyadh. Years of economic dysfunction have left the country's once-thriving middle class in a state of World Bank says poverty nearly tripled in Lebanon over the past decade, affecting close to half its population of nearly 6 million. To make matters worse, inflation is soaring, with the Lebanese pound losing 90 percent of its value, and many families lost their savings when banks is seen by Lebanon's leaders as the best way to kickstart the reconciliation needed with Gulf countries — and only then can they move on to exports and other economic growth opportunities.'It's the thing that makes most sense, because that's all Lebanon can sell now,' said Sami Zoughaib, research manager at The Policy Initiative, a Beirut-based think summer still weeks away, flights to Lebanon are already packed with expats and locals from countries that overturned their travel bans, and hotels say bookings have been the event hosted last month by the tourism ministry, the owner of the St. Georges Hotel, Fady El-Khoury, beamed. The hotel, owned by his father in its heyday, has acutely felt Lebanon's ups and downs over the decades, closing and reopening multiple times because of wars. 'I have a feeling that the country is coming back after 50 years,' he a recent weekend, as people crammed the beaches of the northern city of Batroun, and jet skis whizzed along the Mediterranean, local business people sounded optimistic that the country was on the right path.'We are happy, and everyone here is happy,' said Jad Nasr, co-owner of a private beach club. 'After years of being boycotted by the Arabs and our brothers in the Gulf, we expect this year for us to always be full.'Still, tourism is not a panacea for Lebanon's economy, which for decades has suffered from rampant corruption and has been in talks with the International Monetary Fund for years over a recovery plan that would include billions in loans and require the country to combat corruption, restructure its banks, and bring improvements to a range of public services, including electricity and those and other reforms, Lebanon's wealthy neighbors will lack confidence to invest there, experts said. A tourism boom alone would serve as a 'morphine shot that would only temporarily ease the pain' rather than stop the deepening poverty in Lebanon, Zoughaib tourism minister, Lahoud, agreed, saying a long-term process has only just begun.'But we're talking about subjects we never talked about before,' she said. 'And I think the whole country has realized that war doesn't serve anyone, and that we really need our economy to be back and flourish again.'

Saudi Arabia's Adahi Aims to Carry out 950,000 Sacrifices within 84 Hours
Saudi Arabia's Adahi Aims to Carry out 950,000 Sacrifices within 84 Hours

Asharq Al-Awsat

time3 hours ago

  • Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Arabia's Adahi Aims to Carry out 950,000 Sacrifices within 84 Hours

Saudi Arabia's Project for Utilization of Hady and Adahi (Adahi) kicked off on Friday its operations to perform meat sacrifices at the Hajj on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. Adahi General Coordinator Saad Abdul Rahman Al-Wabil said the operations are taking place within an integrated system aimed at facilitating the procedure and so that the pilgrims can perform their holy rituals smoothly and at ease. The project aims to carry out 950,000 sacrifices within 84 hours. Al-Wabil said the project is operating seven complexes providing high quality services to the pilgrims. He added that 25,000 members of staff are ready to carry out their duties. Adahi is committed to respecting all relevant Sharia and health conditions to perform the sacrifice, from the moment of slaughter to distribution and delivery of the meat to those in need, he stressed. These efforts are an extension of the support by Saudi Arabia and its leadership to Hajj pilgrims, he added.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store