Latest news with #hajj
Malay Mail
21-06-2025
- Health
- Malay Mail
Heart attacks claim lives of three Malaysian pilgrims in Mecca, Haj death toll rises to 19
KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 — Three more Malaysian pilgrims have died in the Holy City of Mecca, bringing the total number of deaths to date to 19. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar said the latest fatalities involved pilgrims from Telok Panglima Garang, Selangor; Tanah Rata, Pahang; and Butterworth, Penang. He said Abd Wahab Yahaya, 63, from Selangor, passed away at 4.50 pm yesterday (June 19) at Hotel Al-Mubarak in Shisha due to a heart attack. The second and third pilgrims, who also succumbed to heart attacks, were Mohamed Jafri Yahya, 60, from Tanah Rata, who died at 7.39 pm yesterday at Jiwar Hospital in Mecca, and Norizan Tarsi, 59, from Butterworth, who passed away at 6.45 am today (June 20) at Abraj Al-Tayseer. 'Tabung Haji has ensured that all burial arrangements were carried out in accordance with syariah law, including burial management in the Holy Land. The next of kin have been informed and guided with compassion and care. 'On behalf of the Government of Malaysia and all haj agency staff, I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. May their souls be granted forgiveness, mercy, and placed among the righteous. Al-Fatihah,' he said in a Facebook post today. — Bernama
Zawya
17-06-2025
- Zawya
Bomb threat forces Saudia plane to make emergency landing in Indonesia
A Saudia Airlines plane carrying hajj pilgrims home made an emergency landing in Indonesia on Tuesday after a bomb threat, police and the carrier said, with all passengers evacuated. The plane, carrying 442 hajj pilgrims from Jeddah to Jakarta, landed mid-morning in North Sumatra province due to the emailed threat, Indonesia's transport ministry said. Police were searching through luggage after checking the aircraft, said North Sumatra police chief Whisnu Hermawan. Saudia, which is Saudi Arabia's flagship carrier, said alternative onward travel arrangements were being made. (Reporting by Stanley Widianto and Bernadette Christina; Editing by David Stanway and Andrew Cawthorne)
Malay Mail
14-06-2025
- Malay Mail
First group of Malaysian pilgrims departs Mecca for home after 48 days of Haj
MECCA, June 14 — The return journey of the first group of Malaysian hajj pilgrims (KT001) involving a total of 277 people from the Abraj Al Janadriyah accommodation building to King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah proceeded smoothly. All KT001 pilgrims will board flight MH8050 at 5.40 am local time today (June 14) and arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Sepang at 8.10 pm Malaysian time on the same day. The departure of six buses of pilgrims was officiated by the head of the Hajj Delegation, Mohd Hisham Harun at Abraj Al Janadriyah hotel at 9.50 pm (June 13). Earlier, this group arrived in Madinah on April 29 and had been in the Holy Land for about 48 days to perform the obligatory umrah before completing the hajj last week. A total of 31,600 Malaysian pilgrims are expected to return home in stages via King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah and Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport, Madinah on AMAL by Malaysia Airlines and Saudia Airlines. The last flight of the Malaysian pilgrim group is scheduled to depart Madinah on July 10 at 10.40 am local time and land at KLIA at 12.35 am (July 11). — Bernama
South China Morning Post
09-06-2025
- South China Morning Post
Haj pilgrimage on horseback by 3 Muslims from Spain to Mecca retraces a 15th century route
Three Spanish pilgrims performing the haj in Saudi Arabia rode on horseback to Mecca, travelling thousands of kilometres in snow and rain along a route they said had not been taken for more than 500 years. Advertisement Abdelkader Harkassi Aidi, Tarek Rodriguez and Abdallah Rafael Hernandez Mancha set out from southern Spain in October, riding through France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria and Jordan to arrive in Saudi Arabia in May. It was an emotional moment for the trio when they reached Mecca. No pilgrim had travelled this way since 1491, they said. Harkassi said the group's path from Spain took them across about 8,000km (nearly 5,000 miles) before they reached the Kaaba, the black cube structure in the Great Mosque of Mecca. 'We had crossed so many kilometres to be there and Allah had replied to our wish,' he said from Mount Arafat, southeast of Mecca. 'We were in front of the Kaaba and had the opportunity to touch it. So, that 8,000km became nothing.' Advertisement
News.com.au
07-06-2025
- News.com.au
Inside Saudi's hajj-only barbershop, shaving thousands of heads in a day
Near the holy city of Mecca, men in white robes stand quietly in a long queue, waiting for the next important act of their hajj pilgrimage: a haircut. Shaving or cutting the hair comes near the end of the hajj, and marks the moment when pilgrims can change out of the Ihram clothing that signifies purity and devotion. The barbershop, strategically positioned by the Jamarat complex in Mina, where the "stoning of the devil" ritual took place on Friday, opens exclusively for the annual hajj and does a roaring trade. On the pilgrimage's third day, which coincides with the major festival of Eid al-Adha, its barbers typically handle 6,000 customers, said manager Imad Fawzi, an official employed by the hajj organisation. Inside, men in plastic aprons wield electric clippers and cut-throat razors, shearing scalps on an industrial scale for 60 riyals ($13) per head. Despite the rush -- there are so many customers that an usher is required -- Ahmed, a 28-year-old barber from Egypt, is happy in his work. "This is a very simple thing to do, but it brings us so much joy," he says. "We're happy to serve the pilgrims... and to be able to work in a holy place," he said. Fawzi, who grew up in Mecca, called himself a "child of the hajj". "I've been working in hajj since I was seven," he says. - 'This outfit is exhausting' - The once-a-year hairdresser is not the only place for a cut: parts of Mecca and the plain of Mina, on its outskirts, turn into an open-air barbershop at this stage of the hajj. Leaving the Jamarat, a southeast Asian man took out a razor and started scraping the back of his head as he walked. Further down the street, a group of African men were shaving each other with clippers. In Mecca, entire streets are lined with barbershops doing brisk business. While men shave their hair, women trim theirs by a fingertip-length. About 1.6 million pilgrims have gathered in and around Mecca, Islam's holiest city, for this year's hajj, which all Muslims with the means must complete at least once. Outside the Jamarat barbershop, Hani Abdel Samih is looking forward to changing out of the wrap-around skirt and shawl he has been wearing for the past three days. "The stoning of the devil at Jamarat requires great effort and we've been wearing these clothes all day," he said. "We wanted to wear our everyday clothes and be comfortable, so we went to the nearest barbershop we could find after the Jamarat," said the Egyptian. Yet his face was beaming with joy. He said he did not mind the wait for a haircut that bears a special place in his spiritual journey. "I'm excited, of course! Because this is Sunnah from the Prophet, peace be upon him," he said, referring to the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed. "We like (this ritual) and we cannot break it," he said. The hajj retraces the Prophet's last pilgrimage, with rites at Mecca's Grand Mosque and Mount Arafat before "stoning the devil" -- throwing pebbles at three giant walls at Jamarat. aya/th/jsa
