MAKKAH, Half of the 31,600 Malaysian pilgrims will carry out Nafar Awwal, which involves throwing stones at the jamrah on two out of three of the Days of Tashriq (three days following Aidiladha), while the rest will throw stones at the pillars on those three days (Nafar Thani).
Malaysian Haj Delegation head, Datuk Seri Syed Saleh Syed Abdul Rahman, said it reduces congestion in Mina and facilitates the movement of pilgrims returning to their accommodation in Makkah.
He said 10 buses would be used to transport the pilgrims back to their accommodation (maktabs) after completing the two-day stoning ritual (Nafar Awwal) on 12 Zulhijjah (June 19) and another 10 buses will be provided to bring the pilgrims back to their Makkah maktabs after their three-day stoning ritual (Nafar Thani) on 13 Zulhijjah (June 20).
He spoke to reporters at the weekly press conference at Tabung Haji (TH) headquarters here today.
He said Malaysian pilgrims will begin moving in stages to Arafah on 8 Zulhijjah (Friday, June 14) to joi
n nearly three million Muslims from around the world to perform the wukuf ritual, the pinnacle of Haj, on 9 Zulhijjah (June 15), at 6 am, midmorning and after Friday prayers, adding that 20 buses will be provided to each maktab.
Syed Salleh said the nearly 22-kilometre journey from Makkah to Arafah is expected to take between one to two hours, depending on the traffic, as many routes around Masjidil Haram will be closed for Friday prayers and will only be opened in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, he said pilgrims’ movement from Arafah to Muzdalifah involving an eight-kilometre trip and Muzdalifah to Mina (6.9 kilometre) will be conducted via shuttles.
He said the movement would also involve 600 haj personnel, with some of them starting the journey on 7 Zulhijjah (June 13) to prepare for the arrival of the first group of pilgrims, while others will travel in stages.
‘Some of our officers will also stay behind in Makkah until all pilgrims have left to conduct checks, including in the rooms of the maktab, Masjidil
Haram, and its surroundings to ensure none of our pilgrims are left behind,’ he said.
According to him, under its Safari Wukuf initiative, TH provides four modified buses serving as ambulances to allow warded pilgrims to perform wukuf, where they will be driven to Arafah to listen to the Arafah sermon after the wukuf time begins and then brought back to TH treatment centre in Makkah.
Syed Salleh said the Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umrah has once again granted Malaysia the privilege of selecting the times for the stoning ritual.
‘We have chosen to do the stoning ritual at night from 8 pm to midnight to prevent pilgrims from being exposed to excessive heat and to avoid congestion, as the number of pilgrims during these hours is relatively lower,’ he said.
TH will station its staff at specific locations along the route of the stoning sites, ensuring the pilgrims’ safety and providing them assistance, he said, adding pouches containing pebbles will also be distributed to the pilgrims so they no longer need to
collect pebbles while in Muzdalifah.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
