Family visit visa ‘limited to 6 months’

Dubai, Jul 22: Saudi Arabia's Minister of Haj and Umrah, Dr Muhammad Saleh Benten, has inspected the facilities and arrangement made for the Haj pilgrims in Makkah and the holy sites.

Speaking to the Saudi Press Agency after the tour, the minister said that the Saudi government has worked out unprecedented plans for the running of this year's Haj, enabling pilgrims to perform their rituals in ease and comfort.
 
This year's Haj, which has been scaled back dramatically to include only around 1,000 Muslim pilgrims as Saudi Arabia battles a coronavirus surge, will begin on July 29, authorities said Monday.

"The comprehensive, foolproof plans will be implemented by the security, health and service agencies. The plans include the provision of the best health services, and the most appropriate crowd control, strictly in line with the precautionary measures and preventive protocols, formulated by the Ministry of Health to ensure full safety of pilgrims from the coronavirus pandemic," Dr Benten said.

According to the Saudi Gazette, Benten emphasised the eagerness of the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to implement the Haj operation by following the highest health standards and precautionary measures in order to ensure the safety of the pilgrims.

Earlier, the minister inspected the arrangements and facilities for the reception and accommodation of pilgrims at Four Point Hotel in Makkah.

He was briefed by ministry officials with regard to receiving and accommodating pilgrims during the period from 4 to 8 of Dhul Hijjah before leaving for Mina.

Benten also visited the tents in Arafat and the facilities in Muzdalifah.

After that, his inspection tour visited the tent city of Mina, where he viewed one of the towers designated for the housing of pilgrims. 

According to the Saudi Gazette, he was impressed with the services and facilities being arranged for the accommodation and serving of food for the pilgrims.

To complete his visit, the minister watched a visual presentation of the mechanism for providing logistical services for the pilgrims during their travel from accommodation to Jamarat to undertake the stoning ritual.

Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Bin Wasl Al Ahmadi, assistant commander of the Haj security forces for the Grand Mosque and its premises, said on Tuesday that the security plan for this year's pilgrimage prioritises on organisational, security, humanitarian and health aspects.

He said the Haj security forces have installed entry and exit mechanisms from the Grand Mosque during Haj, with passages for pilgrims extending from the southern and western premises of venue as well as special passages around the circumambulation and Saey areas.

Dubai, Jul 9: The Government of India has announced an additional 104 special repatriation flights from the UAE to India as part of the Vande Bharat Mission, Phase 4 from July 15 - 31.

According to a flight schedule listed on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) website, national carriers Air India and Air India Express flights have been scheduled to various cities in 10 Indian states. Each flight has a capacity of 177 passengers.

Vande Bharat Phase 4 officially began on July 3, and in an earlier press briefing Anurag Srivastava, spokesperson of India's Ministry of External Affairs had said 'Phase 4 will focus on repatriation of Gulf-based Indians.

The new additional flights have been organised to cities in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi, Telangana, Punjab, Haryana, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Rajasthan, according to the MEA schedule. To the joy of expats from Maharashtra, at least seven flights have been planned to Mumbai, which has been a less serviced state since the start of the Vande Bharat Mission.

Consul Press, Information, and Culture, Consulate General of India in Dubai Neeraj Agarwal said, "Approximately 100 repatriation flights are planned for the next 23 days, including 50 from Dubai and Sharjah each. If all flights are full, we are looking to evacuate anything between 17,000 to 18,000 passengers in the coming days."

Booking for the newly announced flights will open soon, said Agarwal. "Some of them are already open, and others will be open in the next few days. However, a few flights are subject to slot approvals," he explained.

Commenting on the possibility of flights from India to the UAE, Agarwal said, "We express hope that this too will happen soon."  The flight schedule can be seen here: https://www.mea.gov.in/phase-4.htm

Jeddah, May 18: Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti and head of the Council of Senior Scholars and the Department of Scientific Research and Ifta Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Asheikh ruled that it is permissible to perform Eid Al-Fitr prayer at home under exceptional circumstances similar to the current pandemic situation. The prayer consists of two rakats with reciting more numbers of takbeer and without a sermon.

Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, he said that Zakat Al-Fitr could be distributed through charitable societies if they are reliable ones, with the condition that it should be distributed before the day of Eid. The Grand Mufti urged parents to bring joy and happiness to their children and their families by spending more on them.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Abdul Salam Abdullah Al-Sulaiman, member of the Council of Senior Scholars and the Standing Committee of Fatwa, said that Eid prayer could be performed individually or in congregation.

Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, he said that the worshiper will recite takbeer to start salat and then follow it with six more takbeer in the first rakat before reciting Fatiha loudly and then it is ideal to recite Surah Al-Qaf.

In the second rakat, there will be five takbeer after the takbeer at the start of the rakat before starting to recite Surah Fatiha and then Surah Al-Qamar, following the example of the Prophet (peace be upon him). It is also ideal to recite Surah Al-A’la and Al-Ghashiya instead of Al-Qaf and Al-Qamar in each rakat respectively.

Sheikh Al-Sulaiman also cited the example of Anas Bin Malik, a prominent companion of the Prophet (pbuh). When Anas (May Allah be pleased with him), was at his home in Zawiya, a place near Basra, he did not find any Eid congregation prayer and therefore he performed prayer along with his family members and his aide Abdullah Bin Abi Otba.

The scholar said that the time for Eid prayer begins after sunrise and the best time is after the sun rises by the height of one or two spears as agreed by most scholars. This means 15 or 30 minutes after sunrise and its time continues until the end of the time of the Duha prayer; that is before the Zuhr prayer begins.

The prayer is forbidden at the moment when the sun rises, and the majority of jurists, including the schools of thought of Shafi, Maliki, and Hanbali opposed prayer at sunrise and favored to perform the prayer only after the sun rises by the height of one or two spears in the sky.

Regarding the recitation of takbeer on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr, Sheikh Al-Suleiman said that it should begin during the night of the Eid and continue until the beginning of the Eid prayer.