New Delhi, Dec 9: A large number of Muslim women are likely to go to Hajj without 'Mahram' (male companion) next year, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Sunday.
Naqvi, while chairing a meeting here with representatives of organisations associated with Hajj, said that the Hajj Committee of India has received more than 2,23,000 applications for Hajj 2019 till now.
The over 2,23,000 applications include about 47 per cent women, he was quoted as saying by a statement released from his office.
Hajj application process had started on November 7, 2018, and the last date for it is December 12.
Naqvi said that more than 2,000 women have applied to go for Hajj in 2019 without 'Mahram' with the number likely to go up.
Naqvi said that in 2018, for the first time, the Centre had lifted the ban on women going to Hajj without Mahram, which resulted into about 1,300 women going for the pilgrimage without any male companion.
They had been exempted from the lottery system and more than 100 women Hajj coordinators and Hajj assistants had been deployed to assist the Indian women Hajj pilgrims, Naqvi said.
For the first time after Independence, a record number of Muslims -- 1,75,025 -- from India performed Hajj in 2018 and that too without any subsidy, he said.
Naqvi said that making the Hajj process completely digital has helped in making the entire process transparent.
For Hajj 2019, about 1,36,000 online applications have been received and the online portal for Private Tour Operators (PTOs) is already operational, Naqvi said.
While on one hand, the portal has ensured transparency in the functioning of PTOs, on the other hand, it is very beneficial for the pilgrims as they get all the necessary information, he said, adding that the new policy for the PTOs is also likely to be chalked out this year.
Naqvi said that the central government, in coordination with Indian Consulate in Jeddah and various concerned agencies in Saudi Arabia, is working to ensure safety and better facilities for the pilgrims.
The bilateral Hajj agreement between India and Saudi Arabia is likely to be signed soon, he said.
Welcoming the move Dr Arathi Krishna told coastaldigst.com that Indians stranded in any foreign country can utilize this facility. "Initially, I was approached by Mr Zakaria and Mr Sheik who wanted chartered flights to help their employees fly back to India. I asked them to write to the Indian Ambassador in Saudi Araia Mr Ausaf Sayeed. Then I requested the ambassador to forward the request to Joint Secretary Dr Nagendra Prasad, who is in charge of gulf division in the Ministry of External Affairs, and then to Secretary on charge of Gulf and then I requested Secretary of Economic Relations Mr T S Tirumurti who was also in charge of Gulf to follow this up," she said.
Comments
A woman does not have to go for Hajj unless she is able, and having a Mahram who can accompany her is one of the prerequisites for her to be able to go to Hajj. If it is not easy for her to find a Mahram to go for Hajj with her, then she is not able according to Shareeah, because in Islam a woman is forbidden to travel without a Mahram. Therefore Hajj is not obligatory for you unless you find a Mahram. So have patience until Allaah makes it easy for you to have a Mahram with whom you can go for Hajj. You have a valid excuse and there is no sin on you for this. As for going with a group without a Mahram, this is not permissible because of the hadeeth narrated by Ibn Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: No woman should travel except with a Mahram, and no man should enter upon a woman unless her Mahram is with her. A man said, O Messenger of Allaah, I want to go out with such-and-such an army and my wife wants to go to Hajj. He said, Go to Hajj with her.
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, 1729). The pilgrims used to go out from Madeenah in one caravan like a group but still the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not allow women to travel without a Mahram.
And Allaah knows best.
my friend, first of all you must understand what is the concept of Mahram in Islamic perspective. If you don't know learn from the scholars to know the significance. Please don't utter such a rubbish statement in front of media before you understand from the authentic sources why mahram is mandatory for a women in her journey. if you are illiterate in this subject, then you learn first.
Dear Dont take the credit, this is done by SAUDI Authorities. Your party is famous for taking credit for some else work.
A dirty political Iblis a agent of rss terror group. Zero religious knowledge.
It turns out that the Saudi Arabia government had relaxed the mahram provision for women over 45 years of age, travelling in organised groups in 2014 itself.
So clearly, India has just caught up. It should also be noted that if India had altered the rules and Saudi’s visa guidelines had not, it still wouldn’t have been possible for Indian Muslim women to travel for Hajj without a male escort.
Saudi Hajj Rule "
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