MAKKAH – There has been a 10 to 15 percent increase in the number of Umrah pilgrims this year compared to the same period last year, according to the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s national committee on Haj. Saad Al-Qurashi, acting chairman of the committee, said the increase coincided
General News
The longest Hajj: The Journey's of Ibn Battuta
Written by Douglas Bullis. Illustrated by Norman MacDonald At age 21, Ibn Battuta “set out alone, having neither fellow-traveler in whose companionship I might find cheer, nor caravan whose party I might join, but swayed by an overmastering impulse within me, and
Al-Haramain Train enters final phase
JEDDAH —The final phase of the multibillion riyal Al-Haramain Train Project will be signed soon. This will see the purchase of 35 trains with 13 carriages, traffic signs and railway tracks, which will be installed by a Saudi-Spanish consortium. This phase will reportedly cost just over SR30 billion. It will
Umrah season to resume by end of Jan 2012
Pilgrims to leave by Muharram 15 Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – King Abdul Aziz International Airport (KAIA) is preparing to receive a high volume of Umrah season flights for the Hijri month of Rabi’ Al-Awwal, 1433H (Jan. 24, 2012), an official at the Haj Terminal said. The last batch of Haj
What Hajj taught me (Before and After)
A Personal Account of Hajj Before: A friend and I were shopping for my sneakers. I told him that I could not walk without Caterpillar shoes. “I can run but cannot walk without feeling pain.It’s probably a varicose vein.” My friend suggested I try Adidas. We decided that I could get them
No journey like journey of faith
SHARJAH: My journey of faith is now complete. I am happy. It has left me satisfied and I am thankful to Allah for that. Going to Hajj was a dream. I am sure words will fail to express how happy, secure, tension-free I felt during the whole exercise. Almost celestial,
Birmingham travel agent jailed for Hajj pilgrimage rip-off
A BIRMINGHAM travel agent has been jailed for 15 months after he ripped off a family who paid £10,000 for a Hajj pilgrimage. Chowdhury Ahmad promised the Nooris, from Rowley Regis, five-star food and accommodation on the trip to Saudi Arabia. Instead they found themselves in a “cockroach-infested hovel” and
VIDEO: Circling the House of God – Hajj 1948 (Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din)
Circling The House of God 30 min Documentary Dir. Ovidio Salazar (2010) Circling The House of God: Trailer by MatmediaProductions Born in 1909, Dr Martin Lings, also known as Shaykh Abu Bakr Siraj ad-Din, was revered by people all over the world as ‘a Friend of God’: a man whose
A survey of British Muslim experiences in Makkah and Madinah
The Holy Kaabah, Makkah, Saudi Arabia How was your Hajj? A survey of British Muslim experiences in Makkah and Madinah Are you a Muslim born, raised or living permanently in Britain? And have you travelled for Hajj from the UK? Can you spare 20 minutes to share your experiences before,
How to greet a returning Hajji
The Chosen Servants of Allah, the Hujjaj, are returning from their journeys of a lifetime, all over the world. How should we meet them and is there anything specific that should be said to them? From the Fadhail-e-Haj(Virtues of Haj) by Shaykh Zakariyya Kandehlawi (RA): Hadith No. 8 Ibn Umar