The Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, has stated that the biggest success of this year’s Hajj operation is that not a single Maldivian pilgrim missed even a moment of Arafat, which is the most important pillar of Hajj. The Minister said this in an interview with PSM News after visiting the accommodation of Maldivian pilgrims in Mina. Arafat is the most important pillar of the Hajj ritual. If one misses Arafat, their Hajj is not complete. Therefore, Hajj can only be performed by those who have attended Arafat. This year, all Maldivian pilgrims were able to attend Arafat. The pilgrims went to Arafat on the night of the 8th of Dhul-Hijjah.
The Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, said that in previous years, Maldivian pilgrims have sometimes been late to Arafat. Although there have been delays in reaching Arafat in different years due to various reasons, the Minister described it as a great success that this year not a single pilgrim missed even a moment of Arafat. “The most important pillar of Hajj is Arafat. So, the Hajj Corporation has provided the opportunity for pilgrims to be in Arafat from early morning until sunset without missing a single moment. That’s a big success, a significant improvement. In other years, there have been instances where buses arrived late to Arafat for various reasons. But this time, without any such issues, all pilgrims were able to spend the entire day in Arafat, which is noteworthy,” said the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed.
This year, among the pilgrims who went to perform Hajj, there were elderly people and those receiving treatment for serious illnesses. “We have closely observed that even those who are ill were able to enter Arafat at the earliest time, with all such arrangements in place. So, I would say there is great satisfaction with the arrangements for Hajj this time,” said the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed.
The Minister said that although there were very elderly people performing Hajj, the sincerity and spirit that should be seen in worship were evident from them. The Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, also said that this is what should be seen in such a noble act of worship.
