Jidda, Saudi Arabia (ANTARA) - Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas arrived in Saudi Arabia to inspect preparedness ahead of the peak of the Hajj pilgrimage in the Arafat, Muzdalifah, and Mina areas in the upcoming week.
"(We will inspect) its preparedness and its deficiencies. Hence, we can consolidate and complement our weaknesses," Qoumas stated after arriving at the King Abdul Aziz International Airport here on Monday (June 19).
The minister urged Indonesian Hajj pilgrims, especially older pilgrims, to focus on maintaining their physical conditions to ensure they can follow rituals during the Hajj peak smoothly without any incidents.
He also suggested pilgrims to lessen sunnah (recommended but not obligatory) activities to prepare for the Hajj peak.
"We have done sunnah rituals earlier, and now, our focus should be on the Hajj pilgrimage peak," he remarked.
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Meanwhile, Qoumas stated that apart from inspecting preparedness for the peak of the Hajj pilgrimage, he would meet the Saudi minister of Hajj to present his notes and remarks on this year's Hajj service.
He noted that some of the several positive aspects of this year's Hajj are good arrival services for Indonesian Hajj pilgrims, additional toilets provided in the Arafat Plain, and the provision of 15 golf carts for pilgrims' evacuation in Mina.
The minister will also attend the 2023 Muktamar Taisyir organized by the Saudi government. The conference, attended by religious affairs ministers worldwide, will discuss the fiqh, or jurisprudence, of Hajj in Islam.
Hajj pilgrims will relocate from Mecca to the Arafat Plain to perform wuquf -- compulsory stay at the Arafat during Hajj -- on June 27, which will coincide with the 9th day of Dhu al-hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar, before Eid al-Adha, which falls on the next day.
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