Abdul Khaleque Khandker: A gesture is enough for the wise. “The bleak and pathetic pictures of the greatest Hajj congregation of the world Muslims in holy Ka’ba, Arafat and the vicinities have exposed a truth, and that is, Allah might have become displeased with us”, some elderly people are saying with their eyes suffused with tears.

The pious Muslims across the world have, for the second year, failed to perform their obligatory worship, the Hajj rituals. The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken by all Muslims with the means at least once in their lives.

Elderly pious Muslims were seen to wail and lament saying, “We will not be able to participate in the Hajj congregation in our life again. The unseen human foe the Covid-19 has prevented us from entering the holeyest places selected by Allah for the Muslims.”

This year’s Hajj participants have been downsized to only 60,000 who are fully vaccinated residents in Saudi Arabia in place of 3 million of the Muslims from all over the world. These selected people alone are taking part in the five-day ritual in the Arafat, Ka’ba and their holy vicinities.

This year`s participants were chosen through an online vetting system.

This year’s Pilgrims began on arrival of the holy city of Mecca on Saturday during this coronavirus pandemic, circling Islam’s holiest site in masks and on distanced paths.

The kingdom has allowed only 60,000 fully vaccinated residents to take part as against 3 million devotees across the world during the normal period of time.

The Hajj participants were chosen through a lottery. This number is larger than the  version staged in 2020, but drastically smaller than in normal times.

After being loaded on buses and brought to Mecca’s Grand Mosque, pilgrims began performing the “tawaf”, the circumambulation of the Kaaba, a large cubic structure draped in golden-embroidered black cloth, towards which Muslims around the world pray.

Many carried umbrellas to protect themselves from the scorching summer heat.

“Every three hours, 6,000 people enter to perform the tawaf of arrival,” is known from the Hajj ministry spokesman Hisham al-Saeed. He said, “After each group leaves, a sterilization process is carried out at the sanctuary to let in another batch.”  

The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken by all Muslims with the means at least once in their lives.

 It is one of the world’s largest annual religious gatherings with some 2.5 million people taking part in 2019.

It is formally starting on Sunday, consisting of a series of religious rites, which are completed over five days in Islam’s holiest city and its surroundings in western Saudi Arabia.

It follows a route the Prophet Muhammad walked nearly 1,400 years ago and is believed to ultimately trace the footsteps of the Prophets Abraham and Ismail.

This year more than 558,000 applicants were Chosen through an online vetting system. Those who have been fully vaccinated and are aged 18-65 with no chronic illnesses, according to the Hajj ministry have been allowed to participate in the holy Hajj.

Pilgrims will be divided into groups of just 20 “to restrict any exposure to only those 20, limiting the spread of infection”, ministry undersecretary Mohammad al-Bijawi informed.

Earlier this month, the Hajj ministry said it was working on the “highest levels of health precautions” in light of the pandemic and the emergence of new variants.

Like the other countries of the Gulf, Saudi Arabia is home to significant expatriate populations from South Asia, the Far East, Africa as well as the Middle East.

The people who have got tickets for the Hajj were seen to beam with joy and satisfaction. they are terming them to the luckiest people to have participated in the holy rituals in the holiest shrines of Islam.

Saudi Arabia has so far recorded more than 507,000 coronavirus infections, including some 8,000 deaths.

More than 20 million vaccine doses have been administered in the country of more than 34 million people.

The Hajj went ahead last year on the smallest scale in modern history. Authorities initially said only 1,000 pilgrims would be allowed, although local media said up to 10,000 eventually took part.

No infections were reported as authorities set up multiple health facilities, mobile clinics and ambulances to cater for the pilgrims, who were taken to the religious sites in small batches.