SA Hajj & Umrah Council commended for assisting pilgrims during Hajj

As Hajj 2022 in Saudi Arabia draws to a close, the South African Hajj and Umrah Council (SAHUC) have been commended for assisting pilgrims during their journey of spiritual ecstasy.

Sacred pilgrimage 

About 1 132 South Africans were accredited to perform Hajj this year, while others were granted Mujamala (courtesy) visas to embark on the journey of a lifetime.

According to some pilgrims who were on Hajj, Sahuc played a very supportive role in assisting them with various aspects of their Hajj.

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President of SAHUC, Shaheen Essop, told The Citizen that their duty is to assist wherever they can to make the journey of Hajj easier for pilgrims.

Essop said the SAHUC team arrived in the kingdom a few weeks before the first pilgrims to complete the preparatory work for hajj.

The first South African pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia on 9 June.

“A little bit of nervousness was sighted on the faces of some of the first-time hujjaj (pilgrims), but Alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah) we managed to help them overcome those fears. The SAHUC team went through the processes of comforting them.”

“That was a recurring aspect throughout the journey. SAHUC being with the Hujjaj from A to Z, so to say,” Essop said.

Essop added that there were minor issues that were resolved.

“The issues that we encountered on the day of Yawmul Arafah (day of Arafah), invasion of the camps from some of our other African countries was a minor setback, but Alhamdulillah we managed to overcome, that as well.”

Essop also paid tribute to one of the SAHUC mission workers who passed away in Saudi Arabia before Hajj.

“Sadly, we lost our brother Faried Moosa during this period, one of the mission workers that’s been with us for a very long time and Alhamdulillah we make dua (pray) that Allah accepts him and grants him the highest stages of paradise.”

Essop thanked all the team members of SAHUC, including doctors, nurses and mission workers who were instrumental in making this year’s Hajjs successful.

Essop also invoked the Almighty Allah to grant every pilgrim from South Africa and across the globe an accepted Hajj.

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