MINA — About 100 pilgrims from South Sudan had lost every hope of being able to make it to Saudi Arabia in time for the Haj pilgrimage. Little did they know that their predicament would be solved by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman who ordered a chartered flight to bring them to the Kingdom to perform the pilgrimage. The pilgrims arrived in the Kingdom on Saturday, the day of the ascent to Mina, did the tawaf and sa'i in the Grand Mosque and from there proceeded to Mina to join the multitude of pilgrims in the Tent City. They said the special aircraft landed in Juba, picked them up to neighboring Uganda and from there to Jeddah. The pilgrims from Southern Sudan could not believe their eyes when they landed at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah from where they were quickly rushed to Makkah. "It was the noble gesture and the generous hospitality of the King that enabled us to arrive in time for the Haj after we have lost every hope of doing it this year," said Abdullah Jumaa. Jumaa, secretary general of the Holy Qur'an Society in South Sudan, said they received the King's invitation to come to the Haj as his personal guests within his program to invite Muslims from various parts of the world for the Haj and Umrah. He said because of the fighting and the rainy season which makes travel difficult in their country it was difficult for them to reach Makkah. "King Salman was quick to provide us with a special aircraft to airlift us to the Kingdom just in time to do the Haj," he said. Faisal Hassan Abdullah, deputy chief editor of Al-Watan Arabic newspaper in South Sudan, said none of them had it on mind that a chartered flight would land in Juba to transport them to the Kingdom. "The King is extending assistance to Muslims everywhere in the world. Whenever the King comes to know about the difficulties of Muslims anywhere, he steps in to assist them," he said.
