based expatriate pilgrims going for Haj this year have undergone orientation program organized by a social organization here Friday evening. Hundreds of pilgrims go for Haj every year from Riyadh and they have either to depend on booklet on Haj or ask the scholars about the correct procedure of performing the pilgrimage. This year Riyadh Chapter of Jamia Millia Islamia Alumni Association (JMIAA) decided to educate the pilgrims through an orientation program that taught them about the Haj rituals, dos and don'ts and other aspects of the five-day pilgrimage. Najeeb Qasmi, JMIAA joint secretary, delivered a lecture on Haj rituals which was fully supported by a detailed power presentation. Haj is a lifetime journey for which the pilgrims are required to study and prepare for the sequential rituals performed in different places at stipulated timing, he said. “I am a graduate on Islamic studies and upon arrival in Saudi Arabia when I intended to perform my first Umra I felt like an illiterate about different rites,” he said while describing his first visit to Makkah. He said the pilgrims should take utmost care even before donning Ihram, the two-piece white shrouds and try to know the correct procedures of every ritual for Haj and Umra. The pilgrims asked several questions as regards three different kinds of Haj, how one was different from the other, Haj rituals, its sequential order, when to slaughter sheep and when to shave head among many other things, he said. The pilgrims were keen what action would invalidate their pilgrimage that demands slaughtering a sheep as compensating the mistake, he said. He said there are many first timers while others accompanying their relatives – wife or parents, who have come for Haj this year. He said the whole exercise was aimed at educating the pilgrims about the dos and don'ts of the pilgrimage while cautioning them about obeying the local rules and regulations. “Haj, the last pillar of Islam is worship to Allah. The pilgrims are required to exercise caution and take all possible measures during Haj in order to avoid any mistake,” he said.. He said Jaliat, a branch of World Assembly of Muslim Youth, has been organizing orientation programs for pilgrims every year before Haj. But only those expatriates who are aware of such an arrangement attend Jaliat classes. “The orientation program for pilgrims organized by JMIAA was the first of its kind by a social organization in Saudi Arabia,” Qasmi claimed. The pilgrims can also keep booklets available in the market in different languages. In case of any confusion they could refer to the booklets that contain information about places and ritual sites which offer detailed account of what rite they should carry out. Besides, Haj rites these booklets also contain supplications during Haj and Umra. However, it would not be advisable to read from the booklets while moving in crowded ritual sites. It is better to read and understand about the different rituals even before embarking on the holy journey.
