TALIAN IBADAT SET TO AID PILGRIMS
Hotline allows pilgrims to receive religious advice via mobile phone
HAJ pilgrims must ensure they carry out all the rituals correctly as failure to do so may have dire consequences, cautioned Tabung Haji (TH). TH director of operations (guidance) Tengku Aziz Raja Abdullah stressed how important this was, adding that TH had therefore made available many methods and avenues for pilgrims to receive guidance.
“Some pilgrims listen to their friends and roommates and get confused.
“Don’t do this.
“Instead, talk to our religious guides here as this will enable them to go home with confidence that what they have done is correct or otherwise.
“They must not have a single shred of doubt. If they have done something incorrectly, they can rectify this while still in the Holy Land.
“I have had cases of pilgrims coming to see me after more than 10 years in a depressed state as they were unsure whether they have executed all rituals correctly,” he told Malaysian media at the TH headquarters Abraj Al-Janadriyah.
Failing to adhere to ihram (state of purity) conditions, for example, can be problematic.
If a person does not complete seven rounds of the tawaf (circumambulating the Kaabah), but continues with the rest of the rituals, the conditions that come with the ihram remain until the tawaf is done properly.
Getting married, for instance, is haram (forbidden) when in ihram.
The situation will thus get complicated if the person leaves Makkah, gets married and has children.
Tengku Aziz said to avoid complications, one must be well equipped with the right knowledge.
He added that pilgrims would be exposed to religious sermons during their stay.
These sessions will review what they were taught in courses conducted in Malaysia, and will cover the rules, rituals and necessary preparations.
“There will be sessions after pilgrims perform the umrah.
“We will clarify any doubt they may have.
“If they are not confident of their umrah after this session, there is still time to redo it before proceeding with haj rituals.”
He said another avenue was TH’s worship hotline (Talian Ibadat, or Taib).
“Two weeks before wukuf until one week after wukuf, Taib will operate 24 hours so that pilgrims can clarify issues or doubts about their worship,” Tengku Aziz said.
He said TH had set up the hotline (0125706161) manned by experienced religious guides for the convenience of pilgrims.
“Ninety eight per cent of pilgrims have mobile phones, so this will enable them to get on-the-spot advice.”
The four top topics pilgrims often brought up, he said, were related to menstruation, tawaf, dam (“fine” to atone for mistakes), and prohibitions during ihram.
He said a panel of experts comprising, among others, Federal Territories Mufti Datuk Dr Zulkifli Mohamad al-Bakri, Johor Religious Council adviser Datuk Nooh Gadot, and Associate Professor Dr Raihanah Azahari from the Academy of Islamic Studies would also be available to resolve the more complicated issues.