MALAYSIAN PILGRIMS BACK IN MAKKAH
They return for ‘tawaf’ and ‘saie’ after completing ‘Masyair’ rituals
THE Masyair phase of the haj ended yesterday with all Malaysian pilgrims in the tent city of Mina returning here. They reached their accommodation buildings here by noon.
Masyair, which started last Sunday, refers to the massive movement of pilgrims from Makkah to Arafah for wukuf, onwards to Muzdalifah for half a night to pick up pebbles, and then to Mina for the stoning ritual, which was carried out over four days at the Jamarat Complex.
Upon the completion of the haj rituals under Masyair, pilgrims returned to Makkah for tawaf and saie, close.
Makkah, which had been relatively quiet the last few days since the start of Masyair, was once again bustling with activity.
The Grand Mosque was flooded with pilgrims from all corners of the globe, who headed straight there from Mina to perform their tawaf and saie.
For the tawaf, pilgrims prayed and walked in a circle around the Kaabah seven times in a counterclockwise direction. This is meant to express the devotion of Muslims to the one God.
Saie between the hills of Safa and Marwah, now housed within the Grand Mosque complex, was carried out after tawaf.
The rite commemorates the actions of Hajar, the wife of Prophet Ibrahim, who ran seven times between the hills in search of water for her son.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of religious affairs Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa said pilgrims started departing Mina in buses from 7am yesterday.
He said from Makkah, pilgrims who had not yet been to Madinah would proceed to the second most holiest place in Islam to pray at the Prophet’s Mosque and visit places of historical interest under Tabung Haji’s ziarah luar programme.
“A total of 16,200 of 30,200 pilgrims completed their stoning ritual a day earlier on Thursday under a practice called nafar awal.
“Under nafar awal, pilgrims are allowed to forgo the last day of the stoning ritual after fulfilling some requirements.”
Mujahid said the pilgrims who were on the first few flights back to Malaysia undertook nafar awal so they could return to Makkah a day earlier to complete their tawaf and saie.
“They left Mina after dawn prayers on Thursday for Makkah.”
Malaysian pilgrims will start departing from Makkah for home on Aug 29.