The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca one of the holiest city to Muslims, and a compulsory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all Muslims after a certain age and who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence and thousands of Indians conduct the Hajj pilgrimage every year.
It is one of the five pillars of Islam which includes Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, and Sawm. The Hajj is the second largest annual gathering of Muslims in the world. The state of being physically and financially capable of performing the Hajj is called istita’ah and it is mandatory for an istita’ah to perform this religious journey. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to Allah.
Last month, Saudi Arabia increased the quota of Indians for the Haj pilgrimage by 5,000 from this year and external affairs minister of India Ms Sushma Swaraj thanked Saudi Arabia for this decision and said “a large number of my Muslim brothers and sisters from India visit Saudi Arabia every year for Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage. Once again I thank Your Majesty for increasing the Haj quota for India in 2017 and also for the special arrangements and care given to the pilgrims.”
Ms Sushma Swaraj was of the opinion that India’s participation at the Al Janadriyah Festival “provided an opportunity to showcase our strong bilateral relationship”.
“The Pavilion with the theme ‘Saudi ka dost Bharat’ is a big draw at Janadriyah,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Rveesh Kumar posted in a tweet. On Wednesday, Ms Sushma Swaraj called upon King Salman here and “steps to further intensify our strategic partnership in all sectors and to work together towards each other’s progress came up during (the) warm discussion,” according to Mr Kumar.