The Association of British Hujjaj, a National Hajj specific organization working for the welfare and wellbeing of pilgrims, expresses its joy and satisfaction, and congratulate Muslims from around the world on completing a safe and peaceful Hajj season this year.

It is a great relief that, by the blessings of Allah (SWT), this year’s Hajj was free from any major incidents or tragedies.

ABH extends its heartiest gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for improving the infrastructure and facilities around the Holy places and for their tremendous work towards ensuring the welfare and wellbeing of the pilgrims. The Kingdom spared no efforts to make sure that the Hajj pilgrims performed their pilgrimage safely and peacefully with ease and comfort.

In the past, most of the tragic incidents which occurred during Hajj and Umrah, where thousands of human lives were lost, were due to the lack of awareness and ignorance of the vital life-saving health and safety precautions. The pilgrims were not aware of the precautionary measures that could have helped them avoid unnecessary hardships and difficulties during the performance of Hajj/Umrah, especially when they are amongst a crowd of up to 2-3 million people.

ABH strongly urges all relevant countries to ensure that the pilgrims are aware of all aspects of performing Hajj/Umrah in a safe manner before leaving their country of origin. This will allow the Kingdom to save a huge amount of resources allocated towards ensuring the welfare and wellbeing of the Hajj/Umrah pilgrims. These measures can help prevent any future loss of innocent human lives and the outbreak of any infectious diseases in Saudi Arabia, as well as in other countries through the Hajj returnees.

Hajj pilgrimage has a great impact on the lives of the pilgrims who gather at the same places to perform the same rituals at the same times, while standing together on an equal footing and dressed as one. Hajj is a true reflection of the principles of equality, modesty and human brotherhood that are at the heart of Islam. It is an annual event where millions of Muslims from different nations, races and countries get the opportunity to know each other better and learn more about each other’s issues and concerns, which is in accordance with Islamic teachings of compassion, cooperation, tolerance and care for others.