Rather than standing and praying shoulder-to-shoulder in a sea of people, pilgrims are social distancing – standing apart and moving in small groups of 20 to limit exposure and the potential transmission of the coronavirus
The pilgrimage is a journey Muslims traditionally experience with relatives. It was common to see men pushing their elderly parents around on wheelchairs in order to help them complete the hajj, and parents carrying children on their backs. The communal feeling of more than 2.
Ammar Khaled, a 29-year-old Indian pilgrim who was born and raised in Saudi Arabia, said although he’s alone on the hajj, he’s praying for those he loves. Humaira Zaki, a resident of New Jersey, was among many who had made reservations for this year’s hajj, but her plans were upended by the virus. Her heart sank when she found out the hajj would not be open to pilgrims from outside Saudi Arabia, though she said she understands the decision.
Pilgrims were tested for the coronavirus, given wristbands that connect to their phones and monitor their movement and were required to quarantine at home and in their hotel rooms in Mecca ahead of Wednesday’s start of the hajj. They will also be required to quarantine for a week after the hajj concludes on Sunday.Mecca was sealed off for months ahead of the hajj, and the smaller year-round Umrah pilgrimage was suspended.
During the first rites of hajj, Muslims circle the Kaaba counter-clockwise seven times while reciting supplications to God, then walk between two hills where Ibrahim’s wife, Hagar, is believed to have run as she searched for water for her dying son before God brought forth a well that runs to this day.
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