Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 04-07-2019
The first group of South African hujjaj have bid farewell to their families and departed South Africa for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj.
The hujjaj left on two flights on Wednesday and Thursday bound for the cities of Jeddah and the blessed city of Medina.
Three Thousand five hundred South Africans have been accredited for Hajj 1440.
Speaking to Radio Islam, the South African Hajj and Umrah Councils (SAHUC) Shaheen Essop says the first few departures of South African hujjaj have gone smoothly without any incident.
Essop says the last flight will depart South Africa on 5 August.
“Hajj season is now in full swing with the advent of the month of Dhul Qa’dah that basically starts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Alhamdulillah. So we’ve seen flight departures taking off from Durban, Cape Town as well as Johannesburg last night.”
With a waiting period of between 4 to 5 years and more than 23,000 first time hujjaj that are still on the waiting list, Essop says Sahuc has requested for an additional hajj quota of one thousand.
“At this particular point in time we’ve got no official notification of such and Insha’Allah as soon notification does come through, Sahuc will be working quite well to try and facilitate what we can.”
At the time of writing, the first group of South African Hujaaj arrived at King Abdul Aziz Airport in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Listen to the interview with Shaheen Essop
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