Up to two million people perform hajj this year

RIYADH , January 25 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Saudi Arabia announced Saturday, January 24, that Eid Al-Adha (Eid of the Sacrifice) falls on Sunday, February 1, and the pilgrims will climb Mount Arafat on Saturday, January 31.

The kingdom's supreme Shariah court said in a statement carried by the national news agency WAS that Friday, January 23, marked the first day of the month of Dhul Hijjah; adding that the peak of this year's hajj would fall on Saturday, the ninth of Dhul Hijjah.

The climax of hajj will see worshippers climb Mount Arafat , the site of  Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) last sermon 14 centuries ago.

The court prayed that God Almighty would accept the effort from all pilgrims, answer their supplications and forgive their sins.

WAS said up to two million people will undertake the holy journey this year. More than 1.1 million Muslims from around the world have already arrived in Saudi Arabia for the holy ritual.

Every able-bodied adult Muslim who can physically and financially afford the trip must perform hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, once in their lifetime.

According to the pilgrimage quota set up by Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), one percent of the Muslim population of each country perform hajj every year.

Saudi Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie said last week that each pilgrim underwent a medical check at the Kingdom's 24 entry points and received compulsory vaccinations against deadly infectious diseases like meningitis.

Tight Security

This year's pilgrimage comes amid watertight security after a series of bombings in the kingdom last year, which killed scores of people including foreigners.

Saudi police will be put to the test during the coming days. The Saudi government is, in effect, concerned about possible terrorist bombings that could do harm to the reputation of the royal family, Reuters news agency quoted unidentified diplomats as saying Saturday.

In the latest incident, Saudi security forces arrested "a number of suspects" after a shootout with two gunmen in Riyadh on Sunday, January 18, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Coinciding with the hajj, the interior ministry has released a multi-lingual booklet listing names and photographs of men wanted on suspicion of involvement in terror attacks in the kingdom.

The pictures of 12 men are on the cover with the emergency 990 telephone number to call in case of information that might lead to their arrest, said AFP.

Saudi King Fahd Bin Abdel Aziz said Monday, January 19, that the kingdom has taken the necessary measures to provide the conditions that would enable the pilgrims to perform rituals in peace.

In May 2003, scores of people were killed, including up to 12 Americans, in a series of car bombings that razed three expatriate compounds in Riyadh .

Seventeen people, including five children, were also killed and 122 others injured in November 2003 in suicide bombings that ripped through a residential compound west of Riyadh .