Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has announced the last date for issuing the Umrah permit for the current year 1443 AH (Anno Hegirae in Latin or “in the year of the Hijra”) would be on the June 23 corresponding to 24 Dhu al-Qa’dah.
The ministry also indicated that Umrah trips will be resumed and permits issued again on July 19, corresponding to Dhul-Hijjah 20.
The ministry further said that the issuance of Umrah permits will be suspended in order to facilitate pilgrims coming to perform Haj rituals.
The last date for Umrah season for overseas Muslims was the 30th of the Islamic month of Shawwal corresponding to May 31.
On Sunday, June 19, to mark the beginning of Haj 1444/2022, the authorities in Makkah raised the Kiswah (Ghilaf e Kaaba), the cloth that drapes the Kaaba by three metres, and covered the raised part with a two-metre-wide white cotton cloth (Ihram) on all four sides, an annual custom.
It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Haj and Umrah decided to issue Haj permits to only one million pilgrims this year from inside and outside the Kingdom, in continuation of the precautionary measures against the COVID-19 while easing these measures from the previous year.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said that eligible pilgrims this year must be under 65, fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and present a negative PCR test result of a sample collected within 72 hours from departure to the kingdom.
The Ministry said that the number of vaccines approved in the Kingdom for COVID-19 is ten, which are—
- Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, two doses
- Moderna vaccine, two doses
- Oxford-AstraZeneca, two doses
- Janssen, one dose
- Covovax, two doses
- Nuvaxovid (NUVAXOVID), two doses
- Sinopharm, two doses
- Sinovac, two doses
- Covaxin, two doses
- Sputnik V, two doses
Haj 2022 officially begins on the 8th of Dhul-Hijjah and ends on the 13th day of the same Islamic month. This year it falls between July 7 to 12. One million international and domestic pilgrims will perform Haj this year.
