Saudi Arabia abolishes 14-day waiting period for Umrah pilgrims

Pilgrims, wishing to perform Umrah, are no longer needed to wait for 14 days to book for the ritual, according to Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

According to the Arab News, the capacity of the Grand Mosque has significantly been increased for Umrah pilgrims and prayers, and so, the condition is not needed anymore.

“In line with the developments at this stage, which in turn increased the demand in the dates available to perform Umrah, the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah made this feature available for pilgrims,” the news outlet quoted Dr Amr Al-Maddah, Chief of Planning and Strategy Officer at Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah as saying.

“This condition [14-day wait] is no longer necessary and will achieve a fair opportunity for all due to the high demand,” Dr Al-Maddah confirmed.

Umrah is an Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah and Madina undertaken any time of the year.

Last week, the Saudi Ministry of Interior had eased restrictions across the Kingdom, including those affecting the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) Mosque in Madina, allowing a complete return to operations and capacity.

At the end of August this year, the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah had affirmed its readiness to receive as many Umrah pilgrims as agreed upon in the quota with various Islamic countries before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr Al-Maddah had said that all the preparations to receive pilgrims had been completed. The ministry did not face difficulties in welcoming pilgrims from outside the Kingdom in recent days since the beginning of the new Umrah season, he added earlier.