Hajj season for 1444 AH starts today, June 26, coinciding with the Day of Tarwiyah (Dhul Hijjah 8).
Pilgrims go to Mina, where they will perform the five daily prayers and spend the night.
Saudi Arabia decided to raise the number of pilgrims to more than two million this year, 90% of whom are from outside the Kingdom and the remaining 10% from inside.
The minimum age for registration to perform Hajj this year is 12 years, with priority for those who have not performed Hajj before. If vacant places are available, those who previously performed Hajj will be allowed this year. Woman’s Mahram is excluded from the priority advantage.
In 1441, Hajj was limited to 10,000 pilgrims from inside the Kingdom due to COVID-19, then this number was raised to 60,000 in 1442. Last year, the number of pilgrims was increased to 926,06 from inside and outside the Kingdom.
The following table shows the development of pilgrim number since 1428:
Number of Pilgrims over Last Years
| |
Year
| Number (mln)
|
1428
| 2.45
|
1429
| 2.41
|
1430
| 2.31
|
1431
| 2.79
|
1432
| 2.93
|
1433
| 3.16
|
1434
| 1.98
|
1435
| 2.09
|
1436
| 1.95
|
1437
| 1.86
|
1438
| 2.35
|
1439
| 2.37
|
1440
| 2.49
|
1441*
| 0.01
|
1442*
| 0.06
|
1443
| 0.93
|
1444**
| 2.00
|
Source: Argaam