RIYADH – There is apparently no slot available to perform Umrah or visit the Rawdah Sharif of last Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) during the remaining days of the holy month Ramadan.
An application dedicated to reserve slots for both purposes is showing zero available slots as half of the month of Ramadan has lapsed. The Nusuk electronic application designed by authorities in Saudi Arabia now shows grey slots for all days, including the last ten days of the fasting month which confirms that there are no chances of any upcoming bookings for performing Umrah or visiting the Rawdah Sharif.
The Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah are drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from across the world since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan which is a peak season for Umrah pilgrimage.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, overseeing the arrangements, had clarified that a permit was mandatory either to perform Umrah or visit the Rawdah Sharif during the holy month of Ramadan.
On the other hand, it was announced that to offer prayers at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, no permit was needed. The appointments for different rituals of Umrah can be done through Nusuk application or the Tawakkalna application.
The authorities had earlier clarified that pilgrims would be allowed to perform Umrah only once during the holy month of Ramadan so that all the pilgrims could perform their religious rituals with ease and comfort.
The government of Saudi Arabia is putting in efforts to finalize the arrangements for the Umrah season and Itikaf and has also reserved special spots for all those intending to perform the latter.
After the Umrah season is over, the authorities would start preparation for the biggest annual event of Hajj wherein the kingdom would welcome over 2.3 million pilgrims and would utilize the Apps like Nusuk and other digital portals to facilitate the pilgrims during their month long stay in the kingdom.
This is the first time that the government of Saudi Arabia has restored the number of pilgrims to pre-Covid levels.
