"Alhamdulillah (Thank God), the SOC 74 group landed at 11:17 p.m. local time, with a total of 299 pilgrims and five officers," Nurul Badruttamam of the Indonesian Hajj Organizing Committee said.
Mecca (ANTARA News) - All regular Indonesian pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia, as the last flight group SOC 74 from Solo landed at the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jidda on Monday.

"Alhamdulillah (Thank God), the SOC 74 group landed at 11:17 p.m. local time, with a total of 299 pilgrims and five officers," Nurul Badruttamam of the Indonesian Hajj Organizing Committee stated here, Tuesday.

A total of 154,441 Indonesian pilgrims and 1,915 field officers have arrived. They were part of 387 flight groups that had begun departing from several Indonesian airports to Saudi since Aug. 9.

Their departures were divided into two stages, with the first stage covering 212 flight groups that have all landed at the Amir Muhammad bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Medina, and the second batch comprising 175 flight groups landed at the Jidda airport.

In the meantime, Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, in his capacity as Amirul Hajj or the leader of the Indonesian Hajj pilgrim delegation, expressed hope that the weather in Saudi Arabia would be conducive during the "Wuquf" Hajj ritual, so that pilgrims would be able to perform their Hajj program smoothly.

The fifth pillar of Islam is to undertake a pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, at least once in his/her lifetime. It is obligatory for every Muslim, regardless of gender, to make the pilgrimage if he/she is physically and financially capable of doing so.

"Wuquf," which literally means "standing before God," is one of the most significant rites of Hajj.

Minister Saifuddin arrived at the Jidda airport on Saturday night (Saudi Time).

He said the organizers continued to make preparations for the peak Hajj rituals to be carried out on the plains of Arafah, Muzdalifah, and Mina.

Constant coordination is being carried out among the Muassasah, private company organizers, assigned by the Saudi government and the Maktab, the accommodation organizers desk.

The minister also remarked that the dispatch of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims until the last flight batch on Monday, Sept. 5, faced no major problems.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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