Manama: A Saudi religious scholar has urged citizens and residents who had performed pilgrimage not to register this year and allow others to go on Haj for the first time.

“There is a need for all people to comply with the regulations that stipulate waiting five years before performing pilgrimage a second time,” Abdullah Al Mutlaq, member of the Council of Senior Scholars, said. “The regulations are clear and people should respect them. Those who are keen on performing pilgrimage every year should think of the people who have never been on Haj. The non-compliance with the rules and regulations is religiously wrong,” he said, local daily Al Eqtisadiya reported on Sunday.

The scholar said that the rule to limit the number of times pilgrimage is performed aimed to ease congestion.

“The high number of Muslims who perform pilgrimage means the holy sites are overcrowded and, therefore, priorities should be set,” he said. “Everybody should contribute to easing pressure. Those who had performed pilgrimage should give room to those who have not,” he said.

Around three million Muslims from all over the world congregate in Makkah to perform pilgrimage, the fifth and last pillar of Islam, over four days. A quota was introduced to limit the number of people a country could send for the annual congregation.

Saudi Arabia in a bid to control the number of citizens and residents who could perform Haj insisted that only those who had proper permits could be allowed into Makkah.

However, every year, thousands of people, both Saudis and foreigners, attempt to sneak into the city despite the heavy police checkpoints and cordons around it.

Some of the would-be pilgrims are victims of “Haj operators” who cheat them by taking their money and promising them a secure passage into Makkah.

“We are once more adopting a zero-tolerance policy towards anyone who tries to enter Makkah without the proper document,” Othman Al Mahraj, the head of public security, said. “There are very strict orders to all security units. We will reinforce our control of all roads leading to Makkah and we will increase the number of security forces at all check points,” he said.

According to the head of the police in the city of Taif, near Makkah, 25,000 people have so far been refused entry into the sacred city.

“They did not have permits so we could not allow them in,” Mohammad Al Shahri said. “We have also refused 9,000 vehicles for flouting the interior ministry regulations to have proper permits,” he said, quoted by local news site Sabq.

The pilgrimage season, based on the lunar calendar, is expected to start on October 2.