Manama: More than five million Muslims performed Umrah in the last nine months, official figures from Saudi Arabia indicate.
According to the statistics published by Saudi news site Sabq on Thursday, 5,245,704 people arrived by air, sea and on land to Makkah in western Saudi Arabia for the Umrah, often referred to as the small pilgrimage.
Performing Umrah usually lasts a couple of hours and involves circumambulating the Kaaba, the most sacred site in Islam located in the Grand Mosque, seven times and walking back and forth seven times between Safa and Marwa, the two small hills also located in the Grand Mosque.
Video by Gulf News reader Zohaib Anjum
Saudi authorities usually grant visas of two weeks’ duration for people arriving to perform Umrah so that they can spend time praying at the Grand Mosque and visiting the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, around 420 kilometres to the north of Makkah.
However, the authorities are very strict that the visitors leave the kingdom before the expiry of their visas.
“We urge all our guests to leave as per their tickets and not to stay irregularly in the kingdom,” Khalid Al Juaid, assistant director-general for passports, said in remarks posted by Sabq. “Penalty for those overstaying their visas can be fines of up to 50,000 Saudi riyals (Dh48,967) and up to six months in jail to be followed by deportation.”
Umrah visas do not allow their holders to look for work in Saudi Arabia or to go beyond the areas of Makkah, Madinah and the Red Sea city of Jeddah where the airport and the port are located, he added.
Saudis who assist people staying illegally in the kingdom by transporting, employing or offering shelter are liable for legal action, he warned.
