Cairo: Children of different ages are seen accompanying their parents who converged on Saudi Arabia participating in this year’s Hajj pilgrimage that saw the numbers of pilgrims returning to their pre-pandemic levels.
Pilgrimage, an obligatory Islamic duty, offers a unique opportunity to children to watch their parents during the rites undertaken in and around the holy city of Mecca.
The journey enables the children to know first-hand the rituals of Hajj that Muslims, who can physically and financially afford Hajj, have to perform at least once in a lifetime. Many children looked happy as they went to holy places clad in Hajj attires.
Hajj, which is Islam’s annual biggest congregation, moreover, is an opportunity for children to interact with people from different cultures, ethnic backgrounds and speaking different languages, thus imbuing them with values of tolerance, unity, equality and acceptance of the other, say specialists.
The spiritual journey with its stops at different holy sites enables the children to gain a deeper insight into the Islamic history.
For parents, Hajj marks a unique experience to enhance family links, cherish unforgettable memories and develop cohesion by performing rites together.
Saudi Arabia has lifted limits on the numbers and age of pilgrims from across the globe for this year’s Hajj season, reversing earlier restrictions prompted by the global pandemic.
COVID-19 forced the curtailment of the numbers of pilgrims in the past three years.
Around 1.8 million Muslims are performing Hajj this year, according to official figures.
