The coronavirus pandemic has forced drastic changes around the world, putting some two billion people under lockdown at one point.

Sport events, music concerts, art exhibitions and more have been suspended as nearly 17 million people and counting became infected with COVID-19.
Faith groups have also had to adjust to new realities, including Muslims who this year observed the holy month of Ramadan under much-subdued conditions, which saw the suspension of group prayers in mosques and large iftar feasts.

Similarly, the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, which started on Wednesday, will be a low-key event
Saudi Arabia announced earlier this month that it would permit only about 10,000 pilgrims residing in the kingdom to perform the Hajj this year, with no overseas visitors allowed.

Usually, some 2.5 million pilgrims from around the world flock to Mecca and Medina for the week-long ritual that sees them performing their rites around the black-draped Kaaba and nearby holy sites.

In line with Islamic law

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NEWS/SAUDI ARABIA
Hajj restricted: This is not the first time
The sweeping curbs this year will not be the first time the Muslim ritual has been partially or fully halted.

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Pilgrims pray in the first rituals of the Hajj as they practice social distancing at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca [Saudi Media Ministry via AP]
Pilgrims pray in the first rituals of the Hajj as they practice social distancing at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca [Saudi Media Ministry via AP]
The coronavirus pandemic has forced drastic changes around the world, putting some two billion people under lockdown at one point.

Sport events, music concerts, art exhibitions and more have been suspended as nearly 17 million people and counting became infected with COVID-19.

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Faith groups have also had to adjust to new realities, including Muslims who this year observed the holy month of Ramadan under much-subdued conditions, which saw the suspension of group prayers in mosques and large iftar feasts.

Similarly, the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, which started on Wednesday, will be a low-key event.


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Saudi Arabia announced earlier this month that it would permit only about 10,000 pilgrims residing in the kingdom to perform the Hajj this year, with no overseas visitors allowed.

Usually, some 2.5 million pilgrims from around the world flock to Mecca and Medina for the week-long ritual that sees them performing their rites around the black-draped Kaaba and nearby holy sites.

In line with Islamic law

The Hajj is one of Islam's five pillars - the basic tenets of Muslim life - that every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to is obliged to undertake at least once in a lifetime.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah defended its Hajj decision along religious lines, saying in a statement it had been taken to "ensure Hajj is performed in a safe manner from a public health perspective" and was in line with the teachings of Islam "in preserving the lives of human beings".

"Preventing the Hajj in one or more seasons can be done in accordance with Islamic law in situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic," professor Muhammad Abdel Haleem, director of the Centre of Islamic Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, told Al Jazeera.

"The Quran tells Muslims - 'Do not throw yourselves with your own hands into destruction'," he added, quoting Surah al-Baqarah of the Muslim holy book.