JAKARTA - Before the COVID-19 pandemic, seniors had priority to perform the pilgrimage. Now the new rule from the Saudi Arabian government is that only those under the age of 65 are allowed to fulfill the fifth pillar of Islam. Farid Aljawi, Secretary General of the Association of Muslim Organizers for Hajj and Umrah of the Republic of Indonesia (AMPHURI) hopes that there will be a dispensation in this matter.
"Indeed, the rules made by the Saudi government have a purpose. But we hope that there will be mercy from the government to provide dispensation for married couples. The problem is that in Indonesia there are many couples whose wives are under 65 while their husbands are over 65. In cases like this, hopefully there will be dispensation, "Hopefully Farid when contacted Thursday, April 14, was performing Umrah in Madina, Saudi Arabia.
Farid expressed this hope because the provisions for the 65-year age limit for Hajj are not yet clear. "We will ask for details about the 65-year age limit from Saudi Arabia's Amirul Hajj (Hajj Leader). We hope that the provisions below or above 65 will be clear. This means that this can be a separate polemic," he said.
According to him, on average in Indonesia and even around the world those who want to perform the pilgrimage are husband and wife. "All over the world, not only in Indonesia who want to perform the pilgrimage are husband and wife. The age of the husband is usually above 65 years and the wife is under 65 years. If one of these couples cannot go, both will cancel. That's why we ask Saudi Arabia for mercy in this context," he said.
Because of that, Farid and AMPHURI asked that in the context of the age difference, one married couple who was above 65 years old and the other partner under 65 years old could be allowed to travel together. "We are fighting for this so that dispensation can be granted," he hoped.
Currently the weather in Saudi Arabia, said Farid not so hot. "Currently, the temperature in the holy land ranges from 37 to 40 degrees Celsius. Maybe in the days ahead until the implementation of the Hajj, the temperature will rise, even up to 38 degrees Celsius. It's summer, so the health of prospective pilgrims must be properly maintained. Hajj so that they can carry out their worship properly," he said.
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