Hajj & Umrah

The Hajj is an annual pilgrimage made by able Muslims around the world to the city of Mecca, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world.

Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam; a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in a lifetime by every affordable and able-bodied Muslim. Haj demonstrates the solidarity of the global Muslim community. It denotes the universal submission by the human beings to God (Allah in the Arabic language).

The pilgrimage takes place from the 8th to 12th day of Dhul-Hijjah, i.e., the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. The basic steps in the ritual of Hajj which spans less than a week.

Government involvement in the Hajj process differs from country to country. While Islamic countries regulate the whole process, other countries assist by way of subsidies or other regulatory support.

In Sri Lanka the Government regulates this process through an appointed Hajj Committee and the Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs. The Sri Lankan government aids the Muslim community in the following way:

• Negotiating with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on hajj arrangements
• Registering Muslims who are interested to make the pilgrimage
• Registration of Hajj Tour Agents
• Supervision of the whole Hajj process from the beginning to the end
• Sending Sri Lanka Medical Teams to the Kingdom, during the pilgrimage to serve the health needs of all Sri Lankan pilgrims

The Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Jeddah works with the Sri Lanka Hajj Committee and the Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs to coordinate the Hajj process with the Ministry of Hajj & Umrah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other relevant stakeholders in the Kingdom.  

The Consulate also looks after the consular and other welfare needs of the pilgrims from Sri Lanka during their stay in the Kingdom.