• Hijja and Umrah
• By: Ashiraf Zziwa

The newly signed cooperation agreement between Uganda Muslim Supreme Council-UMSC and the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will among others help to streamline the management of Haj-Muslim pilgrimage to the holy city of Makkah in fulfillment of the fifth pillar of Islam, His Eminence Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje, the Mufti of Uganda has disclosed. According to the Mufti, the move is aimed at making Haj affordable, improve coordination with Hajj and Umra companies and eliminate the exploitation of pilgrims.

Mufti Mubaje revealed this at a colorful function to bid farewell to 103 pilgrims including nine-year-old Ibrahim Male Kakoma, a Primary Two Pupil of the prestigious Green Hill Academy. Sheikh Mubaje urged pilgrims to be grateful to Allah that they are among the chosen few to perform pilgrimage this year and admonished them to award off all worldly affairs including unnecessary use of their smart phones for the purpose of showing off, unnecessary conversations of political and, sports upon their arrival in the holy city, saying that Haj is a kind of worship that comes once in one’s life time. “So, use your time wisely to supplicate fervently to the Lord as you beseech His Glorious face for your personal favors. Pray for your family, peace of our nation, our president, Muslim leadership, UMSC in general and for the entire world to be free from wars and natural calamities,” Sheikh Mubaje  preached.

In his concluding remarks, the Mufti urged the Pilgrims to take Haj rituals as divine grace that the Almighty Allah ordains upon Muslim believers in order to erase their earthly human inquities, saying that they return like newly born babies without any sins and will be rewarded in the hereafter with lofty castles of  Paradise.

Earlier on, Hon. Muhammad Ali Aluma, the UMSC Secretary General who is also a pilgrim, informed the gathering that UMSC has strong systems that govern the finances pilgrims deposit annually  on its accounts, which explains why there have been no complaints from any pilgrims this far.

On his side, Sheikh Ali Juma Shiwuyu, the UMSC Secretary for Haj & UMRA stated that all the vital information including  religious instructions on Haj rites have been passed over to the pilgrims. He said the pilgrims are set to  travel on June 20th and return on July 8th, 2023, via the National Carrier- Uganda Airlines.

In attendance Members of the UMSC National Management Committee.