Adib Noor
The first batch of intending haj pilgrims for the Year 1444 Hijrah had heartfelt farewells with their friends and families prior to their departure to the holy city of Madinah from the Brunei International Airport yesterday.
The Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) Flight BI4201 carried 251 intending haj pilgrims, which included four officials from the Brunei Darussalam Haj Pilgrim Affairs Office and representatives from travel agencies that arranged the haj packages.
The flight was estimated to take around nine hours and thirty minutes.
Intending haj pilgrim Jamain bin Mumin shared that he is grateful that with Allah the Almighty’s blessing he and his family are able to perform the haj this year.
“We were supposed to perform haj before the start of the Covid pandemic, Alhamduilllah our names were listed again and this year we are finally able to perform the haj,” he said.
Meanwhile, Amir Asyraaf bin Aziz said his family had been planning to perform the pilgrimage since five years ago. He hopes that they will successfully perform the haj and return safely as a more devout Muslim.
For the first batch of pilgrims, travel agency Darussalam Services Sdn Bhd is taking care of 46 pilgrims, Straits Central Agencies (B) Sdn Bhd is responsible for 71, Al-Hijrah Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd has 53, At-Taqwa Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd has 37 while Titian Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd has 40.
Minister of Religious Affairs Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman; Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports and Acting Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Nazmi bin Haji Mohamad; and Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Pengiran Dato Seri Setia Haji Mohd Tashim bin Pengiran Haji Hassan were present to bid farewell to the pilgrims.
Also present were Commissioner of Royal Brunei Police Force Dato Paduka Seri Haji Mohammad Irwan bin Haji Hambali, Permanent Secretary (Civil Service Governance) at the Prime Minister’s Office Ajman bin Haji Meludin and Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Brunei Darussalam Emad bin Abdul Aziz bin Saad Al Muhanna.
The occasion was blessed with a recitation of the Doa Selamat by Begawan Pehin Khatib Dato Paduka Haji Mustafa bin Haji Murat, while the Azan was performed by Begawan Mudim Haji Amran bin Haji Mohd Salleh.
