Saeed Al-Khotani Saudi Gazette MINA — A total of 443 sick pilgrims were assisted Thursday to travel to Arafat for the most important ritual of Haj, according to Dr. Ayman Yamani, Director of Mina Emergency Hospital and Supervisor of Medical Fleet for Assisting Sick Pilgrims to Perform Haj. Of the sick pilgrims, 411 were from Makkah and 32 from Madinah. “These sick pilgrims who were hospitalized in Makkah and Madinah were taken in a convoy composed of specially-equipped ambulances and accompanied by experienced healthcare professionals,” Yamani told Saudi Gazette. Dr. Khalid Marghalani, the Health Ministry spokesman, said taking sick pilgrims to Haj has been a practice by his ministry for several years. “It goes in line with teachings of our religion, especially when it does not pose any harm or threat to the condition of the patient,” he said. “This tradition stems from a moral responsibility to enable the sick pilgrims to complete the mission for which they came here. They came to the holy land after spending a lot of resources with the hope of fulfilling this lifetime dream, but for some reason or other, they fell sick, “ he added. Saeeda Nzifar, a 40-year-old Indian pilgrim who underwent a heart surgery, expressed her extreme happiness for enabling her to go to Arafat. The same feeling was shared by Muhammad Abil, an 80-year-old Pakistani who was hospitalized with some internal health problem. Algerian Muhammad, who suffered from breathing difficulty, also expressed his joy after he was taken to Arafat. While expressing their gratitude to the government of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, they prayed to Allah to profusely reward the good deeds. Standing in Arafat on Dhul Hijjah 9 is the most important pillar of the pilgrimage, without which the Haj will not be valid. Some of the other remaining Haj rituals could be completed by proxy.
