JEDDAH: The Minister of Islamic Affairs has asked preachers to heed principles of “tayseer” – facilitation – and moderation when addressing pilgrims to help them complete the Haj with ease and efficiency. “Pilgrims need to know about the simpler things, not the big, Ummah-related issues,” Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdul Aziz Aal Al-Sheikh told preachers. “The clearer and simpler the information, the more likely they are to accept it so our message can be achieved.” The minister said that Shariah called for “facilitation, piousness and dutifulness to Allah”. “Now with easy access to Haj, there should be no hardship in it,” he continued. “In fact, the lack of knowledge of Shariah has been a cause for hardship,” he said. “You should have a clear conscience when you issue a fatwa and consider pilgrims' circumstances and health.” Aal Al-Sheikh reminded preachers to “be aware of your words and be as one”. “The Haj is a time for unity in the word, and a statement of our strength and unity, and that is what we should tell our Ummah in these times of conflicting ideas and intellectual directions.” The minister called for moderation in both fatwas and preachers' interaction with pilgrims when they arrive at the Kingdom's entry ports. “Many arrive from abroad in a state of confusion and in need of someone to listen to them and provide care,” he told preachers. “If this is done it gives pilgrims a good first impression, leaving them reassured and able to focus on carrying out the rituals. Be close to pilgrims, listen to them attentively and with understanding, facilitate matters for them rather than complicate them, and acquaint yourselves with their psychological and physical differences and different sects of pilgrims.”
