MADINAH, 9 December 2007 — The Madinah branch of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has produced an integrated plan for the current Haj season with special emphasis on the counseling and guidance of pilgrims, according to Fahd Al-Khodar, director of the commission’s Madinah branch.
The commission has obtained approval for the plan from Madinah Gov. Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Majed, Khodar said in a press statement yesterday.
The counseling will mainly focus on the correct conduct at various locations in Madinah. It is necessary because there are certain religiously approved ways of conducting oneself while visiting a cemetery, the commission official said.
The commission members will also enlighten pilgrims about the sanctity of the holy sites, the need to abide by instructions and regulations and the importance of performing Haj and other rites in the correct way, he said.
The plans also include cautioning the pilgrims about serious sins such as committing “bida” (sinful innovations in religion) and polytheism, Khodar said.
The commission has hired a number of undergraduate and postgraduate students as interpreters and they will accompany the commission’s field workers. “About 125 students of varying nationalities at the Islamic University have been selected as interpreters to help commission members converse with the pilgrims who do not speak Arabic,” he said.
