QURGHON TEPPA, November 17, 2008, Asia-Plus — 1,559 Muslims, including 314 women, from the Khatlon province will participate in the Hajj this year.
At the end of last week, the Khatlon governor Ghaybullo Avzalov held meeting with persons who will head groups of local hajj pilgrims. The governor noted that the group heads should carry out explanatory work among the hajj pilgrims
We will recall that 30 persons were competitively selected to head the groups. The group heads should be fluent persons in the Arab language. Each of these groups consists of 50 persons.
The Hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca. It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world.
It is the fifth pillar of Islam, an obligation that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. It is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to Allah.
The pilgrimage occurs from the 10th to the 15th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, eleven days shorter than the Gregorian calendar used in the Western world, the Gregorian date of the Hajj is eleven days earlier from year to year. In 2007, the Hajj was from December 17 to December 21; this year from the first week of December.
