Supreme Leader's Representative Meets with Religious Authorities

According to the Hajj Information Base, Hojjat al-Islam Navvab traveled to Qom and separately met with Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani, Ayatollah Sobhani, Ayatollah Javadi Amoli and Hojjat al-Islam Seyed Javad Shahreshtani, the representative of Grand Ayatollah Sistani in Iran. He discussed the upcoming Hajj and the issues of Hajj and Pilgrimage during separate meetings with the religious authorities.

During the meetings, Hojjat al-Islam Navvab reported on the way of holding the past Hajj and the measures taken to send the pilgrims to the land of revelation in Hajj 1402 and the programs and activities of the Supreme Leader's mission in various fields, including the cultural and implementation of Hajj rituals.

He pointed out that the pilgrims should become more familiar with the teachings of Hajj, and the great authorities of imitation provided guidelines and recommendations in this regard.

The efficient management of the affairs of the pilgrims of the House of God in recent years, Grand Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani during the meeting described the service in the field of Hajj and Pilgrimage as very valuable and praised the competent and ethical management of the representative of the religious jurist in this responsibility.

"With efficient management So far, Hajj issues and pilgrims' programs have been carried out in a proper and desirable manner," Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani.

Referring to the way Saudi Arabia behaved towards the Islamic Republic of Iran in the past decades, this imitation authority reminded the necessity of tact in dealing with other countries and described the management of the affairs of the pilgrims of the House of God in recent years as correct and efficient.

In this meeting, Hojjat al-Islam Navvab also pointed out that the measures and plans for the registration of Hajj pilgrims for next year are underway.

"The host country's companies have increased the Hajj expenses by 1,400 dollars not only for Iranian pilgrims but also for pilgrims from other countries. It has also caused problems," he added.

Hojjat al-Islam Navvab pointed out that despite this hike in expenses, Iran's Hajj is still considered one of the cheapest Hajj among other countries. Comparing the cost of Iran's Hajj with some countries, the Head of Iranian Pilgrims added that most of the funds are spent on accommodation, food and transportation in that country.

Pointing out that last year pilgrims used 45 percent of the quota of Iran and other countries, and, said, "Currently, about 1.1 million people have Hajj vouchers, of which 38,000 people are aged over 85. And we hope they can be sent to the land of revelation."

The necessity of trying to start the Umrah journey

Grand Ayatollah Sobhani during the meeting with head of the Iranian Hajj pilgrims demanded the use of suitable solutions for the presence of more Iranian pilgrims in Hajj.

"With proper management and taking appropriate measures, the number of pilgrims will be reduced. Forces and service agents should be sent to the land of revelation to prepare the ground for sending more pilgrims who have been waiting for years to visit God's house," he added.

This religious authority said that hundreds of thousands of people have registered for years hoping to visit the land of revelation and visit God's house, but due to the process of sending pilgrims and the reduction of the quota, they have not been able to go to Hajj.

While commenting on the people's interest in visiting pilgrimage sites, Ayatollah Sobhani called for an effort to restart the Umrah journey.

"We hope that the authorities will pay attention to this request of the people and that people who are not able to visit Hajj can at least participate in the second Umrah," he added.

Hojjat al-Islam Navvab also pointed out that Saudi Arabia had agreed to the presence of one million people from all over the world in the last Hajj due to the coronavirus situation and said that this figure was about 45% of the number of pilgrims in previous years.

Referring to Iran's request to increase the quota of pilgrims in the upcoming Hajj by 20,000 people, he expressed hope that this request will be accepted.

The Head of Iranian Pilgrims also pointed to the measures taken to reduce the per capita number of pilgrims sent to Hajj 1402, and said, "We are trying to send more pilgrims by reducing the agency forces in various executive, cultural and medical departments and reduce this per capita number."

Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, meantime, called the development of relations with the countries of the region necessary in the meeting by raising their awareness, and said, "In the framework of the country's diplomacy, we should build our relations with other countries based on the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt. (peace be upon him) and to design and implement the principles that Imam Ali (AS) has drawn for us in Nahj al-Balagheh."

The religious authority added that the instructions that have been brought to "us from Nahj al-Balagheh and Sahifa Sajjadiyeh" can draw a clear light in the direction of expanding relations and developing cooperation with other countries.

Grand Ayatollah Javadi Amoli also pointed out, "Our Qibla is safe and its base is the Kaaba, and this was the prayer of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) that we should bring our language and pen to the stage of answering and put it into practice."

He described respect for other schools and religions and good treatment of others as the most important factor in transferring the culture of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) and reminded that with differences and divisions, the roots of friendship and love are dried up and it is not possible to spread the unifying message of Islam to the world.

Ayatollah Javadi Amoli also considered it necessary to use virtuous, scholarly and capable clerics in the Hajj caravans, and said that clerics should be able to answer doubts that arise during the Hajj journey with scientific and convincing arguments by improving their awareness.

In this meeting, the head of the Iranian pilgrims also declared the formation of a committee in the Supreme Leader's representative office to respond to the questions.

Hojjat al-Islam Navvab also pointed out that people have more than 5 million Umrah travel documents and they are in the queue while saying that the start of the operation of dispatching individual Umrah pilgrims is subject to the policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran and first there must be a change in the political relations with Saudi Arabia. 

Regarding pilgrimages to Syria, he said that the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization is fully prepared to send more pilgrims, and the lack of widespread acceptance of this visit is due to the fact that the war has seriously damaged the infrastructure in Syria, and these infrastructures are still not fully ready.

Based on the report, Hojjat al-Islam Seyed Javad Shahrashtani, the representative of Grand Ayatollah Sistani in Iran, in a meeting with the Head of Iranian Pilgrims, while exchanging views on the issues of Hajj and Pilgrimage, called for consultation and efforts to increase the quota of pilgrims to the House of God.

Hojjat al-Islam Shahrashtani called the development of relations and good neighborliness with the countries of the region, especially Saudi Arabia, as the reason for the strengthening of the Hajj programs and said that it is possible to expand relations with other countries by observing the principles and positions of the system.

The plenipotentiary representative of Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali Sistani also emphasized on preserving the honor and status of Iranian pilgrims.

In this meeting, the head of Iranian pilgrims also listed the plans made to send more than 80,000 pilgrims to the House of God in the upcoming Hajj, and said about the registration method that in some neighboring countries, the registration of those who are interested is done annually and only Pilgrims are identified every year.

At the end, Hojjat al-Islam Navvab pointed out that the Hajj expeditions may take more than 10 years according to the receipts that people have, and elaborated on the programs of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization to reduce the number of troops and agents sent to the Land of Revelation in different areas.

It should be mentioned that in these meetings, Hojjat al-Islam Navvab was accompanied by Seyed Hossein Rokn al-Dini, the cultural assistant and Mohammad Ali Akhvian, the education director of the Supreme Leader's representative office in Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs.