The President of Religious Affairs Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş met with convoy leaders at Mecca before Arafat.

Speaking at the Meeting of Planning and Coordination of Transition to and Returning Back from Arafat in the Hajj Management Centre in Mecca, The President of Religious Affairs Erbaş said, “Allah the Almighty increases our services and achievements year after year. It means, we're grateful. Our gratitude is our work, activities, efforts, righteous intentions and sincerity. As they increase, Allah renders us more successful.”

The President Erbaş, stating that their efforts of ensuring that the hajj journey would add values to and leave its mark in the lives of the prospective pilgrims have major responsibilities, continued that “Remember that being in coordination and contact with anybody in your team with sincerity, good will and effort, having an attitude of motivating and leading and of attaching the importance to consultations most will both render the challenges easy and create an environment of fruitful worships. With Allah's permission, I fully believe that each one of you will fulfill properly your duty you have undertaken with enthusiasm, sincerity and self-sacrifice. I hope this unity and solidarity of ours will contribute to better services.”

Stating that the hajj is the greatest opportunity in terms of conveying the message of Islam, the President Erbaş said, “Taking advantage of entire of the hajj duration for information and conveying the message of Islam without tiring or boring is an important obligation for us.”

“Familiarity and friendly conversation are the fruits of these lands”

Emphasizing that he believed that the convoy leaders would make a hit with, even in this so short time, the prospective pilgrims coming to these sacred lands for hajj, the President Erbaş continued:

“You are in a precious position which will render unforgettable such experience, which is “it cannot be described but only experienced” of those who may never see here before they die. Here, aforementioned familiarity and friendly conversation are indeed the fruits of these lands. I hope you all perform this sublime duty you have assumed in the most beautiful way and leave permanent traces in terms of consciousness and direction for the rest of the life of our pilgrims. They will remember you on every occasion as a result of this brotherhood which will start at your first acquaintance meeting and reach the peak with the embrace of Arafat; most importantly, they will always pray for you. Could there be a more profitable business than this which the servants of Allah and Allah the Almighty may give consent? ”

“It is of vital importance for our convoy leaders to work with great devotion.”

Putting forward that one of the duties demanding the most devotion is working as a convoy leader in the hajj organisation, the President Erbaş continued, “For this reason, our Presidency shows great diligence in the selection of the convoy leaders. It is of vital importance for our convoy leaders to work with great devotion in terms of both pilgrims’ fulfilling their worships completely and the success of the hajj organisation. Because working as a convoy leader is an intertwined including both the organization and prospective pilgrims. Therefore, the convoy leader is an administrator who ensures the execution of the organization and manages the subordinates in the best way. They are preachers telling the basic principles and values of Islam in a prophetic way, and conveyors of the message of Islam who turn the hajj into showing the true path.”

Highlighting that the convoy leaders have great responsibilities in the hajj organisation, the President Erbaş further said, “As a requirement of this responsibility, we, including our religious officials and irshad officials, should conduct a campaign for our pilgrims to fulfil their hajj activities completely. As a matter of fact, I would like you to conduct a perfect informing and guidance for each of our prospective pilgrims regarding Arafat, Muzdalifah, Mina, Jamarat, Sacrifice, and Tawaf al-Ziyarah.”

Giving Information about Arafat

At the meeting, the Chairman of High Board of Religious Affairs Dr. Ekrem Keleş gave information about worships to be performed in Arafat and during later processes.

The General Director of Hajj and Umrah Services and the President of Hajj Management Centre Remzi Bircan reminded the convoy leaders and religious officials employed at the hajj organisation of making sure that transitions to Arafat and descending from Arafat would be without any problem. Bircan described on a map how transitions to Arafat and descending from Arafat would be, at what points the pilgrims would perform waqfah in Muzdalifah and which route would be used while proceeding to stone the devil.