The draws for the 2023 Hajj pilgrimage, which could not be performed since 2020 due to the outbreak of the pandemic and which approximately 2 and a half million people had been waiting for with excitement, were held in Ankara.

As a result of the lots drawn electronically at the Şehit Ali Alıtkan Conference Hall of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, 83 thousand 430 people were entitled to go to the Holy Lands to perform the hajj duty.

President of Religious Affairs Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş, who participated in the drawing of lots, stated that our country is going through a difficult and distressing time caused by a great disaster, and that they have experienced indescribable pain due to the earthquake and that they are trying to heal the wounds as a state and nation.

“Our nation showed one of the greatest sacrifices in history in the aftermath of the earthquake”

Emphasizing that after the earthquake, Türkiye, in fact, has been in a great solidarity as being a single body with an appreciation that will set an example for the ages, President Erbaş said, “Our nation, which is going through one of the greatest tests of history, also has shown one of the greatest self-sacrifices of history.”

Remarking that Presidency of Religious Affairs established Disaster and Emergency Management Centre from the first hours of the earthquake, President Erbaş uttered that they stood by the earthquake victims in many areas from search and rescue to humanitarian aid, from nutrition to shelter, from spiritual support to religious guidance.

Stating that personnel was mobilized in the region, and they gave their best effort to heal the wounds, President Erbaş talked as “Our religious officials from 71 provinces have been working tirelessly. By the Almighty Allah's (swt) permission and grace, our beloved nation will, of course, soothe its sufferings, heal its wounds, and continue to walk to the future with hope by overcoming all difficulties.”

“Hajj is an unique worship that brings millions of people together”

President Erbaş pointed out that Presidency of Religious Affairs continues to give service in the earthquake region on the one hand and continues to manage the duties under its responsibility on the other.

Pointing out that hajj is a worship that brings millions of people together, President Erbaş talked as “Hajj is an enormous congress of brotherhood. It is a worship that brings together millions of Muslims, whose languages, cultures, colours, and races are different, around the Kaaba, the house of Allah (swt) once a year and brings them to unity in the climate of tawheed.”

Expressing that they carry the quality and standard of service to a higher level every year in order for citizens to perform their hajj worship in a correct, healthy, peaceful and safe way, President Erbaş said that the Presidency attaches a particular importance to he hajj organization.

“Hajj worship has time and space constraints”

Reminding that there are limitations in the hajj worship in terms of time and place, President Erbaş made the following remarks, “It can only be performed in specific days and specific places. On the other hand, we know that millions of Muslims from all over the world are waiting in line to perform their hajj worship today. Exceeding this number in a place where a maximum of 2 million people can perform hajj under the current conditions will of course lead to nonrecoverable disasters. For this, each country has a quota.”

President Erbaş pointed out that the number of citizens who would like to go perform Hajj is increasing every year and said, “The number of people who registered for the first time in 2023 is 221,916. Together with the previous registrations, 2,426,114 of our citizens have applied to perform Hajj worship. I would like to express our great satisfaction with the kindness shown by our nation towards Hajj worship. The quota allocated to our country this year is 83,430.”

Speaking about the Hajj lottery system of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, President Erbaş said, “The lottery system applied by our Presidency in determining the pilgrim candidates is the best practice that has been employed so far and provides justice in the best manner. No one should doubt that.”

“Our youngest prospective pilgrim is 40 days old and our oldest is 119 years old”

Announcing the youngest and oldest prospective pilgrims who pre-registered this year, President Erbaş shared the following information:

“Our youngest prospective pilgrim who will participate in the lottery this year is 40 days old and is registered with his parents. It was also a surprise for me, a very important piece of information, our oldest pilgrim candidate was born in 1904, which means he is 119 years old. I hope that he will be drawn in the lot and he will be able to perform his pilgrimage in a healthy way. The average age of our pilgrim candidates who will enter the lottery is 57, the rate of female prospective pilgrims who pre-registered is 53.3 percent and the rate of male prospective pilgrims is 46.7 percent. It can be seen from here that there are more female prospective pilgrims.”

Making evaluations on the lottery results, President Erbaş said, “I want you to know that the joy of our brothers and sisters, whose heart was excited when they had the opportunity to participate in this sacred journey, and the sadness of our brothers and sisters who could not have this opportunity are also extremely valuable and precious. Since the important thing is to desire this worship and to reveal our intention to set off this blessed journey.”

“Those who cannot perform the hajj worship because they do not come out in the lottery has no religious responsibility”

President Erbaş made the following evaluation, “To have been registered, to have participated in the lottery means that they have performed their duty as prospective pilgrims. In this respect, there is no religious responsibility of the person who cannot perform the hajj worship because they cannot find the opportunity or because they do not come out in the lottery. It is our duty to reveal our intentions, to make our application and to wait for the time when we will perform our worship without losing hope. That is what our responsibility is.”

After his speech, the lots are drawn with the participation of President of Religious Affairs Erbaş, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Yasin Ekrem Serim and senior executives of Presidency.  The lottery, which started from Ankara, subsequently continued according to the plate order of the provinces.

Final registrations will be held on March 13-24

- Those whose names appear in the draw will be able to register between March 13-24.

-They can make their own registrations through the e-government system, as well as those who want to go with the Presidency will be able to register with the provincial mufti's offices, and those who want to go with the agencies will be able to register with the agencies that have signed a contract with the Presidency.

- 34,443 pilgrims who could not go during the pandemic period due to being over the age of 65 and not being vaccinated will go to Hajj without the need for lottery.

-Instead of those who do not register within the specified period, registrations will be made between 30 March and 7 April within the framework of the quotas allocated to the provinces by considering the order of lots according to the types of hajj accommodation.

-The hajj departures will take place between May 30 and June 24, while the returns will take place between July 3 and 28.