1st Group of Iranian Pilgrims Leave for Hajj
Hojat-ol-Islam Seyed Ali Qazi-Askar, the representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs, and Head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Saeed Ohadi, as well as a number of Saudi embassy officials attended a ceremony at the airport to see off the pilgrims.
Some 65,000 Iranians will go on Hajj pilgrimage this year.
Hajj is performed from the 8th through the 12th of the lunar month of Dhul-Hijjah, starting on September 2 this year.
Hajj activities include turning around the Ka'aba, the most sacred Islamic site, seven times counterclockwise to show unity among believers worshipping Allah, the Arabic word for God.
The pilgrims also walk seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwa.
All able-bodied Muslims are religiously obliged to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime.
The teachings of Hajj aim to remind Muslims that they are not joined together on the basis of color or race, but on the basis of belief in God and His Messenger, the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
