President Muhammadu Buhari has observed Juma’at prayer at the Grand Mosque in Makkah with other Heads of State and Government already in the Holy City for the conference ahead of the Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
A statement issued by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), observed that the 14th session of the Summit Conference of the OIC is hosted by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will commence at midnight.
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The statement said that shortly on his arrival in Mecca Thursday evening, President Buhari, accompanied by the Governors of Osun, Niger and Jigawa performed the Umrah.
It added: “The President and the accompanying delegation circumambulated the Ka’aba before visiting the area between the al-Marwah and al-Safa hills, itself a distance of between three and four kilometres in the Grand Mosque, which is part of the Umrah process.”
“The Umrah is a Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca that can be undertaken at any time of the year, unlike the Hajj which has a fixed time.
“It is called the lesser pilgrimage, whereas the Hajj is the “major” pilgrimage which is compulsory for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it. The Umrah is optional but recommended.”
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