Government Prepares Proxy Pilgrimage for Deceased Hajj Pilgrim in the Holy Land

The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (Kemenhaj) through the Hajj Implementation Officials (PPIH) in Saudi Arabia will arrange a proxy pilgrimage (badal haji) for Indonesian nationals and prospective pilgrims who die in the Holy Land, including a 72-year-old elderly man from Jakarta, Muhammad Firdaus, who was recently found deceased.

“The government through PPIH Saudi Arabia will arrange a proxy pilgrimage to be performed by hajj officials on behalf of the deceased,” said Head of the Communications Bureau of the Indonesian Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, Moh Hasan Affandi, in a statement on Friday, 22 May.

The pilgrim, who was part of Contingent 27 from the Jakarta-Pondok Gede Embarkation Point (JKG 27), had previously been reported missing since Friday, 15 May, after leaving his hotel in the Makkah Sector 9 area in Saudi Arabia.

Firdaus left without carrying communication devices or identification documents such as a mobile phone, Nusuk card, or any identity card.

A search was conducted involving various parties, including hajj officials and local authorities.

Hasan said that PPIH officials subsequently received a report regarding the whereabouts of an unidentified body at one of the hospitals in Makkah in the early hours of Friday, 22 May.

Upon receiving this information, the Pilgrim Protection Team (Linjam) of PPIH Makkah Work Area, accompanied by Firdaus’s wife, Nafsiah Nawan, visited the hospital to conduct identification.

After verification checks were completed, Nafsiah confirmed that the body was that of her husband, Muhammad Firdaus Ahlan.

PPIH Saudi Arabia expressed condolences on the death of Muhammad Firdaus.

“Indeed, we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. We, the entire PPIH Saudi Arabia, express our deepest condolences on the death of the deceased. May Allah Almighty continuously bestow His mercy and forgiveness upon the deceased and give patience to the family left behind,” said Hasan.