PPIH: Aceh Hajj pilgrims begin receiving Baitul Asyi endowment funds of 2,000 riyals

Hajj Service Officers (PPIH) from Aceh Embarkation reported that prospective Hajj pilgrims from Aceh have begun receiving Baitul Asyi endowment funds of 2,000 riyals, or approximately Rp9.3 million per person (exchange rate Rp4,668). “Yesterday afternoon, our pilgrims from Batch 2 already received Baitul Asyi at their accommodation, with an amount of 2,000 riyals, distributed by Baitul Asyi officials,” said the Head of PPIH Aceh Embarkation, Arijal, in Banda Aceh on Tuesday. He explained that the endowment funds were given to Batch 2 first because Batch 1 is still in Madinah and will only move to Mecca on Thursday (14/5). “Subsequently, Batches 3 and onwards will be scheduled. Meanwhile, Batch 1, still in Madinah, will receive the Baitul Asyi funds once they are in Mecca,” he stated. Baitul Asyi is a productive waqf institution in Mecca founded by Acehnese figure Habib Bugak Al-Asyi in the early 1800s. Its assets are managed as a luxury hotel, with the proceeds distributed as waqf compensation to every pilgrim from Aceh. In addition to the Baitul Asyi funds, Arijal continued, Aceh’s prospective Hajj pilgrims have also received living cost allowances of around 750 riyals, or Rp3.5 million per person, handed over when they were at the Hajj Dormitory. “The living cost was distributed upon entry to the dormitory, during the distribution of other documents in the Jeddah Hall (Aceh Embarkation Hajj Dormitory),” he said. On this occasion, he also conveyed that the condition of Aceh’s prospective Hajj pilgrims already in Saudi Arabia is all healthy, with no health complaints reported. “Alhamdulillah, the pilgrims’ condition up to today is healthy, with no complaints of illness; they are still performing umrah and resting,” said Head of PPIH Aceh Embarkation, Arijal.