According to official figures, more than 1.8 million Muslims took part in the hajj last year.
Riyadh:
Saudi Arabia said the hajj will begin on June 14 after astronomical observatories spotted the waxing moon on Thursday evening, marking the start of the month in which the annual pilgrimage falls.
The Supreme Court has ruled that Dhu al-Hijjah, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar, would begin on Friday, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.
The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken at least once by all Muslims with the means.
It involves a series of rituals completed over at least four days in Mecca and its surrounding areas in western Saudi Arabia.
The highlight comes on the second day, when pilgrims gather for prayer at Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Mohammed delivered his last sermon.
That will happen on June 15 this year, and the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha will fall on June 16, SPA said.
Saudi Arabia is home to Islam's holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina, and the Gulf kingdom earns billions of dollars annually from the hajj and pilgrimages, known as umrah, undertaken at other times of the year.
The pilgrimages are also a source of prestige for the Saudi monarch, whose official title includes “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques” in Mecca and Medina.
According to official figures, more than 1.8 million Muslims took part in the hajj last year.
On Thursday, Tawfiq al-Rabiah, the Saudi hajj and umrah minister, said that “about 1.2 million pilgrims from different countries of the world” had already arrived in Saudi Arabia for this year's hajj.
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