Buhari observes jumaat prayer at Makkah Grand Mosque ahead OIC summit

TRACKING >>President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday afternoon observed Juma’at prayer at the Grand Mosque in Makkah with other Heads of State and Government.

Buhari and other heads of government were in the Holy City for the Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, OIC,

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, said that the 14th session of the Summit Conference of the OIC hosted by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, will commence at midnight.

Shortly on his arrival in Makkah on Thursday evening, President Buhari, accompanied by the Governors of Osun, Niger and Jigawa, performed the Umrah.

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.