BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THE Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) held a thanksgiving ceremony yesterday for 28 military personnel who will be embarking on the Haj pilgrimage.

Dubbed “Jiwa Murni”, the ceremony held at the Rimba Air Force Base was attended by RBAF Commander Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Major General Dato Paduka Seri Mohd Tawih Abdullah, alongside other defence officials.

The pilgrims comprised 12 retired personnel and two servicemen who will leave for Saudi Arabia with their families to embark on a journey to Islam’s holiest sites.

During the ceremony, Pehin Major General Dato Mohd Tawih also presented gifts and an undisclosed amount of monetary donations to the pilgrims.

“Jiwa Murni” is one of the annual religious activities organised by the RBAF for military personnel who are performing Haj. It was previously reported that 400 pilgrims will depart Brunei for Haj in two batches on August 30 and 31.

As one of the five pillars of Islam, Haj is a religious obligation for all Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime.

Millions of Muslims converge on Mekah for a week of pilgrimage during the last month of the Islamic calendar.

Due to ongoing upgrades of Masjidil Haram in Mekah and Masjid Nabawi in Madinah, the Saudi Arabian government has capped the number of pilgrims from Brunei at 400.

The Brunei Times