King Salman is hosting 1,000 Umrah performers at his own expense this year, and the second group of guests has now arrived in the holy cities and completed their pilgrimage. The visitors have praised the hospitality and organisation they received, describing their first sighting of the Holy Kaaba as a deeply moving moment.

The programme, part of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' Guests Program for Hajj, Umrah and Visit, is implemented by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. According to Arab News, the guests are arriving in four groups over the course of the season.

Who the guests are

The second group includes 250 male and female pilgrims from 23 countries across Europe and Asia. Among the participating nations are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Moldova, Austria, Slovakia, Estonia, Poland, Switzerland, Iraq, Jordan and Syria.

Several guests shared their impressions after performing Umrah. A pilgrim from the United Kingdom said that praying at the Grand Mosque in Makkah reflected the values of equality and brotherhood in Islam, as Muslims of different nationalities gathered in ihram to perform the same rituals. A pilgrim from Albania said he could not hold back his tears when he first saw the Kaaba, while a guest from North Macedonia described a deep sense of peace on reaching the Mataf area.

A programme beyond the rituals

The hosting extends well past the performance of Umrah itself. In Makkah, the programme includes academic and cultural activities and visits to religious and historical sites, including the King Abdulaziz Complex for the Holy Kaaba Kiswa and the Revelation Exhibition in the Hira Cultural District.

In Madinah, the guests toured the King Fahd Glorious Qur'an Printing Complex, where they learned about its printing, translation and distribution work. They also visited Mount Uhud, the Uhud Martyrs Cemetery and Quba Mosque, learning about the Battle of Uhud and offering prayers.

Guests praised the smooth reception, transport and accommodation arrangements, along with the religious and organisational guidance at the Grand Mosque that helped them perform the rituals with ease. The initiative is one of several long-running Saudi programmes that host pilgrims and Quran memorisers from around the world each year.

A long-running tradition of hosting

Programmes hosting guests for Hajj and Umrah at the state's expense have run for years and form part of Saudi Arabia's presentation of itself as custodian of the two holy mosques. Guests are typically drawn from diverse backgrounds, and this season's second group is notable for its heavy representation from the Balkans and eastern Europe, regions with deep-rooted Muslim communities that are not always prominent in coverage of the pilgrimage.

The itinerary reflects a deliberate effort to pair worship with learning. Visits to the Kiswa complex, the Revelation Exhibition, the Qur'an printing complex and the historic sites of Madinah give guests a fuller picture of Islamic history and of the scale of the institutions that serve pilgrims. For many, seeing the production of the Kaaba's cloth covering or the printing of millions of copies of the Qur'an is a first encounter with the machinery behind the rituals they have known all their lives.

Practical notes for pilgrims

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' Guests Program operates by official invitation and nomination, usually through Saudi embassies and Islamic bodies in participating countries, rather than by open public application. Muslims interested in such programmes should follow announcements from their local Saudi mission and recognised Islamic organisations.

For the wider public, the experiences shared by these guests are a useful reminder of the spiritual weight of the journey. Those planning their own Umrah can prepare by learning the rituals in advance, reading about the historical sites of Makkah and Madinah, and approaching the pilgrimage with patience and humility so that the first sight of the Kaaba becomes a moment of reflection rather than rush.