Saudi authorities have announced that this year’s Arafah sermon during Hajj will be translated into 35 languages and broadcast through digital platforms and affiliated channels.
The initiative is aimed at enabling millions of pilgrims and Muslims worldwide to follow the sermon in their native languages.
The Presidency of Religious Affairs at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque said the translations would cover major international and regional languages spoken across Africa, Asia, Europe, and other parts of the world.
The approved languages include English, French, Yoruba, Hausa, Indonesian, Urdu, Turkish, Persian, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Bengali, Hindi, Malay, Amharic, Swahili, Somali, Pashto, Punjabi, Tamil, and Filipino.
Others are Bosnian, German, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Uzbek, Tajik, Nepali, Sinhala, Malayalam, Oromo, Tigrinya, Luganda, and Lithuanian.
Head of the presidency, Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, said the project was designed to convey the sermon’s spiritual themes and Islam’s message of moderation to Muslims globally.
“The Arafah sermon translation project is one of the presidency’s key initiatives built on years of accumulated experience. It enables non-Arabic-speaking Muslims to benefit from the sermon’s spiritual and humanitarian messages,” he said.
Al-Sudais added that the presidency had mobilised technical and media resources, alongside specialised teams, to ensure the sermon reaches the widest possible audience with high professional standards.
The Arafah sermon, delivered annually at Mount Arafat during Hajj, is regarded as one of the most significant sermons in Islam and is followed by millions of Muslims around the world.
Meanwhile, Saudi authorities have again urged pilgrims and participating country missions to comply strictly with Hajj operational guidelines to ensure a smooth and safe pilgrimage exercise.
The authorities warned that participating country missions would be held responsible for operational lapses involving their pilgrims if adequate sensitisation and coordination were not carried out.
Stakeholders were urged to intensify enlightenment campaigns, particularly on the need for pilgrims to move in groups under designated leaders to reduce cases of missing persons and operational disruptions at the holy sites.
Officials of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) said the commission’s ICT unit had commenced efforts to fully digitalise its operations in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative.
